The Will of God, an Italian AAR

[Quirinus308]

History has shown the pattern for unification

Growth leads to War…
War leads to Conquest...
Conquest leads to Consolidation…
And the cycle is repeated…

It was such with the ancient villages of Greece that grew and eventually came into conflict with other Greek villages. The victor eventually grew into a city-state who in turn waged war against other city-states. In time the city-states would grow into duchies and kingdoms that would wage war for the right to become an empire.

It is this process that has been repeated time and time again to unify the great empires of the past: The aforementioned Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, and the Mongols just to name a few.

In more recent history, the process saw the unification of the Great European powers of the late Middle Ages and beyond: France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Empire.

Conspicuously absent from that list are two unique people groups: the Germans and the Italians.

The Germans had experienced their own unified empire that had lasted 1000 years in the form of the Holy Roman Empire. The empire was dissolved in 1806, and by 1836 the German people were divided but still on the inevitable path.

The Italians however were another story all together.
While the other peoples of Europe traveled towards their inevitable unification, the Italians were stalled continuously from forces both within and without from ever achieving unification.

History however has shown another pattern
Nothing can stop the will of God…

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Positioning the Pieces on the Chess Board
Chapter 2: The War of Independence

[Codeblue]

Great! I used to play as Two Sicilies all the time. For whatever reason, they were the most fun to play for me. Who are you going to try and unify as?

[likk9922]

A couple Italy AArs popping up around here. Awesome!

Good luck!

[Corbett]

Deus Vult: A New Take On Italian Unification...

With the discussion of the Will of God, I can only imagine that you're playing as the Pope. Would that be correct?

[Rensslaer]

Wow. Another massive tome about to begin!

The Encyclopaedic Conquest of the Entyre Globe by the Kingdom of the Thirty-Seven Sicilies!

Looking forward to seeing this!

Rensslaer

[qwerkus]

I just like those days, when you wake up, and discover some newly started aars ! Go on and we keep reading...

[Hastu Neon]

And with mine, it's two Two Sicilies brand new started AARs!
Wonderful parallel. Excited for new updates. And good luck with the game...

[Ahura Mazda]

Deus Vult: A New Take On Italian Unification...

With the discussion of the Will of God, I can only imagine that you're playing as the Pope. Would that be correct?

Probably

[Quirinus308]

Hello to all and welcome to "The Will of God, an Italian AAR." This is an AAR that I have been developing for some time now, and have been holding on until I finished at least one of my other two present projects. Since my computer has decided to go ahead and end one of (really both) of those projects, I figured I would go ahead and launch this AAR.

First off let me address one thing and say that this is not meant to compete with Hastu Neon’s fine work, “Two Sicilies, A Realm between past and future.” After discussing the two AAR’s with him, we think our AARs should be complimentary, and not competitve, so with that in mind I whole heartedly encourage you to go check out his AAR: Two Sicilies, AA Realm between past and future

But as to this AAR, I started the game with little dreams of a great AAR, in fact I am doing it to develop a new style that I plan to use on my future masterpiece that I am not yet ready to reveal. I thought Italy would be a good choice to practice this style, while still giving me an enjoyable game. As I got into the game, I found that the AAR that would accompany it gained a life of its own, and now I can say I am very excited about how things developed, and where the AAR will go.

The style is going to be wikipedia based. By that I mean it will be a detailed series of articles, all of which will be cross-referenced with all the other articles to enable the reader to review things which he may have missed or forgotten about. This I hope will create an environment in which the reader who falls behind will be able to catch up easily.

As to our choice of starting nations, I’ll wait just a little longer to reveal that, but I can tell you that this AAR is about Italy, and as such unification is the paramount goal at the outset of the game. With that in mind, I plan to be unified, no later than 1840 (patience is not one of my stronger virtues).

One final note before we proceed. My of my pet peeves in Victoria (of which there are few) is the way BadBoy is handled. I agree with the concept, however I believe the way it plays out in game terms can be flawed based upon the style of play, and country of choice. I’ll not take the time to go on a rant on this subject (as I said I love the game, and don’t wish to speak negative about it) but allow me to say that I will adjust BadBoy as I see appropriate. Such cases will include (but are not limited to) the unification of Italy, wars started by a foreign power, and wars of liberation. My justification for this is not that I fear BadBoy wars (quite the opposite) it’s that once BadBoy reaches a certain level, it is impossible to do any negotiations. This places you on a slippery slope in which the only means to achieve a certain diplomatic goal, is to declare war (which of course will see your BadBoy rise).

With that in mind, I plan to keep myself in check (this is not a world conquest) and play the game as realistically as I see possible. Hope you enjoy…

Q

Introduction

Austrian Opposition to Italian Unification
The French Attitude Towards Italian Unification
The Italian States Following the Congress of Vienna
Temporal Power and the Donation of Constantine
Ferdinando II of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies
King Carlo Alberto

[Michaeru]

This sounds interesting, I'll watch.

[sebbz]

ah, another Quirinus AAR! followed your previous stories and will be happy to follow this one.

which version of the game will you use btw?

[Quirinus308]

We will be using vanilla Ricky. For those of you scoring at home, Hastu Neon is using Victoria 1.04 with the VIP patch, so between the two you should get a good sampling of available options.

[Quirinus308]

Chief among the opponents of Italian unification was the Austrian Empire. To Austria unification would mean the loss of dominance and prestige on the Italian peninsula. It could also eventually mean the loss of Venetia and Lombardia, lands only recently gained as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. Furthermore a unified Italy would give Austria a new and powerful neighbor with which to contend. Needless to say the Austrians were vehemently opposed to unification, and in fact would love to see their own dominance continue to grow.

Already Hapsburgs sat upon the thrones of the Duchies of Modena, and Parma, while maintaining a strong influence in the duchy of Lucca and the grand duchy of Tuscany. Austrian policy was to maintain the status quo, and they were willing to use force as necessary. In 1830 revolutionary and unification sentiments collided in Modena, forcing the duke of Modena to flee his duchy. Similar sentiment spawned insurrections throughout the Papal States and the duchy of Parma, with the rebels making plans to create Province Italiane unite, or the United Italian Provinces. The Austrian army was called in to act as policeman, and restore order.

After threatening the French into inactivity von Metternich sent his army into Italy, and one province at a time restored order.

Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, chief opponent to Italian Unification

This of course caused even greater resentment among the Italian people for their Austrian “protectors.” Thus by 1836 the lines were clearly drawn. Austria would use any and all means necessary to maintain the status quo in Italy, and prevent the formation of a unified Italian state.

[DerKaiser]

A new AAR by Quirinus! Does this signal the end of Germany's participation in the Great War? Well as you've already said that's ending soon, I'm guessing yes ...

Interesting choice of country- I've tried Italy a few times, but they always seem to fall short of being able to reach the top levels (France, Germany, UK) for a Western European colonial power. But then again, you've conquered the world as Belgium so hey, I'm sure you can rebuild the Roman Empire!

Which Italian state are you starting out as? (Am I being very dense or have you not revealed it yet?). Surely Sardinia-Piedmont if you're looking to go for realism, but it's actually easier to achieve unification with the Two Sicilies innit?

Looking foward to it!

[Terraferma]

Ah, your new AAR. I must say I always found Italy an interesting choice to play as in Vickie (In HoI2DD as well) especially during WW1. Great start and good luck in your grand plans for Italian J.U.D. Justification, Unification, and Domination.

[Quirinus308]

The French attitude towards Italian unification was vastly different from that of the Austrians. Louie-Philippe king of the French, was not opposed to the idea of a unified Italy, but he likewise lacked the desire to fully support the idea.

Louis-Phillipe, King of the French

In short the French supported the idea based upon the ancient paradigm “what’s in it for me.”

What was in it for the French (as they saw it) were the provinces of Nice, Annecy, and Chambéy, which for some reason they considered to be their own. The French are on good terms with all three of the major Italian states, and there is some debate as to whom the French would most like to see as the final force to unify Italy.

The real question however is will the French actually stand up against Austria. During the revolutions of 1830 the French backed down from intervening when the
Austrians stated their intent to prevent the insurrections from forming an Italian state.

Publicly the French King has stated his support for the kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, while simultaneously guaranteeing the independence of the Papal States. While the offering of territorial concessions might be sufficient to bring about French support, the exact French position is questionable at best.

[slokiller]

Loved the "World is not enough"

Can't wait to see where this AAR goes, looking forward to the trip.

[rhynoclemmis]

Hey, a new Quirinus308 AAR and nobody tells me??

Great!

The most logical choice to unify Italy of course would be Austria.

[Quirinus308]

For those of you who are wondering where this AAR is going, allow me to say that I have several preliminary post planned to set the stage before the game starts. I need to do this because once the game starts, it takes off pretty quickly, and I won’t have another opportunity to do so. Stylistically I am planning on doing this as a series of wikipedia styled articles coupled with gameplay updates, so once we get through the foundational postings, then we’ll start the gameplay. But first…

I have several goals for this AAR, one of which is to do a better job at feedback, so with that in mind.

Great! I used to play as Two Sicilies all the time. For whatever reason, they were the most fun to play for me. Who are you going to try and unify as?

I find all the Italian states to be enjoyable in their own right, but for now I’m going to withhold my starting country until we get past the foundational postings.

A couple Italy AArs popping up around here. Awesome!
Good luck!

Thanks for the support. I found it odd lately the dearth we have had of Italian AARs considering how fun the Italians are to play, and the variety of gamestyles and directions that an Italian AAR can take.

Deus Vult: A New Take On Italian Unification...With the discussion of the Will of God, I can only imagine that you're playing as the Pope. Would that be correct?

That would have been a good title as well. Of course as I said earlier I’m going to withhold my starting nation for a little longer.

Probably

See above…

Wow. Another massive tome about to begin! The Encyclopaedic Conquest of the Entyre Globe by the Kingdom of the Thirty-Seven Sicilies! Looking forward to seeing this! Rensslaer

Thank you for the support. I can promise you one thing, and that is that this will not be a world conquest. Oh and btw, nice new avatar. The Imperial naval flag has always been one of my favorites.

I just like those days, when you wake up, and discover some newly started aars ! Go on and we keep reading...

Not being a morning person myself, I’m glad to hear I made your morning go a little better.

And with mine, it's two Two Sicilies brand new started AARs! Wonderful parallel. Excited for new updates. And good luck with the game...

As you and I’ve already discussed, I look forward to seeing the differences between our two projects. I fear however that you are probably going to outpace me in the speed of updates.

This sounds interesting, I'll watch.

I shall try not to disappoint…

ah, another Quirinus AAR! followed your previous stories and will be happy to follow this one.

Thanks, I certainly appreciate the support.

A new AAR by Quirinus! Does this signal the end of Germany's participation in the Great War? Well as you've already said that's ending soon, I'm guessing yes ...Interesting choice of country- I've tried Italy a few times, but they always seem to fall short of being able to reach the top levels (France, Germany, UK) for a Western European colonial power. But then again, you've conquered the world as Belgium so hey, I'm sure you can rebuild the Roman Empire!

My German AAR will continue, but unfortunately the Belgian AAR has died a premature death. As to Italy the hard part is dealing with the badboy associated with unification. Beyond that, I’ve never had too much trouble with them, as they have a fairly strong population, and decent starting tech. Also the French just love Italy, so they’re always improving relations for you…

Ah, your new AAR. I must say I always found Italy an interesting choice to play as in Vickie (In HoI2DD as well) especially during WW1. Great start and good luck in your grand plans for Italian J.U.D. Justification, Unification, and Domination.

Glad to have you aboard once again. I too find Italy a joy in both HOI and Vicky.

Loved the "World is not enough" Can't wait to see where this AAR goes, looking forward to the trip.

Thanks for the support, although I do want to say that this AAR will be handled a little differently than “World is Not Enough” but I’ll try not to disappoint.

Hey, a new Quirinus308 AAR and nobody tells me?? Great! The most logical choice to unify Italy of course would be Austria.

Thanks for the support.As to Austria, I will say there are certain constants that take place in every AAR (or just plain old game playing): lots of cavalry, terrible financial mishandling, and the collapse of the Hapsburg empire. We’ll have to wait and see if the trends continue.

[ComradeOm]

Gulp. Interesting stuff so far. Both the French and Austrian positions are distressingly familiar to me... I'm nearing the point where I'll be launching my own Italian AAR! Regardless, Italy has always been my favourite Vicky subject/area and I'll be following this story with interest.