The Gathering Storm 3 - Multiplayer AAR

Really interesting idea, an MP AAR, I've not read one before.
Makes me wish I could join in but I can't because of my connection
I'll keep reading though.

From A Shining Light: Giuseppe Vermazzo, Volume 2: 1855-1870 by Antonio D'Oro

Italy's membership in the Alliance proved fruitful during the sixties. Industrialization, though neglected by the previous government and delayed by the heavy debt incurred after unification, finally proceeded apace. British loans at very low interest rates helped dispel the holdover debt, and enabled productive factories to be erected. The sixties boom in Italy brought her industry from seventh in the world to fourth in the world. Her military was the third strongest, behind Germany and Russia. The people, though close to revolt after the collapse of the previous government, were delighted in Duke Vermazzo's administration.

To the people of Italy, Giuseppe Vermazzo was a national hero, almost on par with Garibaldi, Mazzini, and Cavour. Immediately after unification, the Pope, in a rage that his papal dominions had been stripped, issued a bull excommunicating anyone serving the new Italian government. This drastically weakened Italy, threatening the reliability of her army, the efficiency of her industry, and even the loyalty of her people.

The previous government merely caused more problems for Italy's Catholic population. By seizing church property, monasteries, cathedrals, and bishoprics, Suicidio alienated most of the Italian population. They responded by launching general strikes, rioting, and burning estates. It was this crisis that precipitated the fall of the government.

To allay the rage of the Catholic population, he requested an audience with the Vatican, tacitly recognizing the Pope, something the previous government had refused to do. As an ardent Catholic himself, Vermazzo successfully convinced the Vatican that Italy and the Catholic Church would be stronger if they supported each other. The Vatican agreed to recognize the Italian government, and revoke his earlier edict. For his part, Vermazzo set aside a twelve-square mile portion of Rome for the Vatican, as well as returned control of the monasteries and cathedrals to the Vatican. This concordat was well received by the Catholic population in Italy.

By 1870, Italy's growth and stability provided the government with a bit more flexibility. Unbeknownst to Vermazzo at the time, this would bring on the gravest crisis in Italy's history.

Sometime in the spring of 1872, Prince von Bismarck reached out to Vermazzo. The discussion revolved around the potential limited partition of Austria. Though not discussed with Britain, it was agreed that Germany, Russia, and Italy would partition Austria. The verbal agreement was that Russia would receive Galicia and the custodianship of millions of Ukrainians. Germany would get German Bohemia and perhaps a part of German Austria. Italy would get the states of Milano and Venezia. England had earlier expressed sympathy towards the Italian cause with regard to the Italian provinces held by Austria. With the participation of two full Alliance members, Vermazzo assumed that nothing untoward would happen. The sympathies of Britain being with the unredeemed Italians, Vermazzo believed that Britain would remain neutral, and at most issue some reproachful remarks.

In the summer of 1873, von Bismarck send word through an emissary that war would begin June 1. All Italian troops were brought up to strength, and deployed on the Austrian border. When war arrived, the assault on the initial Austrian border posts carried well. Austrian troops proved incapable of stopping the coalition's armies. Russia quickly occupied Galicia, and took it in a quick peace treaty. Vermazzo was heartened by the apparent Austrian collapse, and wanted to make peace as well, as by that time both Milano and Venezia were occupied by Italian troops. Germany had by this point occupied Bohemia.

The emissary sent by the Italian government to negotiate a peace treaty was instructed that Milano and Venezia were the terms for peace. These terms were categorically rejected by the Austrians. The winter of 1873-4, though not harsh, did slow Italian troops down. By April, Italian troops had occupied Slovenia and Austria proper, with Germany holding Vienna. Italy asked for the same peace terms, but was still refused. The Austrian Emperor had given word that no negotiations with Italy would be permitted. It is this point, with Vermazzo realizing that the war could continue for a while, that we will leave.

In March 1874, Britain declared war on Germany and Russia in defense of the balance of power, of which Austria was an integral part. British troops landed in Copenhagen and Kiel. Denmark, merely a German satellite, caved to Britain, with a pro-British government installed. Germany and Britain drew up battle lines south of Kiel, but neither side came to battle for months. A stalemate emerged in North Germany, and Britain turned East in an attempt to break the coalition. An invasion of Eastern Siberia by sea initially succeeded, penetrating 150 km inland. After this penetration, Russian armies formed counter to the British, and another stalemate emerged.

In May 1874, Germany got peace with Austria, claiming German Bohemia and a sliver of Czech Bohemia. Britain responded by demanding that any peace would require the repatriation of Galicia and Bohemia to Austria. This demand was laughed at by both Tsar and Kaiser. Italy stood alone in June of 1874, pushing into Western Hungary. Still Austria would not accept peace. Vermazzo's closest advisors and confidants reveal that, though irritating, Vermazzo was happy with the war. Even with his coalition partners' acquistition of seperate peace agreements with Austria, Italy was still chasing the Austrian army around Central Europe.

By the end of June, both German and Russian armies had finally forced Britain off the continent. News of this accomplishment was well received in Rome. However, Vermazzo's government was not focused on Britain, but on finishing the war with Austria. On 3 July 1874, Vermazzo left for a tour of the front lines.

On 5 July 1874, two hundred forty thousand British troops landed outside Rome. The capital was taken by surprise, and fell within a week. Vermazzo, upon hearing this news, cancelled his tour of Austria. He rallied an army of conscripts and reserves, forming a force of three hundred eighty thousand outside Rome. The British withdrew to their ships without looting the capital.

The Vatican, after the British had evacuated, called for all Italian Catholics to resist the British invader. This national resistance led to the battles of Messina and Palermo, where, though hundreds of thousands of Italians perished, the British military leaders realized that the invasion of Italy would be extremely costly, and the Italians were determined to defend their soil. When news of these battles reached London, the Prime Minister sent an emissary to Rome, offering peace. In the meanwhile, the Austrian emperor had been captured, and he agreed to part with Milano and half of Venezia. Vermazzo, under significant pressure from British troops in Sicily, agreed to end the war. Though less than wanted, Italy had proven herself a Great Power on the world stage.

Unfortunately for Vermazzo, the Italian people wanted a new prime minister, and turned to Suicidio. Vermazzo remained a member of parliament, and his influence was great in the postwar years.

April 5, 1876--The abode of Giuseppe Vermazzo, Duke of Verona, Rome

Vermazzo sat in his parlor, sipping at his tea. His thoughts had been wandering for hours. To the government, to Italy's position in the world, to his friend, the King, to his sleeping wife upstairs. He had become less irritable, but more distractable since his resignation after the elections. The stress of a responsible minister was great. All that was gone, now. He had even contemplated resigning his seat in parliament. Everyone, government, parliamentarians, reporters, and citizens, all thought of him as the opposition leader. Bah!

He took another sip of his tea, lapsing back into random thoughts. His tea. That was ironic. His tea had been imported from India, the jewel of the Crown of the Empire whose invasion was responsible for his government's collapse. He chuckled to himself, and shook his head. A soft knock sounded on his door, too low for the sleeping servants to hear. He placed his tea cup on the plain wooden desk, and stood.

Upon reaching the door, he pulled it open slowly. His eyes fastened on the short, heavy man before him. "May I help you this fine morning, sir?"

The man squinted up at him. "Your Grace, Suicidio forbade my coming. Perhaps we had better speak inside."

Vermazzo frowned at the man. No, his days of covert politics were over. Still, there must really be something juicy for the man to come here against Suicidio's orders. He let the frown drop. "I was about to go for a walk through the public gardens. Will you come with me?"

It was his visitor's turn to scowl. "Very well, Your Grace."

Political

In the spring of 1873, Germany, Italy, and Russia all declared war upon the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The sultan saw the opportunity to gain land for his satellites and secure a buffer zone between Austria and the Ottoman Empire and joined in the war in July. The sultan, needing troops to quell the revolts in the Balkans and push forward into Dalmatia, diverted troops from Tunis despite French military buildup on the border. The war with Austria was going well until Italy, Germany, and Russia all made peace with Austria for minimal gains leaving the Ottoman Empire to fight alone. This proved disastrous as Austria could focus its entire fighting force on the Ottoman front. Meanwhile, the revolts in the Balkans were diminishing, but they were still too much of a problem to send those troops to help in Croatia. The removal of troops from Tunis proved a bad decision when in late December 1874, France declared war on the Ottoman Empire pressing its claims on everything west of Lake Chad, although their claims were widely unrecognized and many nations considered this to be a dastardly act. To release the strain on the Ottoman army in pacifying the rebels, the sultan, with the approval of the newly created Council of Viziers, granted Crete semi-autonomy. This became a turning point for the Ottoman Empire as Austria and France started advancing into Ottoman territory. The war with France dragged on for almost two years ending in the Ottoman Empire ceding Tunisia and Algeria to France. Throughout that year and into the next, Austria continued to advance in the Balkans with little Ottoman resistance with Constantinople falling in early April sending the sultan and Council of Viziers fleeing to Baghdad. Spain, sympathizing with the Ottoman Empire and also in a colonial war with Austria, assisted in the escape of the sultan and Parliament, and also stopping Austrian expansion at the Bosphorus. Finally in October of 1876, peace resumed in the Balkans with the sultan being forced to accept a humilitaing peace losing much land in the Balkans to Austria, although the Aegean Islands were gained from Greece, who had joined on Austria's side in the war. Soon after the peace, the sultan along with the Council of Viziers were transported back to Istanbul and order was restored in the city.

Economic

The economic power of the Ottoman Empire had fallen after the loss of the timber forests of Serbia, but the Kaiser of the German Empire started sending money to the sultan to help industrialization and railroad construction continue.

Social

The people have spoken! The Liberal Revolution, having spread through much of continental Europe, has finally reached the Ottoman Empire! The sultan established the Council of Viziers as an advisory body to the sultan.
Over the next year ideological parties began to take shape, and when the sultan held the first elections for the members of the Council, in which all members were allowed to vote, the People's Union Party was elected at an overwhelming margin.

(next couple AAR are very short as I missed a couple and dont really remember what happened)


Russia - 1865-1870

From the personal Diary of General Vlad Huereska

The Dutch are at it again, and we have little time to deal with this self-absorbed minor nation. It appears they intend to conquer borneo, a legal Russian colony. Little more than a nusiance, the Tsar has rightly not sent additional manpower to the region, as the sailing time there and back would be far too long, and the threat that is Germany is growing ever stronger on our western border. I am told that our British friends have offered to send the an expedition from India, in order to speed up the inevitable. Germany has threatened Russia if she takes more colonial holdings from the Dutch, neither me, nor my men, are concerned however.

____________________________________

The fighting in the East Indies has went well, although it took years to get the Dutch to agree. The British expeditionary force swept the Dutch aside on Sulawesi, while the 76th Russian Corps pounded Java. After nearly 2 years, the Dutch finally agreed to cede the eastern part of Java and 2 territories on Sulawesi to Russia. I am told that dye and sulfur from the new possessions are already raising profits back at home. The Germans have not raised any contention to the settlement, as they are well not to challenge the might of the Tsar.

Meanwhile, expansion continues everywhere in the Russian homeland, both in the military and industrially. I have overseen a string of fortifications from Galicia in the south to the Baltic. A similar defensive line has been erected over the border in Germany. It appears that any conflict between us will grind to a halt in the East. We shall have to rely on our allies to open a western front in order to be victorious.

____________________________________

I met with the Tsar last week at the Summer Palace. He has fallen ill, and no one expects his reign to last much longer. I fear for the future of Russia, as his son Aleksandr, the most likely successor, is a religious fanatic, and unstable at best.

Russia 1870-1881

Trouble has once again began in the Balkans. The Tsar Nicolai I has chosen, rightfully, to support his fellow Salvs under Ottoman rule. He has encouraged them to rise up against their captors, and free themselves of Muslim tyranny. Needless to say, the Turks have taken offense at this, being our allies.

These are uncertain times, and the future of the alliance is at stake. It is no time to have a Tsar on his deathbed.

____________________________________________

As expected, the Tsar has passed in Moscow. He went peacefully, as I was at his side. He shall forever be remembered as Nicolai the Great, a national hero for developing Russia into a first rate international force. Emissaries from all over the globe attended the somber service in St. Petersburg.

Also as expected, Aleksandr has been crowned Tsar. I weep for the future of Russia, as it is apparent that his mental state in unstable at best.

His first order of business was to take a hard-line stance on the Balkans. Aggressively pursuing the Ottomans to hand over Bulgaria, though stopping short of threatening war.

Also, Russia has withdrawn its support from the Alliance, due to tensions over the Balkans, as what the Tsar percieves as British efforts to constrain Russian influence. Instead a deal has been struck with the hated Germans, of which the exact terms are unknown, although the hard won provinces of Posen and Gnierzno have been repatriated to Germany, as an act of friendship.

As a result of the Russian withdrawl, the Alliance has utterly collapsed. The world order is at risk, all because of Aleksandr.

Russia is now party to a new mililtary alliance, known as the "Iron Fist", with the principal members being Germany and Russia.

Austria is in turmoil, and I have been orderd to Krakow to await development of the situation.

_______________________________________

War has been declared on Austria by Germany, and Russia was called to the fray. Russian and German troops raced across the border, and as always, the enemies of Russia have been swept aside.

Italy and the Ottoman Empire also entered the war against Austria, hoping to profiteer from the devastation of the Russian and German onslaught. Turkey has, as a result, placed itself squarely in the Russian crosshairs, as no more of the Balkans should be under Muslin rule.

______________________________________

These are trying times....

Our old friends the British have declared war on Germany, due to the war in Austria. Russia and Italy have responded to the German call, per our alliance. The dastardly French have dishonored their responsibilities to Germany.

I have been ordered to crush the Austrians and march north to protect the capitol.

______________________________________

The Tsar has negotiated a peace settlement with Austria with Russia gaining the Ukrainian populated state of Galicia, and meanwhile I have engaged the British at St. Petersburg.

Hoping for a quick victory, the British landed near the capitol, attempting to surround and sack it. Reinforcements had not yet arrived, and the capitol was only defended by 15 divisions. Luckily, the defenses I oversaw the construction of years ago, were fulled operational. The guard held out against the British, taking minimal casualties. Soon reinforcements arrived from the South, and pushed the British from the continent.

The world seems to be on its head, as Russia fights alongside Germany, against Britain.

The Turks seem to be getting theirs...France has declared war on them, seeing them occupied with Austria and revolts in the Balkans. It looks as if all of Africa will be overrun by the French. With this new threat, and Russia, Germany, and Italy all having concluded peace deals in Austria, the Turks are faced with the well prepared French in Africa, and the conscripts from Austria pouring in. They are falling back, and it seems Constantinople will fall before the year is out.

_____________________________________________

The war drags on, it has been 5 years of war with Britian and no gains have went either way. Britian attempted small incursions in Crimea, Java, and Manchuria, although they have been pushed back each time to the sea. Lately, no hostilities have broken, as the British are sure they cannot succeed in an invasion. It seems that we are locked in everlasting war, all due to the greed and ineptitude of the Tsar Aleksandr. Had he only secured international approval for his actions, as Nicolai always did, we would not be in this mess.

I am told that the Imperial coffers are at an alltime high, however. While the war isnt costing the government any money, it certianly isnt helping the Russian peasants. All industrial and infrastructure improvements has ground to a halt. In addition, some goods have become scarce, especially for the poor. The Tsar grows rich from war, while the rest of the country bears the brunt of wartime taxes. If only our vast resources were distributed in a more fair manner, that all citizens could benefit equally, this war would be much less a burden.

__________________________________

It is now apparent that the Tsar has been funneling massive amounts of money for years to the Germans, to build new navy cruisers. What treachery! The Tsar must be a madman to give the money earned by Russian blood and sweat to fund the German war effort! Russians starve while the Germans get new boats, something must be done.

And all for nothing...

The Tsar, having no military experience, fancied himself a strategist. With the new German boats rivaling that of the Royal Navy, a invasion force was hastily put together. If only some more planning had been done, we would be out of this war!

38 elite German divisions, as well as 20 Russian ones, (Russia having only 20 transports available), landed in the well defended region east of London. The Germans took Ipswitch, but soom english reinforcements arrived, swelling their numbers to over 60 divisions and growing. The Russian force landed just to the south, and set about taking control of the countryside. Having not cleared the British fleets, a smaller British force engaged the Germans off the coast. Just at that time, the British made their attack by land.

Being embroiled in battle, the German fleet, which was also the protection for the Russian transports, were unable to allow the army divisions to board. As a result, the Germans were caught between a superior British force and the coast. Meanwhile, with the bulk of the British force fighting the Germans, the Russian force stood relatively unmolested, although they were engaged enough to prevent reinforcement of the German ranks.

The German navy finally prevailed off the coast, allowing an evacuation. By this time, however, it was too late for the Germans, all 38 divisions had been destroyed, along with 3 Russian. The remaining 17 divisions set sail back to Germany in shame. The ill-conceived invasion was a complete failure due to the incompetence of the Tsar.

The war dragged on, but soon the British realized there was no hope for victory. All attempts to get Russia and Germany to repatriate lands taken from Austria had failed. A white peace was signed after 7 years of war.

The hardship on the peasantry has been unacceptable, all due to the greed of the Tsar. With my unit not engaged at all for years at a time, I have had time to let me mind wander, and explore new ideas. My efforts have turned to philosophy and politics.

Of considerable mention has been my reading of material produced by a German exile, Karl Marx. He advocated the centralization of all means of production, to be put to use for the entire population. Exactly what Russia could use after a long and costly war! I am convinced that the Tsar is taking Russia on a path to destruction, and I feel I must take matters into me own hands, for myself, my family, and my countrymen.

__________________________________________

The time has come for me to take action. I have championed a movement among some of my fellow officers, all of which share my fascination with Communism, and distrust of the Tsar. We will enact change in Russia, the future depends on it!

__________________________________________

Our plot has come to fruition! The Tsar planned a tour of the camps in Galicia in the Spring of 1877, and the opportunity presented itself to enact our plan. Many of the men were behind us by this time, seeing the suffering of their families back home. A reactionary traitor, however, caught wind of the plot to assissinate Aleksandr, and alerted him upon his arrival.

The Tsar turned as a coward and fled back to the capitol, as Cossacks loyal to the cause pursued him! Rumor has it that military units all over are denouncing their support of the Evil Tsar, and supporting our glorious cause for the proletariat! To Moscow!

__________________________________________

The army is in full mutiny, the Tsar has abdicated, and I have arrived at the Kremlin. Confusion reigns in the streets, what shall become of the Empire of Russia?

A band of officers has met me here in Moscow, to discuss the future of out nation. It has been agreed that the new state, to be known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, will be formed with its political capitol here in Moscow. The government will be overseen by a group of 20 of the most decorated and respected military officers in the nation, with myself as the foremost in power.

Now to set to work on fixing the many ills of the nation, not merely as a slave-General of the Tsar, but as Soviet Premier and head of the Army!

So, Italy had been attacked. It seemed even the Austrians could recognize incompetence. Suicidio refused to call his allies to arms. The damned fool thought to regain his reputation by defeating Austria alone. I can only hope that our brave boys do not get mauled too badly.

--

Well, Suicidio has refused offers to form a national government with all parties represented. Our brave soldiers have fought well, retaking all of our Italian lands. The Kaiser still refuses to sign a peace, though. Ah, it is so familiar. Back during the first war, Suicidio lambasted me for not getting a quick peace. Now the tables are turned.

I have been notified by the Liberal Party that I must weigh in on this issue, as they suspect that Suicidio will use the military successes to crack down on opposition. I am the one man who can retake Italy for the King. However, I am unwilling, as with such power comes the responsability that I know and hate.

--

My God. He is responsable for the loss of more than 300,000 Italian soldiers in the Austrian mountains. Our entire army is collapsing, fleeing back into Italy. I have heard that the generals believe the war is lost.

My hand is forced. I must return to the government to save this country from catastrophe.

--

Suicidio has been forced to resign by the King. I have been asked to form a national coalition government. Even the Conservatives will get ministries. I have spoken with Field Marshal Brennero, who believes that we can form a line at Ravenna. This gives up far too much ground. We must stand, but to stand and fall is worse than useless.

--

I have just returned from a meeting with the British ambassador, and our ally is willing to send 600,000 men to aid our cause. I have hope at last. The British General Gordon has met with Brennero. They have developed a plan to retake our land, and take Austria.

clamp2004 said:

Italy still remained in the Alliance and was therefore obliged to come to the aid of England.

Click to expand...

Lies! Lies!

This is the best part of MP AARs.

This Gordon seems a fine general. The British army is extremely well equipped, much more so than our own brave lads. The Austrian army collapsed quickly, as it seems that they are not much better than we. The Anglo-Italian armies have finally stopped the Austrians, and have begun to throw them back across the border.

--

I have heard it whispered in the streets of Verona that I am Christ reborn. Blasphemy! But, as this is a nation with a liberal constitution, there is no way to punish them. I leave that to God.

Venezia was captured this morning. There is no way to temper the giddy excitement of the people. Even the king has been affected. He believes that he must soon appoint a governor for Vienna. Ha! That won't happen, not with German and Russian entries into the war.

I expected this from Germany, as the Kaiser is power hungry, and his power is not tempered by a parliament of some sort. Russia, however, recently had their revolution. I had not expected Russia to be able to return to foreign adventures quite so soon. Something must be done about Russia.

I am to make the official pronouncement on the fall of Venice this afternoon.

--

I have officially accepted the British apology for the 1874 invasion. We are close friends, natural allies now. The British have made His Italian Majesty master of Senegal. He was reluctant to accept, as he wants to rule Italians, and as few others as possible.

Senegal truly is a barren land. Nearly forty percent of the population are socialists. 'Roma' Divisione has been dispatched there to make sure the socialists don't try to cause any trouble.

--

Franz Josef has accepted peace. We shall rule Italians in Bozen, Lienz, all the way down to Pola. Our gains in this war were limited to the Italian provinces. That was too much to hope for out of Germany and Russia.

We have expressed our disappointment, one that has been echoed by Britain, Spain, the USA, and the Ottoman Empire.

I'm intrigued: Is anyone currently playing the USA or is it under AI control?

Garuda said:

I'm intrigued: Is anyone currently playing the USA or is it under AI control?

Click to expand...

It's under player-control.

Although it was under AI control for a while, so that's why CSA lasted so long.

BTW, I'll update soon, can't today cause it's my birthday.