[IN] Provence - The Rightful Kings of France

[rasmus40]

Patience has won the day!

Do you plan on converting, when the reformation comes around?

[naggy]

You always seem to have huge sucess in the fights. Do you only use calvary for troops, or do you use infantry to seige at least?

Occasionally my Infantry makes an appearance, but generally I just crush my enemies with cavalry and split the army up to siege. If an enemy army comes, my cavalry can reform and crush it.

I'm quickly getting to Land 18, where all cavalry armies start to get crushed, so this tactic won't work forever.

The Imperial Navy makes its entrance is suitably dramatic fashion. This war must be close to an end.

The Ottoman fleet of observation tickles me.

Yeah, once the British lose their wooden wall, they're toast.

Patience has won the day!

Do you plan on converting, when the reformation comes around?

I thought on that, and I think I'll go with whatever Paris does. That'll give me a suitably random choice.

[naggy]

You always seem to have huge sucess in the fights. Do you only use calvary for troops, or do you use infantry to seige at least?

Oh yeah, in case I forgot to say it earlier, I generally only take screenshots when an army is destroyed. Since I generally follow the "attack, pursue, destroy" strategy, there are a lot of prior battles that would eat up bandwidth and time to show the eventual outcome. If the two sides bloody themselves and I can't pursue, I'll show that and explain it.

[naggy]

On March 20th, 1489, Gloucestershire fell to the Imperial armies, marking the first time since 1066 that British lands had been successfully occupied.


While waiting for Britain to fall, Louis IV found himself in control of the Pope in August. Unfortunately, he had nothing useful to do with said control.

In December, Louis decided to centralize the administration. Peasants in Lyonnais and Nationalists in Roussillon rose up to protest - only to be trampled by Imperial cavalry.


Once England and Scotland fell throughout 1489, the armies crossed to Ireland, where the remaining 12 regiments of the British Army were crushed at Meath and finally routed at Connaught on January 16th.


In May, Bearn celebrated 50 years of Imperial rule by burning British flags and partying in the streets. In July, Perigord celebrated their 50 years by making a 30 foot tall statue of King Adophus I of Britain, and shooting at it with a cannon until it was unrecognizable. The French people were perfectly happy to turn the tables on the British, given the depredations that the British brought a century before.


In October, with almost their entire country under the Imperial boot, Britain sued for peace, which was rejected. Louis was content to wait to see what would defect, and to let the British feel the pain of occupation, just as his countrymen had.


In January 1491, God gave Louis a new mission - form a Royal Marriage with Luneburg. The Imperial cousins were sent to Luneburg, and on the 4th, a shotgun wedding fulfilled God's will. God's next mission was to improve relations with Poland...which Louis felt was rather pointless.


Also in January, a Saint performed a miracle in Vlaandern, making a statue of the Virgin Mary that cried tears of blood. His actions showed the Empire the true path that the Lord wanted them to walk.


Finally, on January 20th, 1491, Meath fell to an Imperial siege. Louis' cartographer posted a very beautiful map of Britain for him to look at.


The Imperial armies could now rest...until the next flareup.

[aldriq]

I'm surprised Britain hadn't built a larger fleet, or taken more care of it

Well they will never make that mistake again -because you'll never allow them to re-build a fleet

[Serus]

* The Naval AI is very susceptible to suckering - put a small fleet in front of the enemy's large fleet (give the enemy a 5:1 advantage, but remember the 10:1 overrun rule - if they have 20 to your 2, you lose instantly). Your main fleet should be 1 square off where the AI cannot see it (so not next to their coastline). Once you see the enemy fleet coming out of port, send your large fleet in to hammer them. The AI in 3.1 still doesn't seem to flee in time.

Sorry but the AI can see everything afaik (it is one of the "cheats" in the engine to overcome the AI weakness). If it follows your bait its not because it "cannot see" but because is very limited in its decisions. By everything i mean everything in the explored provinces - it cant see Terra Icognita of curse. This is the reason why sometimes AI DoW you the moment you move your forces away.
BTW: land AI is imo much better than the naval one.

[naggy]

Sorry but the AI can see everything afaik (it is one of the "cheats" in the engine to overcome the AI weakness). If it follows your bait its not because it "cannot see" but because is very limited in its decisions. By everything i mean everything in the explored provinces - it cant see Terra Icognita of curse. This is the reason why sometimes AI DoW you the moment you move your forces away.
BTW: land AI is imo much better than the naval one.

If you put the fleet where its units or controlled provinces have line of sight on it, then generally, the AI will not take the bait. My understanding is that the AI's ability to see everything does not necessarily affect all the decision making.

I'm surprised Britain hadn't built a larger fleet, or taken more care of it

Well they will never make that mistake again -because you'll never allow them to re-build a fleet

As far as I can tell, if the fleet is on offensive maneuvers (blockading, guarding transports, etc), then it will come in one big fleet and hammer you.

If the fleet is on defensive maneuvers (defending the coast), it will sometimes come in one big fleet, and sometimes go out with smaller fleets. Since you can't generally predict it easily, assume the whole fleet will come, and plan accordingly.

And yes, I will happily let them build a fleet! I'll just crush it again.

[naggy]

The Empire was quiet for a bit, keeping its bootheel firmly on the British throat.

In April 1st, 1491, Poland and Bohemia contested the Lithuanian succession. Bohemia was alone against Poland, Austria, and Lithuania. Venetian oddsmakers gave Bohemia a 200:1 chance to win.


On May 23rd, the last Duke of Wurttemburg died, leaving his realm to the Duke of Savoy.


By October, Austria forced Bohemia to release Silesia and pay 200 ducats.


On April 1st, 1492, a huge Nationalist revolt sprang up in Messina, that would tie Imperial armies up for quite a bit.


On April 28th, a message arrived stating that Castille refused Imperial access to their centers of trade. The Imperial armies prepared to crush Castille (and her allies, Portugal, Austria, and Savoy) for their mistake, but they allowed Imperial merchants in on June 9th.



In July, Poland had finally crushed Bohemia, forcing them to recognize Poland's King August III as the King of Lithuania, and to cede Oberlausitz, Nierderlausitz, and Erz. Bohemia also had to pay 250 ducats. The Poles were obviously not intimidated by the Imperial drubbing they had recently received.


On October 1, Blois and Ile de France celebrated 50 years of Imperial rule, immediately starting questions of when Louis would travel to Paris to take up the French crown.


On November 20th, the governor of Limousin province reported that the bulk of the populace was now Occitain rather than Cosmopolitaine.


January 2nd, 1494:
Herald: "Sir, the Castillians have declared war on some nation they call...um...Pattani? Yeah, Pattani."
Louis: "Then we shall crush them for their arrogance! I don't care whether this Pattani place exists or not!"
Herald: "Erm...about that..."
Louis cast a glaring eye at the herald.
Louis: "About...what?"
Herald: "Well, you see...Willie was supposed to deliver your warning, but apparently he stopped at a tavern and got really really drunk and lost it."
Louis: "So you're saying that my warning was never delivered?"
Herald: "Yeah."
Louis: "And you didn't tell me this...why?"
Herald: "Um...er..."
Louis: "Guards, this man is to clean the Imperial Privy until his death. Take him away!"
Herald #2: "Shall I resend that warning?"
Louis: "Right away."

(Look - Castille vs. Ming!)

June 1st, 1494 - Avignon celebrates 50 years of Imperial rule.


July 29th: Meath defects.


September 1st: Auvergne celebrates 50 years of Imperial rule.


The rest of 1494 and the start of 1495 would be peaceful for the Empire, and horrible for the British, as they continued to be occupied. However, on June 1st, 1495, the Empire would be plunged into another war...

[curufin]

Impose the Occitan language throughout the realm! Punish northern schoolchildren harshly for speaking the barbaric, provincial Parisian "language" (really just a dialect of Occitan) in the classroom!

[naggy]

On June 1, 1495, the Duke of Brabant had the ruler of Holland excommunicated for not liking cookies. As Louis was a proper cookie-lover, he understood the signal from Brabant: obviously, Holland should be integrated into the empire. War was promptly declared, and the cookie-hating Archbishops Liege and Munster stupidly stood beside Holland.



Liege fell on October 27, becoming a vassal, giving up all external claims, and giving Louis 1300 ducats for the Imperial Cookie Fund.


Munster surrendered on March 21st, 1496, becoming a vassal and contributing 1225 ducats to the Cookie Fund.


On March 22nd, Holland surrendered and was duly annexed into the Empire. A few decades previous, Holland had put a CoT in Holland, so now the Empire has 5 Centers of Trade.


March 1, 1497 - Toulouse, Languedoc, and Lyonnais celebrate 50 years of Imperial rule by throwing a cookie festival using funds from the Imperial Cookie Fund.


May 1, 1497 - Picardie and Cambray celebrate 50 years of Imperial rule. Upon requesting funds for their own cookie festival, the governors of Toulouse, Languedoc, and Lyonnais look sheepish and belch.


In early May, Poland started warning everyone, so Louis warned Poland in return.


June 27th, 1497 - Poland declares war on Anhalt, forcing the Empire, Persia, Austria, Hesse, and Bavaria to respond by declaring war on Poland. This has a side effect of causing Louis to fail in his mission to improve relations with Poland, which leaves Louis heartbroken. Really. God then demands that Louis improve relations with Venice, apparently not having figured out that forgiveness is not one of his virtues.



Notes:
* Yes, fighting 2 OPMs and a 2 province minor was like clubbing baby seals.
* As a general rule, I don't force-annex OPMs. Having a decently sized CoT is worth 6 BB, given that I have no idea how long it would take to diploannex them.
* The irony is not lost on me that I went full free trade early on to make money, and now I've got 5 CoT's that are the only places I can keep merchants due to my non-core CoT penalties and badboy. One day I'll manage to get more mercantilistic, but at the moment I have many other priorities, like narrowmindedness and centralization. I keep hoping for some of the events that let you go away from free trade, but of course they don't come when you actually want them.
* Improve relations with former enemies? Sure...by annexation or vassalization!

[Jambor]

The cookie haters must die! Send the former king to the dungeon and force them to eat the cookies they hate for the rest of their lives!

[naggy]

The cookie haters must die! Send the former king to the dungeon and force them to eat the cookies they hate for the rest of their lives!

I think re-enacting the stoning scene from the Life of Brian is more fitting.

"You're just making it worse for yourself."
"Making it worse? How could it be worse? I hate cookies! I hate cookies! I hate cookies!"

[Enewald]

How can you have WE 0?
That's very rare, even in times of peace!

[naggy]

How can you have WE 0?
That's very rare, even in times of peace!

How much WE do you think I rack up while not fighting anyone?

[Throne]

You are still Catholic, no?

[Cliffracer RIP]

How long until the throne of France is properly claimed though?

[t0m]

Are these the same kind of Cookies that Gym class heroes sing about?

[naggy]

You are still Catholic, no?

No Protestantism or Reformation yet, so yes. I am still a devout Cookieist.

How long until the throne of France is properly claimed though?

First I need peace and to work off some badboy. If people would stop tempting me with nummy provinces, I could do it quicker.

Are these the same kind of Cookies that Gym class heroes sing about?

I have no idea what you're talking about. C is for cookie, and that is good enough for me!

[naggy]

The Imperial Cavalry was marching towards Poland, when on July 23rd, Aragon declared war, bringing Portugal and Brabant against the Empire, Savoy, and the Imperial vassals. Now the Empire faced a two front war (three if you count Occupied Britain). Unfortunately for Aragon, the Imperial armies were close enough to cover their invasion.



Fighting on two fronts, the Imperial armies routed a Polish army at Sudety and an Aragonese army in Girona on September 13th.


On October 7th, Brabant fell to Imperial vassals, and was forced to give up all external claims, become an Imperial vassal, and pay 1350 ducats.


On October 12th, a Portuguese army caught an Imperial Cavalry army fresh off a skirmish with an Aragonese invasion force, and routed it before it could regroup, wiping out 12 cavalry regiments and leaving the Iberian front with only 14,000 cavalry and a Savoyard army.


Back on the Polish front, a Polish army was wiped out in Oberlausitz on October 18th, followed the next day by a rout of Polish armies in Lubeck. On the 24th, the armies were victorious again on both fronts - wiping out Aragonese King Marti's army in Aragon and a Polish army in Oberlausitz.



Most of the Polish armies were now broken and retreating into Polish territory, but a small cavalry force was caught in Vorpommern and crushed on November 21st, followed by two more armies routed in Niederlausitz on the 23rd and 25th. The Poles were paying the price for not being able to marshal their forces together into one army.



Notes:
* I completely forgot the screenshot that shows the tactics I used in Poland, so I'll explain:
First, use large cavalry armies (12-14K) to crush as much opposition as you can. Then, split your armies up so that you form a wall of 4K cavalry in the front and 1-2K cavalry on each province behind the wall. This lets you siege a large chunk of land without giving the enemy any chance to get behind you and crush your smaller armies. The large "wall" armies can join up if anything large comes by.

[naggy]

The Polish armies were now all but wiped out, and the sieges of Poland began. On August 9th, Aberdeen defected to Provence, as the Scots there decided that Imperial rule was far superior to British rule.


July 4th 1499: A boundary dispute gives Imperials a claim to Moribihan.


October 12th, 1500: Ostpreussen defects to Provence.


December 28th: Britain cedes Cornwall, Wessex, Kent, and East Anglia, givng the Empire dominance over the entire Imperial Channel.


June 12th, 1501: Poland cedes Danzig (which has a center of trade), Mecklenburg, Vorpommern, and Hinterpommern, nearly sealing Poland off from the Baltic.


Now the only remaining war was with Aragon and Portugal...unfortunately, since Portugal wiped out one of the Imperial armies, the Savoyards had managed to steal a march and occupy Aragon's Iberian holdings and all of mainland Portugal.

April 1, 1502: Nevers assimilates to Occitain.

July 15th: Louis hopes God isn't looking as he abandons the attempt to make Venice happy. He prays for insight, and God tells him to improve the Imperial reputation. God is such a kidder!

(See the ugly pale pink stripes? Bah! We want teal stripes!)

August 29th:
Herald: "Sire, it has come to our attention that some of the ordinances you have promulgated are not being enforced at a local level."
Louis: "What ordinances?"
Herald: "Your Cookie Appreciation Act."
Louis: "Hang them all! Crush them!"
Herald: "Yes, sir...but that will cause some instability..."
Louis: "A little instability is a fair price for proper cookie appreciation!"


December 16th: Louis moves to centralize the state more, and revolts break out in Blois and Wessex. The revolts are quickly crushed.


July 9th, 1503: Louis controls the Papacy...yet again. And again, can't do anything with it yet.

July 14th: Manuel de Albequerque forgets to take a left turn in Brabant, and kicks off the Protestant Reformation.


May 31st, 1504: Protestantism spreads to Vorpommern, starting the Imperial Protestant movement. Louis chooses to wait and see where his subjects go before taking any stand.


Notes:
* I left the Breton provinces in GB's possession so I'd keep a CB on them, since 2 of them are cores. I won't do this long, since the cores cost me prestige.
* I want some Aragonese and Portuguese provinces, but Savoy is sitting on them. For some reason, Savoy won't take anything from Aragon, and can't take anything from Portugal (since both are not leaders)...so the war stalemates. My vassal took the Azores from Portugal (which I can't even see, heh), and I've taken the Beleares, Sardinia, Malta, and Palermo from Aragon.