The Council of Constantinople
Upon hearing of the worldwide furor against his Empire, and the subsequent incoming declarations of war coming from all accross the globe, the Kalifa called his most trusted advisors and generals to have a clear idea of the complex situation, and what could be done to prevent the Empire's collapse at the hands of its many enemies. All were recalled to Constantinople, and on May 11 1619, the most knowledgeable leaders of the Empire were discussing the situation.
"We are hated throughout the world Your Majesty." summed up one of the Kalifa's closest advisor. "The few European nations who have refused to fight us are doing so out of fear. If we begin to lose ground, they are expected to join in the growing coalition. Furthermore, our easternmost neighbors, the Mughal Empire and Baluchistan, are likely dying for a chance to exact vengeance upon us, and our truces will end up in less than 2 years..."
"Yes, yes I know we are in a sticky situation here" interjected Osman II "Now shall we do something about it, or shall we sit here and chat while the Empire is falling apart? Are we strong enough to push back the invaders this time?"
"Our navy is the third strongest in the world Your Majesty. The only two powers with a larger navy than ours are Spain and England. England is not at war with us, and Spain has a colonial empire to take care of. In addition, our naval technology is far superior to theirs. We have nothing to fear on the seas, short of all the Mediterannean powers massing their navy for a combined strike. Our army on the other hand, is more vulnerable. While it is by far the largest army in the world, both France and Austria have better military equipment. And our armies are dispersed, and we can not even nearly match the European manpower as a whole if we wanted to."
"What can we do to prevent our collapse then? What do you suggest?"
"We need to demonstrate to the world loud and clear that no matter the size of their coalition, they cannot bring the Ottomans down. Furthermore, our victory must be decisive. We cannot accept Status Quo with all of Europe. Firstly, I suggest we raise war taxes. For once, we will need them. Secondly, I propose that we focus our attacks instead of attacking everywhere all at once. Our first priority should be to destroy Ethiopia and Morrocco. This will allow us to move armies further south in Africa, and make our borders touch more easily. The African invasion must then be pursued into Mali, Songhai, Zanj and the french colonies. This part should be relatively easy, for our armies cannot be stopped by the african natives. The same is true for the Hordes, their technology is ridiculous low, and our armies should make shortwork of them. I propose a limited invasion of the Uzbeks, if only for the purpose of demonstrating to the Mughals and Baluchistan that our borders are not undefended while we fight in Europe. Lastly, we need to get France out of this war immediately. They are our greatest threat, and if we can defeat them, it should not only deter other nations from attacking us, but also allow us to easily take on the rest of Europe without much opposition. We can work on repelling the attacks of other powers while we defeat France, and then turn on them and destroy them utherly. The choice is simply here Your Majesty. Either we crush any and all opposition, and prove once and for all that we rule the world, or we loosen our grasp on it, and witnessn as our mighty Empire crumbles apart and fades into history. This time, we cannot rely on any generals to get us out of this mess, for we have no exceptional leaders in the fields, though our armies are outstanding in general."
"You speak wisely Assam. Here are your orders. Proceed to move on the Uzbeks, Morrocco and Ethiopia immediately. Prepare the invasion of France by first moving on Venice and Austria: they are too well positioned to interfere in our planned invasion to be allowed to fight us. When they are mostly disabled, begin the direct invasion of France. In the meantime, focus on defending our lands and crushing those pesky rebels, as well as the targets I mentionned earlier. Report back here as the campaign progresses and keep me informed. Now go, and keep our empire strong!" Osman II watches as his highest officers leave the room together and turns to his ministers: "Raise the war taxes and provide all the fundings and cooperation required by the army. Don't let the bureaucracy slow down the war effort or your heads will roll..."
And so the war began....
Upon hearing of the worldwide furor against his Empire, and the subsequent incoming declarations of war coming from all accross the globe, the Kalifa called his most trusted advisors and generals to have a clear idea of the complex situation, and what could be done to prevent the Empire's collapse at the hands of its many enemies. All were recalled to Constantinople, and on May 11 1619, the most knowledgeable leaders of the Empire were discussing the situation.
"We are hated throughout the world Your Majesty." summed up one of the Kalifa's closest advisor. "The few European nations who have refused to fight us are doing so out of fear. If we begin to lose ground, they are expected to join in the growing coalition. Furthermore, our easternmost neighbors, the Mughal Empire and Baluchistan, are likely dying for a chance to exact vengeance upon us, and our truces will end up in less than 2 years..."
"Yes, yes I know we are in a sticky situation here" interjected Osman II "Now shall we do something about it, or shall we sit here and chat while the Empire is falling apart? Are we strong enough to push back the invaders this time?"
"Our navy is the third strongest in the world Your Majesty. The only two powers with a larger navy than ours are Spain and England. England is not at war with us, and Spain has a colonial empire to take care of. In addition, our naval technology is far superior to theirs. We have nothing to fear on the seas, short of all the Mediterannean powers massing their navy for a combined strike. Our army on the other hand, is more vulnerable. While it is by far the largest army in the world, both France and Austria have better military equipment. And our armies are dispersed, and we can not even nearly match the European manpower as a whole if we wanted to."
"What can we do to prevent our collapse then? What do you suggest?"
"We need to demonstrate to the world loud and clear that no matter the size of their coalition, they cannot bring the Ottomans down. Furthermore, our victory must be decisive. We cannot accept Status Quo with all of Europe. Firstly, I suggest we raise war taxes. For once, we will need them. Secondly, I propose that we focus our attacks instead of attacking everywhere all at once. Our first priority should be to destroy Ethiopia and Morrocco. This will allow us to move armies further south in Africa, and make our borders touch more easily. The African invasion must then be pursued into Mali, Songhai, Zanj and the french colonies. This part should be relatively easy, for our armies cannot be stopped by the african natives. The same is true for the Hordes, their technology is ridiculous low, and our armies should make shortwork of them. I propose a limited invasion of the Uzbeks, if only for the purpose of demonstrating to the Mughals and Baluchistan that our borders are not undefended while we fight in Europe. Lastly, we need to get France out of this war immediately. They are our greatest threat, and if we can defeat them, it should not only deter other nations from attacking us, but also allow us to easily take on the rest of Europe without much opposition. We can work on repelling the attacks of other powers while we defeat France, and then turn on them and destroy them utherly. The choice is simply here Your Majesty. Either we crush any and all opposition, and prove once and for all that we rule the world, or we loosen our grasp on it, and witnessn as our mighty Empire crumbles apart and fades into history. This time, we cannot rely on any generals to get us out of this mess, for we have no exceptional leaders in the fields, though our armies are outstanding in general."
"You speak wisely Assam. Here are your orders. Proceed to move on the Uzbeks, Morrocco and Ethiopia immediately. Prepare the invasion of France by first moving on Venice and Austria: they are too well positioned to interfere in our planned invasion to be allowed to fight us. When they are mostly disabled, begin the direct invasion of France. In the meantime, focus on defending our lands and crushing those pesky rebels, as well as the targets I mentionned earlier. Report back here as the campaign progresses and keep me informed. Now go, and keep our empire strong!" Osman II watches as his highest officers leave the room together and turns to his ministers: "Raise the war taxes and provide all the fundings and cooperation required by the army. Don't let the bureaucracy slow down the war effort or your heads will roll..."
And so the war began....
