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History_Buff: The problem with that is the infamy penalty from holding non-core HRE provinces. The best I could do is force them to release some nations. I do plan on having at least one big showdown with Austria before 1821 of course, and with events in this update it looks like that might be sooner rather than later.
Duke of Awesome: You can choose more than one if you want, but I’ll pick whichever already has the most votes for purposes of counting.
Aragon takes it, barely. Thanks for voting.
Chapter Thirty Three: Deadly Quiet
Aragon, caught in a war with two of its large neighbours, was chosen as the obviously simpler target to take on in order to gain more land. Frisian forces joined the Burgundians marching south while the Army of India moved up to the border opposing their Aragonese counterpart.
(Oops, looks like I forgot to check who they were allied with when I wrote up the last update...)
Castille and Austria were both willing to come to Aragon’s aid, however Friesland’s friendship with Austria finally bore fruit as they backed out of joining in this war leaving the rebel-stricken Castille as the only European ally of Aragon.
Despite backing out of this fight, there were many elements in the Austrian government that yearned for a showdown with Friesland.
They worked quickly to sabotage relations between the two large states so that there would be less chance of Austria bowing out next time. Peace settled on the border as the chance of an immediate war over the insults drifted away, but now that relations were once again falling it was only a matter of time before the silence was replaced by the roar of cannon.
Frisian Panama was the front line for the war with Castille, and one of its colonies bordering the Frisian lands was seized. Without an adequate reason further seizures could not be made though, as the colonies further along were all much better established.
However, the lack of a proper army devoted to the region finally came back to bite the Viceroy. With only one army in the region focused around the south border, the Roorda fleet had to be scrambled to ship over a force from Florida to prevent the Castillians from overrunning the regional capital in Maracaibo on the east border.
In India, Frisian and Aragonese forces did their best to avoid one another as neither side was confident they could achieve an outright victory.
As the Frisian army was not weighed down by artillery they were able to manoeuvre much faster and take more land than their counterparts, tipping the balance of power in the region in their favour.
With Frisians, Frenchmen and Burgundians on their doorstep, Aragon made peace. They gave their Indian border to Friesland and ceded significant tracts of land in Europe to France.
The acquisitions gave Frisian merchants access to the trade of Baroda but also resulted in a border with the most powerful Muslim nation, Persia. Forces in India would have to bolstered should the Persians display any intent towards the Frisian lands.
France almost immediately squandered its gains by declaring war on Avignon, citing its desire to rebuild the French Empire. Naturally nobody bought it and Burgundy rushed to the small nation’s defence. Now that Burgundy was Emperor, Sibraht believed they could handle the French alone and chose not to intervene. He had other matters to attend to anyway.
A brief war in Germany was the result of a simple trade dispute between Thuringia and Mainz. Jumping to the smaller nation’s aid, Sibraht was able to extract significant compensation from the attackers and use it to fund something else he was planning.
The colonies in the East Indies were slowly expanding, and it was clear just by looking at a map that the normal strategy of large armies covering the region on foot wouldn’t do it.
A new fleet equipped with the latest model Frigates, Wargalleons and Merchantmen was dispatched along with a reasonable army. The plan was simple, focus on naval dominance in the East Indies and shuttle around a small army to any flashpoints. As long as Friesland held the seas, which was likely as long as the entire Royal Navy didn’t show up, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.
Apparently while raiding Thuringian lands, Frisian forces uncovered facts which would boost any claim that Greater Friesland had to that territory.
It would definitely come in handy in future if Thuringia tried anything like its last war again.
The French war with Burgundy came to an end the only way it could have, given the disparity now present between the two sides.
The French had managed to annex Avignon, but lost more than twice as much territory as a result. It was a good result for Burgundy and its allies, not so much for the ones who started it.
The programs instituted by Albrecht II to have Frisian taught as the first language of all people of Greater Friesland was paying off. Whole cities full of Dutch and Hannoverian people were no longer looking at themselves as their original culture and instead saw themselves as part of a single unified Frisia.
As a result, some the remaining people of the original culture lost their pride of place in the Frisian court. With Frisian rapidly overshadowing them this wasn’t much of a concern.
The next few years were very peaceful, a very strange quiet as all of Europe felt a lull in the wars that had plagued it. No one doubted that another war would come, but the question is where would it start? In turned out that events began moving to war once again in New Friesland, where covert financing of independence movements had started once again.
One of the agents was finally captured and after long sessions in the guardhouse of New Groningen confessed to being from Navarra. Finally equipped with adequate proof to go to war, there were many eager for revenge. However, the Basque people were supported by both Britain and France so any war with them might be more expensive than simply stamping out the rebellion.
There were also other concerns that required Sibraht and the Council’s attention and could prove the tinderbox for a conflagration.
Austria and Portugal were both staking their own claims to the East Indies. Something would have to be done soon to prevent Friesland’s initiative in the region being squandered.
To be continued...
The issues listed above aren’t what I’ll be having you vote on; I plan to deal with both of these situations in the next update. This one was relatively short as an important decision came up that I decided I wanted a vote on instead.
The Common’s Council has been working behind the scenes to keep the economy of Greater Friesland running. With the power of the monarchy waning they are planning to make a push to gain further power over domestic affairs. What will they aim for?
Option A, Cabinet: Create a cabinet to handle domestic affairs and advise the Noble’s Council and King on foreign affairs. Extra: Slider moves focused towards Free Subjects, guaranteed switch to Constitutional Monarchy once it’s available and a good chance of switching to a republic further down the line (I’ll roll a dice at some point), available immediately.
Option B, Smithian Economics: Provide more state funding to the merchant class to boost their productivity. Extra: Slider moves focused towards Plutocracy, put more money into buildings, needs a bit more research to unlock.
Option C, Scientific Revolution: Encourage universities to put more focus onto scientific subjects. Extra: Slider moves focused towards Innovative/Free Subjects, needs a bit more research to unlock.
Duke of Awesome: You can choose more than one if you want, but I’ll pick whichever already has the most votes for purposes of counting.
Aragon takes it, barely. Thanks for voting.
Chapter Thirty Three: Deadly Quiet
Aragon, caught in a war with two of its large neighbours, was chosen as the obviously simpler target to take on in order to gain more land. Frisian forces joined the Burgundians marching south while the Army of India moved up to the border opposing their Aragonese counterpart.
(Oops, looks like I forgot to check who they were allied with when I wrote up the last update...)
Castille and Austria were both willing to come to Aragon’s aid, however Friesland’s friendship with Austria finally bore fruit as they backed out of joining in this war leaving the rebel-stricken Castille as the only European ally of Aragon.
Despite backing out of this fight, there were many elements in the Austrian government that yearned for a showdown with Friesland.
They worked quickly to sabotage relations between the two large states so that there would be less chance of Austria bowing out next time. Peace settled on the border as the chance of an immediate war over the insults drifted away, but now that relations were once again falling it was only a matter of time before the silence was replaced by the roar of cannon.
Frisian Panama was the front line for the war with Castille, and one of its colonies bordering the Frisian lands was seized. Without an adequate reason further seizures could not be made though, as the colonies further along were all much better established.
However, the lack of a proper army devoted to the region finally came back to bite the Viceroy. With only one army in the region focused around the south border, the Roorda fleet had to be scrambled to ship over a force from Florida to prevent the Castillians from overrunning the regional capital in Maracaibo on the east border.
In India, Frisian and Aragonese forces did their best to avoid one another as neither side was confident they could achieve an outright victory.
As the Frisian army was not weighed down by artillery they were able to manoeuvre much faster and take more land than their counterparts, tipping the balance of power in the region in their favour.
With Frisians, Frenchmen and Burgundians on their doorstep, Aragon made peace. They gave their Indian border to Friesland and ceded significant tracts of land in Europe to France.
The acquisitions gave Frisian merchants access to the trade of Baroda but also resulted in a border with the most powerful Muslim nation, Persia. Forces in India would have to bolstered should the Persians display any intent towards the Frisian lands.
France almost immediately squandered its gains by declaring war on Avignon, citing its desire to rebuild the French Empire. Naturally nobody bought it and Burgundy rushed to the small nation’s defence. Now that Burgundy was Emperor, Sibraht believed they could handle the French alone and chose not to intervene. He had other matters to attend to anyway.
A brief war in Germany was the result of a simple trade dispute between Thuringia and Mainz. Jumping to the smaller nation’s aid, Sibraht was able to extract significant compensation from the attackers and use it to fund something else he was planning.
The colonies in the East Indies were slowly expanding, and it was clear just by looking at a map that the normal strategy of large armies covering the region on foot wouldn’t do it.
A new fleet equipped with the latest model Frigates, Wargalleons and Merchantmen was dispatched along with a reasonable army. The plan was simple, focus on naval dominance in the East Indies and shuttle around a small army to any flashpoints. As long as Friesland held the seas, which was likely as long as the entire Royal Navy didn’t show up, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.
Apparently while raiding Thuringian lands, Frisian forces uncovered facts which would boost any claim that Greater Friesland had to that territory.
It would definitely come in handy in future if Thuringia tried anything like its last war again.
The French war with Burgundy came to an end the only way it could have, given the disparity now present between the two sides.
The French had managed to annex Avignon, but lost more than twice as much territory as a result. It was a good result for Burgundy and its allies, not so much for the ones who started it.
The programs instituted by Albrecht II to have Frisian taught as the first language of all people of Greater Friesland was paying off. Whole cities full of Dutch and Hannoverian people were no longer looking at themselves as their original culture and instead saw themselves as part of a single unified Frisia.
As a result, some the remaining people of the original culture lost their pride of place in the Frisian court. With Frisian rapidly overshadowing them this wasn’t much of a concern.
The next few years were very peaceful, a very strange quiet as all of Europe felt a lull in the wars that had plagued it. No one doubted that another war would come, but the question is where would it start? In turned out that events began moving to war once again in New Friesland, where covert financing of independence movements had started once again.
One of the agents was finally captured and after long sessions in the guardhouse of New Groningen confessed to being from Navarra. Finally equipped with adequate proof to go to war, there were many eager for revenge. However, the Basque people were supported by both Britain and France so any war with them might be more expensive than simply stamping out the rebellion.
There were also other concerns that required Sibraht and the Council’s attention and could prove the tinderbox for a conflagration.
Austria and Portugal were both staking their own claims to the East Indies. Something would have to be done soon to prevent Friesland’s initiative in the region being squandered.
To be continued...
The issues listed above aren’t what I’ll be having you vote on; I plan to deal with both of these situations in the next update. This one was relatively short as an important decision came up that I decided I wanted a vote on instead.
The Common’s Council has been working behind the scenes to keep the economy of Greater Friesland running. With the power of the monarchy waning they are planning to make a push to gain further power over domestic affairs. What will they aim for?
Option A, Cabinet: Create a cabinet to handle domestic affairs and advise the Noble’s Council and King on foreign affairs. Extra: Slider moves focused towards Free Subjects, guaranteed switch to Constitutional Monarchy once it’s available and a good chance of switching to a republic further down the line (I’ll roll a dice at some point), available immediately.
Option B, Smithian Economics: Provide more state funding to the merchant class to boost their productivity. Extra: Slider moves focused towards Plutocracy, put more money into buildings, needs a bit more research to unlock.
Option C, Scientific Revolution: Encourage universities to put more focus onto scientific subjects. Extra: Slider moves focused towards Innovative/Free Subjects, needs a bit more research to unlock.
You are putting everyone to shame with the great pace of these updates! Excellent stuff though, as the the quality is remaining very high.
As for the voting, I'd probably go for option A.
As for the voting, I'd probably go for option A.
You could leave the HRE. You really gain very little by remaining in it. You can still become Emperor if yo leave the empire and then, from what I have gathered, you will not get the penalty. Not to mention it would make a lot of sense from a narrative point of view. You could declare that Friesland has become powerful enough to not need to be part of the Empire or something like that. Also, I would go with option C since I do not like the idea of switching to constitutional monarchy as I think you should switch to either Empire or Absolute Monarchy. Declaring yourself the Emperor of Greater Friesland would also fit nicely into leaving the Holy Roman Empire.
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morningSIDEr: Thanks, the rapid update speed is really a result of a having a week and a half-long gap in exams, so I can spare a few days to laze around and play this without studying. I’ll be back to normal for this week as I need to get back into it.
History_Buff: I don’t think so. Friesland has been involved in HRE politics from the very beginning, and was Emperor not so long ago. Most of the Empire’s history for the past 200 years has been a conflict between Austria and Friesland. Unless something majorly bad happens, like say getting defeated by Austria, then they’ll stay a part of it. Absolute Monarchy and Empire sound cool (especially with the mod’s changes to the latter), but the narrative is turning away from them now. If you’re interested, I’ve already decided on my next AAR once this is finished and I intend to take that in a much more authoritarian direction.
Cabinet it is. Thanks for voting. On switching to a republic: I’ll roll a dice when constitutional republic is available (1/3 chance), or if I get any sort of revolution event (2/3 chance).
Chapter Thirty Four: Preparing for War
Council Chambers, New Groningen, Greater Friesland, 1685
“We can’t attack Austria now!”
Speaking with a raised voice, the man who was the only amongst the new Frisian cabinet standing up at the meeting, tossed down some documentation onto the table they were seated around. At the head of the table, King Sibraht I picked up the papers and read through them.
“What exactly do these mean, War Minister?” Sibraht said with narrow eyes as he looked at a sketch of a cannon type he didn’t recognise.
“Those are reports from out agents within Austria, who’ve been keeping an eye on their armies. We’ve always known the Austrians were superbly drilled and armed with the latest weapons, but now they have new, more powerful cannon and new infantry doctrines we believe to be based on a style that Sweden has used to great effect against Russia. Simply put, I believe we won’t be able to match up with them on the field unless we spend more time and money on matching our armies to theirs,” the War Minister replied. He’d gone over the reports repeatedly, and all indications were that the Austrians had a significant lead in military technology and tactics. He was glad the present king was mostly a puppet of the Noble’s Council and the new cabinet had official powers to advise the king, or he would be in serious trouble for insubordination like this.
All eyes turned to the Colonial Minister, whose jurisdiction contained the reason for the war in the first place. He put on an awkward smile in an attempt to defuse the tense situation before showing a map of the East Indies and pointing out the Austrian lands there. “From the rumours we’ve heard the Austrians are having serious conflicts with the natives here, not to mention that they don’t have the colonial infrastructure that we do to finance colonies so far from Europe. I doubt they’ll be completed before the turn of the century.”
There was a collective silent sigh of relief from the cabinet members. There was serious pressure from the Noble’s Council to go to war with Austria, but luck and adequate research meant that could be put off for the time being. Unlike the aristocracy, the Common’s Council had a much better grounding in where the country was and they knew a war with Austria would not go as smoothly as the higher-ups believed.
The Foreign Minister spoke up next, continuing to draw attention away from the Austria issue. “We have a message from the Viceroy of New Friesland giving confirmation that Navarra was the state financing the rebels there. They have the support of France, Britain and Castille, but as we know France is a non-issue and Castille is in the middle of a serious crisis.”
“So be it,” the Sibraht spoke up after hearing the points of his ministers. He wasn’t an idiot, and while he did desire a war with Austria he understood that now wasn’t the right time. Navarra it would be, to appease the bloodlust of his backers and gain some measure of retribution.
Guyenne, a few weeks later
Frisian forces had secured a path through the newly liberated Duchy of Guyenne. Aragon had collapsed in the wake of its last major war and lost the entirety of its remaining French land to local groups as well as its Indian territory. They stood on the Basque border and readied themselves.
Using the colonial disputes in Africa and Panama as a basis, Friesland declared war on Navarra (I don’t know what happened to the discovered spy CB...). As predicted by the foreign minister, Castille and France both bowed out of their obligations leaving Britain alone to defend them.
Britain was already over-extended, with rebels operating almost freely in India and East Africa. To convince them to drop their defence, their land on the French coast was taken, although Normandy was too well guarded to seize, and the Indies Army was deployed to raid their towns in the Philippines. As for Navarra, while their massive forts had held back Frisian attackers before, this time they were ready.
Even though it cost thousands of lives, the forts were stormed by a much larger concentration of troops than before and soon their tiny European territory was under control and their sued for peace. Monetary reparations for the spy attacks were secure, and they were forced to give independence to the natives of Oyo to act as a buffer between the Frisian Kongo and the Basque Gold Coast. Britain accepted a ceasefire shortly afterwards.
The chance of an immediate war with Austria slipped away shortly afterwards, as the Burgundian Emperor died and the crown passed on to an unexpected owner that made a war a very undesirable idea.
Despite the Protestant majority amongst electors, they deigned to vote for themselves for selfish reasons rather than unite and keep the crown out of Catholic hands. (Seriously, both Luneburg and Thuringia are voting for themselves ‘for strategic reasons’. Not very strategic to let Austria get the throne...)
It would be years before the Frisian army could match up to Austria, so most focus went into economic efforts.
A gold standard was implemented to further secure the economy of the country. Custom Houses were also built to help regulate the flow of goods from the colonies.
Meanwhile, Castille continued its downwards spiral. At one time it had dominated the Mediterranean but now it was a shadow of its former self as the multitude of cultures under its dominion sought independence.
Most of their homeland was under occupation by revolutionaries from Andalucía, although that was slowly being reversed, and most of North Africa had already broken away. There were even peasant rebellions in South America. Only Greece really held out as it contained the bulk of their army, poised to defend what remained of their empire.
Frisian forces continued to be mildly tested by the aggressive German state of Thuringia.
Two wars against its neighbours saw Friesland counterattack, take the regions it claimed its own and secure significant concessions. It seemed strange that they wouldn’t learn after the last few times this had happened.
Continued investigation of the Austrian forces, as well as significant diplomatic efforts towards Sweden, finally yielded results as the Gustavian style was adopted by Greater Friesland’s infantry. The only problem was they lacked a suitable venue in which to properly test the new formations and manoeuvres. Lucky, one was already approaching.
Russia moved to secure a port on the Baltic coast, but was opposed by Sweden and Austria as well as Friesland. It was definitely the best place to test the new troops as it wouldn’t be a cakewalk but with so many allies there was little chance of defeat as well. The Army of Oldenburg was sent to support the Latvian and Swedish forces.
Frisian and Russian forces clashed for the first time in Latvia, with great success. The Gustavian infantry proved themselves as they single-handedly broke the Russian hold on the area and pursued the remnants to destruction.
Afterwards, a significantly larger Russian force appeared, but as the Army of Oldenburg was one without artillery to slow it down it could easily run circles around its opponents and struck at several smaller forces assaulting the lands of Polotsk. With its plan for a rapid offensive crumbling and Swedish and Austrian reinforcements on the march, the Russians agreed to a ceasefire.
Despite just being a war a short while ago. Russia and Austria teamed up to defend the tiny Russian principality of Novgorod from a Lithuania that had grown arrogant after finally annexing Poland.
As expected, the Lithuanians could not do anything when sandwiched between two great powers and ultimately had to give up their remaining vassals and cede some land to Polotsk.
At home, an academy was founded so that officer training could be centralised and made more efficient. Relying on nobility to train their children to be commanders just wouldn’t cut it in the modern era.
Consideration was also given to establishing a naval college, but it was shot down as Friesland could win any naval war except possibly against Britain by sheer weight of numbers.
There was another power in Europe that was on the way out, and it showed it by foolishly attacking the Duchy of Auvergne. By this point the Duke must have a messenger on standby to run to the Emperor for whenever someone tries to mess with him.
Austrian troops barely had time to reach the front before Burgundy had done its work against the diminished France. Even more land in their heartland was taken and their southern parts were reduced to the small and rebellious region of Roussillon.
However, the ink was barely dry on that treaty before another war started.
Possibly trying to take advantage of the positioning of their troops in France, Austria declared war on Greater Friesland. Their declared motive was the unification of the German peoples, but both sides understood that really the long desired showdown had finally come.
To be continued...
Alright, decision time. While this might seem like a no-brainer I want to take the risk of having to do something silly in the coming war.
Option A: Usual strategy. Let them come to us, attrition them down and then counterattack. It's worked before but it's boring.
Option B: Charge straight into northern Germany and meet them head-on. For glory!
Option C: Something different. Take advanage of the HRE movement rules to try and rush for Vienna. Risky but potentially rewarding.
World Update: 1695
I know it’s not 1700, but since things might change a lot after this war I thought giving the world update now would be a good idea. Interesting things are: Britain in Siberia and California (I’ll have to do something about that), Sokoto on the North African coast, Ming seems to be winning in China, Inca got re-conquered (mostly) by Portugal, Khazak has almost made it to the far end of Russia (definitely toning down Muslim colonists next time, I think I'll make it so tribes get none).
History_Buff: I don’t think so. Friesland has been involved in HRE politics from the very beginning, and was Emperor not so long ago. Most of the Empire’s history for the past 200 years has been a conflict between Austria and Friesland. Unless something majorly bad happens, like say getting defeated by Austria, then they’ll stay a part of it. Absolute Monarchy and Empire sound cool (especially with the mod’s changes to the latter), but the narrative is turning away from them now. If you’re interested, I’ve already decided on my next AAR once this is finished and I intend to take that in a much more authoritarian direction.
Cabinet it is. Thanks for voting. On switching to a republic: I’ll roll a dice when constitutional republic is available (1/3 chance), or if I get any sort of revolution event (2/3 chance).
Chapter Thirty Four: Preparing for War
Council Chambers, New Groningen, Greater Friesland, 1685
“We can’t attack Austria now!”
Speaking with a raised voice, the man who was the only amongst the new Frisian cabinet standing up at the meeting, tossed down some documentation onto the table they were seated around. At the head of the table, King Sibraht I picked up the papers and read through them.
“What exactly do these mean, War Minister?” Sibraht said with narrow eyes as he looked at a sketch of a cannon type he didn’t recognise.
“Those are reports from out agents within Austria, who’ve been keeping an eye on their armies. We’ve always known the Austrians were superbly drilled and armed with the latest weapons, but now they have new, more powerful cannon and new infantry doctrines we believe to be based on a style that Sweden has used to great effect against Russia. Simply put, I believe we won’t be able to match up with them on the field unless we spend more time and money on matching our armies to theirs,” the War Minister replied. He’d gone over the reports repeatedly, and all indications were that the Austrians had a significant lead in military technology and tactics. He was glad the present king was mostly a puppet of the Noble’s Council and the new cabinet had official powers to advise the king, or he would be in serious trouble for insubordination like this.
All eyes turned to the Colonial Minister, whose jurisdiction contained the reason for the war in the first place. He put on an awkward smile in an attempt to defuse the tense situation before showing a map of the East Indies and pointing out the Austrian lands there. “From the rumours we’ve heard the Austrians are having serious conflicts with the natives here, not to mention that they don’t have the colonial infrastructure that we do to finance colonies so far from Europe. I doubt they’ll be completed before the turn of the century.”
There was a collective silent sigh of relief from the cabinet members. There was serious pressure from the Noble’s Council to go to war with Austria, but luck and adequate research meant that could be put off for the time being. Unlike the aristocracy, the Common’s Council had a much better grounding in where the country was and they knew a war with Austria would not go as smoothly as the higher-ups believed.
The Foreign Minister spoke up next, continuing to draw attention away from the Austria issue. “We have a message from the Viceroy of New Friesland giving confirmation that Navarra was the state financing the rebels there. They have the support of France, Britain and Castille, but as we know France is a non-issue and Castille is in the middle of a serious crisis.”
“So be it,” the Sibraht spoke up after hearing the points of his ministers. He wasn’t an idiot, and while he did desire a war with Austria he understood that now wasn’t the right time. Navarra it would be, to appease the bloodlust of his backers and gain some measure of retribution.
Guyenne, a few weeks later
Frisian forces had secured a path through the newly liberated Duchy of Guyenne. Aragon had collapsed in the wake of its last major war and lost the entirety of its remaining French land to local groups as well as its Indian territory. They stood on the Basque border and readied themselves.
Using the colonial disputes in Africa and Panama as a basis, Friesland declared war on Navarra (I don’t know what happened to the discovered spy CB...). As predicted by the foreign minister, Castille and France both bowed out of their obligations leaving Britain alone to defend them.
Britain was already over-extended, with rebels operating almost freely in India and East Africa. To convince them to drop their defence, their land on the French coast was taken, although Normandy was too well guarded to seize, and the Indies Army was deployed to raid their towns in the Philippines. As for Navarra, while their massive forts had held back Frisian attackers before, this time they were ready.
Even though it cost thousands of lives, the forts were stormed by a much larger concentration of troops than before and soon their tiny European territory was under control and their sued for peace. Monetary reparations for the spy attacks were secure, and they were forced to give independence to the natives of Oyo to act as a buffer between the Frisian Kongo and the Basque Gold Coast. Britain accepted a ceasefire shortly afterwards.
The chance of an immediate war with Austria slipped away shortly afterwards, as the Burgundian Emperor died and the crown passed on to an unexpected owner that made a war a very undesirable idea.
Despite the Protestant majority amongst electors, they deigned to vote for themselves for selfish reasons rather than unite and keep the crown out of Catholic hands. (Seriously, both Luneburg and Thuringia are voting for themselves ‘for strategic reasons’. Not very strategic to let Austria get the throne...)
It would be years before the Frisian army could match up to Austria, so most focus went into economic efforts.
A gold standard was implemented to further secure the economy of the country. Custom Houses were also built to help regulate the flow of goods from the colonies.
Meanwhile, Castille continued its downwards spiral. At one time it had dominated the Mediterranean but now it was a shadow of its former self as the multitude of cultures under its dominion sought independence.
Most of their homeland was under occupation by revolutionaries from Andalucía, although that was slowly being reversed, and most of North Africa had already broken away. There were even peasant rebellions in South America. Only Greece really held out as it contained the bulk of their army, poised to defend what remained of their empire.
Frisian forces continued to be mildly tested by the aggressive German state of Thuringia.
Two wars against its neighbours saw Friesland counterattack, take the regions it claimed its own and secure significant concessions. It seemed strange that they wouldn’t learn after the last few times this had happened.
Continued investigation of the Austrian forces, as well as significant diplomatic efforts towards Sweden, finally yielded results as the Gustavian style was adopted by Greater Friesland’s infantry. The only problem was they lacked a suitable venue in which to properly test the new formations and manoeuvres. Lucky, one was already approaching.
Russia moved to secure a port on the Baltic coast, but was opposed by Sweden and Austria as well as Friesland. It was definitely the best place to test the new troops as it wouldn’t be a cakewalk but with so many allies there was little chance of defeat as well. The Army of Oldenburg was sent to support the Latvian and Swedish forces.
Frisian and Russian forces clashed for the first time in Latvia, with great success. The Gustavian infantry proved themselves as they single-handedly broke the Russian hold on the area and pursued the remnants to destruction.
Afterwards, a significantly larger Russian force appeared, but as the Army of Oldenburg was one without artillery to slow it down it could easily run circles around its opponents and struck at several smaller forces assaulting the lands of Polotsk. With its plan for a rapid offensive crumbling and Swedish and Austrian reinforcements on the march, the Russians agreed to a ceasefire.
Despite just being a war a short while ago. Russia and Austria teamed up to defend the tiny Russian principality of Novgorod from a Lithuania that had grown arrogant after finally annexing Poland.
As expected, the Lithuanians could not do anything when sandwiched between two great powers and ultimately had to give up their remaining vassals and cede some land to Polotsk.
At home, an academy was founded so that officer training could be centralised and made more efficient. Relying on nobility to train their children to be commanders just wouldn’t cut it in the modern era.
Consideration was also given to establishing a naval college, but it was shot down as Friesland could win any naval war except possibly against Britain by sheer weight of numbers.
There was another power in Europe that was on the way out, and it showed it by foolishly attacking the Duchy of Auvergne. By this point the Duke must have a messenger on standby to run to the Emperor for whenever someone tries to mess with him.
Austrian troops barely had time to reach the front before Burgundy had done its work against the diminished France. Even more land in their heartland was taken and their southern parts were reduced to the small and rebellious region of Roussillon.
However, the ink was barely dry on that treaty before another war started.
Possibly trying to take advantage of the positioning of their troops in France, Austria declared war on Greater Friesland. Their declared motive was the unification of the German peoples, but both sides understood that really the long desired showdown had finally come.
To be continued...
Alright, decision time. While this might seem like a no-brainer I want to take the risk of having to do something silly in the coming war.
Option A: Usual strategy. Let them come to us, attrition them down and then counterattack. It's worked before but it's boring.
Option B: Charge straight into northern Germany and meet them head-on. For glory!
Option C: Something different. Take advanage of the HRE movement rules to try and rush for Vienna. Risky but potentially rewarding.
World Update: 1695
I know it’s not 1700, but since things might change a lot after this war I thought giving the world update now would be a good idea. Interesting things are: Britain in Siberia and California (I’ll have to do something about that), Sokoto on the North African coast, Ming seems to be winning in China, Inca got re-conquered (mostly) by Portugal, Khazak has almost made it to the far end of Russia (definitely toning down Muslim colonists next time, I think I'll make it so tribes get none).
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Oyo released and Castille falling apart, such a lovely sight in this update! Excellent stuff as ever, as for my vote...I'll go for B and C since you have said you are happy for people to vote for two options and you'll simply go for whatever has the higher number of votes.
Choose A or B, just don't choose C: it will be disaster, I have already tied it but it always fails (unless if you attack province by province from your homeland border with Austria and manage to reach Wien)
By the way, how are things in America? A lot of rebellions?
By the way, how are things in America? A lot of rebellions?
A or B. A might not be very exciting, but you probably don't want to take any chances on this war. Good luck. 
since you said Austria has a significant force in France i say leave an army to attack attrition racked armies on the West front while another army does that glorious charge into Northern Germany
A. Even though it might not be as fun, you don't want to lose a war as important as this one.
B. Also, it is not that I am against Republics, it is simply that I find no use for them. do not allow for royal marriages and I am a RM shark who uses them as justification for wars, so they never go out of style for me. They also do not allow for you to become Emperor, something that I do not like. Finally, my rulers die to quickly. They get re-elected once and then promptly die before the next re-election as I do not think I have had someone get re-elected twice. I think this is supposed to simulate that the person is old and experienced, but it makes it broken. I also do not think that one of the strongest men in the world would voluntarily give up his power to a Republican form of government.
The Messenger: America’s been quiet recently. I guess beating up Navarra really did keep them from spamming spies.
Duke of Awesome: Well, I said they had armies in France but I didn’t say how many. Turns out they’re just a minor distraction.
History_Buff: The thing about this is the narrative is leading to the possibility of a republic. The current king is just a puppet of the government so it’s theoretically possible for them to seize power at some point. Of course, a coup like that isn’t a guaranteed thing which is why I’m rolling a dice on it.
Attack, attack, and attack it is. It’s not quite as aggressive as I anticipated though as I didn’t really intend to be completely suicidal in my attacks and non-suicidal attacks are few and far between against a power like Austria...
Chapter Thirty Five: The Grinder
Across the Frisian Empire the word went out. They would not sit back and let the Austrians march all over their lands, but instead take the fight to them. It was believed that the Frisian armies were more than capable of taking the Austrians on in a straight fight, showing how far they had come since the wars where hiding behind their forts was the main tactic.
The Armies of Flanders and Koln moved to intercept the Austrians coming from France, while the remainder in Europe crossed the border into the Austrian Brandenburg. In the colonies, the local forces took advantage of the overextended Austrian colonial empire and began to move out as well.
However, for all the bluster the generals of Greater Friesland knew what they were doing and when a large Austrian army emerged from the deeper parts of their territory, they held back and waited for a better chance to strike.
With Austrian troops still have superior discipline and morale, clever positioning when attacking would be necessary for Frisian forces.
The rising Italian power of Siena attacked Friesland’s ally Urbino.
Not desiring an expensive war in Italy, Sibraht had no choice but to deny their request for aid.
The first Austrian forces entered Frisian territory freely as the generals continued to manoeuvre their soldiers. While normally the Austrians would be left to plunder and pillage already starved land to use their massive numbers against them, this time a different strategy was being used.
Frisian forces formed up and attacked the invaders, pushing them back after heavy casualties on their side. Their numbers of cavalry meant that they were very lacking in a solid front that they could present to the Frisians, which cost them the battle. They could not be pursued though, as further large Austrian armies were on the move.
In the west, the attempted invasion via France had been crushed and so the two armies stationed on the western border were transferred east to where the real fighting was taking place.
The Austrian army had an extremely large number of cavalry compared to infantry, possibly because the Emperor himself was an expert cavalryman. So another large contingent of horses were intercepted and this time completely destroyed as it attempted to flank the battle line in Altmark.
The lightly defended East Indies were proving an excellent place for the Frisian soldiers to test their mettle in jungle environments.
They fought against both Austrians and natives and managed to secure the island of Celebes for Friesland before returning to the ships to head for the Austrian islands in the Philippines. With no designs on the British-dominated island chain, these colonies would be put to the flame instead of taken.
Austrian troops continued to pour across the border, and Frisian troops continued to counterattack them wherever it was viable. The sheer number meant that storming through them was not an option, especially as the full force of the Austrian army had not yet appeared. It was a literal meat grinder as thousands of human lives on both sides were thrown away for the same pieces of land over and over again.
One ray of hope was the withdrawal of Austrian ally Genoa from the war. This freed up forces from Cleves which had been attacking the small city-state. Shortly afterwards, the Principality of Novgorod sued for peace as well, having been attacked by Friesland’s Latvian allies.
While Frisian generals did their best to outmanouevere their enemies and hit them where they were weak, the same couldn’t be said for the Austrians.
A large cavalry force lead by Emperor Albrecht V himself was actually withdrawing from the frontlines, giving Frisian forces a chance to move the battle slightly forwards.
While the cannon-equipped armies fought the tough fights, the Army of Flanders appeared to have a slightly easier job. They were to move into Thuringia to intercept smaller Austrian armies coming up to reinforce the frontlines.
It seemed to be going well, but the Austrians eventually caught up with them with a powerful enough force to destroy the Frisians outright. It was the first time in a long time that a European Frisian army had suffered a fate like that, but sacrifices have to be made in war. Replacements began to be drafted up far behind the front line almost as soon as the news of the defeat arrived.
By now, Austria was starting to suffer heavily and they began making overtures towards a ceasefire. Such messages were laughed out of the Frisian court by the Noble’s Council. Austria was the one that started the war, so it should see this showdown through to the end. Friesland wasn’t the only one they were fighting after all.
The minor nations of Cleves and Riga were doing the best they could against an army one hundred times their size. Their attacks in the north and south would prove a vital distraction to keep a portion of the Austrian army away from the front lines.
As the brutal stalemate continued in Europe, the colonial war was a different story. The Austrian lands in India were now under Frisian control and their Philippines colonies were nothing but rubble. The strategically placed island of Diego Garcia was next.
This island alone was seized because of its valuable location in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The rest of Austria’s Indian Ocean and Madagascan colonies weren’t as important and so would be torn apart.
The constant grinding warfare in Europe naturally leant itself to the assembling of a single massive army on the Austrian side, as any smaller armies were cut down by decisive Frisian counterattacks
With one army operating behind enemy lines to cut off any reinforcements, the rest converged on the seventy-thousand man army led by Albrecht V himself.
What followed was one of the bloodiest days in living memory. The problems with organisation that the other cavalry-heavy Austrian armies had suffered were mitigated by Albrecht’s brilliant skills at moulding masses of horsemen into coherent formations. They tore apart the Frisian armies like paper, and it was only Frisian General Sems’ use of cannon to halt the charges in their tracks that kept it from being a total defeat.
He ordered an organised retreat after the Frisian army had been reduced by a full third. Luckily, Albrecht’s forces had suffered just as badly and he withdrew to Austrian territory rather than pursue. More than sixty-thousand men had died, leaving the fields of Anhalt soaked with blood. And despite the magnitude of the devastation, it still wasn’t a decisive blow. The grinder continued its work.
More trouble with Frisian allies came about when Russia made another play for Riga. After much consideration and advice from his backers, Sibraht honoured the alliance to protect Friesland’s prestige even though no soldiers could be spared.
Amazingly, the Latvians and their allies in Polotsk were able to hold out long enough and inflict enough damage on the attacking Russians for Sibraht to organise a ceasefire. Subsequently the Russians gave up their designs on Livland and instead focused on attacking and vassalizing Novgorod, the last independent Russian state.
Constant indecisive battles continued in the grinder of northern Germany.
However, Austria was the one coming off worse overall. It seemed like victory could come, but the question was whether Friesland would run out of men before then.
Finally the Austrians gave when a portion of the Emperor’s cavalry army broke off and attempted to attack on its own. Without Albrecht’s leadership the horsemen were easy prey for General Sems’ cannons and the army was forced to completely surrender.
This army was the lynchpin of their front, and it collapsed almost immediately afterwards as the second large army on the frontlines was cornered and defeated in Austrian territory. Finally, the offensive could go into full swing.
Or at least that’s what was thought.
As Frisian troops moved into the Brandenburg region, they discovered that the Emperor was still around with his huge force and was returning once again. The last offensive had drained almost all of Friesland’s remaining manpower reserves, which at their peak had numbered over one hundred thousand. There was literally no chance of being able to continue the offensive, especially if another bloody battle with the Emperor had to be fought. On top of that, the stability of the country was suffering and the troops might be needed for pacification.
General Sems met the Emperor outside Berlin and read out Frisian demands. His people already crying for peace, the Emperor grudgingly accepted Friesland’s terms.
Austria ceded the westernmost portion of the Brandenburg region and their Indian territory, as well as ending the vassalization of the Duchy of Danzig and paying reparations. Finally, after two and a half years of brutal warfare, Frisian troops were able to return home and the devastated population could begin to recover and supply new warm bodies to the battlefield.
Overall, the war appeared to be little gain for such enormous losses. However this was a short-sighted view. While the battles in Europe hadn’t gone anywhere, the colonies had been a different story. Thanks to the actions of Frisian armies and fleets, the Austrians now owned no territory outside of Europe and Africa. They wouldn’t even be able to rebuild the destroyed colonies as their departure port in India had been seized and it would be decades before their facilities on the East African coast could reach that level. Milanese and British colonists were already moving on those lands to seize them before then. The Austrian colonial empire was over.
The war also proved a serious blow to their European empire, but not in the same way. The seemingly-random freeing of Danzig was a major political blow as it lost Austria its only supporter amongst electors. This meant that the Imperial crown was likely to go to either Burgundy or Thuringia in the next election, so Austria’s advantages as Emperor would soon be gone. Once that had happened...it would be time to strike.
To be continued...
I think it’s time for a nice relaxing colonial war to relieve the tension after that brutal throw-down. Obviously I want British California, but where else should Friesland aim?
Option A: Portuguese India/Java/whatever I can grab from Mexico. I now have the colonialism CB against them thanks to India so attacking them is once again an option.
Option B:Castillian South America. They’ve been doing a bit better recently, but these lands are still vulnerable and probably cheaper in infamy than most of what I can get from Portugal.
Option C:East Africa. Rich Pagans etc, but still a lack of missionaries to convert them.
Duke of Awesome: Well, I said they had armies in France but I didn’t say how many. Turns out they’re just a minor distraction.
History_Buff: The thing about this is the narrative is leading to the possibility of a republic. The current king is just a puppet of the government so it’s theoretically possible for them to seize power at some point. Of course, a coup like that isn’t a guaranteed thing which is why I’m rolling a dice on it.
Attack, attack, and attack it is. It’s not quite as aggressive as I anticipated though as I didn’t really intend to be completely suicidal in my attacks and non-suicidal attacks are few and far between against a power like Austria...
Chapter Thirty Five: The Grinder
Across the Frisian Empire the word went out. They would not sit back and let the Austrians march all over their lands, but instead take the fight to them. It was believed that the Frisian armies were more than capable of taking the Austrians on in a straight fight, showing how far they had come since the wars where hiding behind their forts was the main tactic.
The Armies of Flanders and Koln moved to intercept the Austrians coming from France, while the remainder in Europe crossed the border into the Austrian Brandenburg. In the colonies, the local forces took advantage of the overextended Austrian colonial empire and began to move out as well.
However, for all the bluster the generals of Greater Friesland knew what they were doing and when a large Austrian army emerged from the deeper parts of their territory, they held back and waited for a better chance to strike.
With Austrian troops still have superior discipline and morale, clever positioning when attacking would be necessary for Frisian forces.
The rising Italian power of Siena attacked Friesland’s ally Urbino.
Not desiring an expensive war in Italy, Sibraht had no choice but to deny their request for aid.
The first Austrian forces entered Frisian territory freely as the generals continued to manoeuvre their soldiers. While normally the Austrians would be left to plunder and pillage already starved land to use their massive numbers against them, this time a different strategy was being used.
Frisian forces formed up and attacked the invaders, pushing them back after heavy casualties on their side. Their numbers of cavalry meant that they were very lacking in a solid front that they could present to the Frisians, which cost them the battle. They could not be pursued though, as further large Austrian armies were on the move.
In the west, the attempted invasion via France had been crushed and so the two armies stationed on the western border were transferred east to where the real fighting was taking place.
The Austrian army had an extremely large number of cavalry compared to infantry, possibly because the Emperor himself was an expert cavalryman. So another large contingent of horses were intercepted and this time completely destroyed as it attempted to flank the battle line in Altmark.
The lightly defended East Indies were proving an excellent place for the Frisian soldiers to test their mettle in jungle environments.
They fought against both Austrians and natives and managed to secure the island of Celebes for Friesland before returning to the ships to head for the Austrian islands in the Philippines. With no designs on the British-dominated island chain, these colonies would be put to the flame instead of taken.
Austrian troops continued to pour across the border, and Frisian troops continued to counterattack them wherever it was viable. The sheer number meant that storming through them was not an option, especially as the full force of the Austrian army had not yet appeared. It was a literal meat grinder as thousands of human lives on both sides were thrown away for the same pieces of land over and over again.
One ray of hope was the withdrawal of Austrian ally Genoa from the war. This freed up forces from Cleves which had been attacking the small city-state. Shortly afterwards, the Principality of Novgorod sued for peace as well, having been attacked by Friesland’s Latvian allies.
While Frisian generals did their best to outmanouevere their enemies and hit them where they were weak, the same couldn’t be said for the Austrians.
A large cavalry force lead by Emperor Albrecht V himself was actually withdrawing from the frontlines, giving Frisian forces a chance to move the battle slightly forwards.
While the cannon-equipped armies fought the tough fights, the Army of Flanders appeared to have a slightly easier job. They were to move into Thuringia to intercept smaller Austrian armies coming up to reinforce the frontlines.
It seemed to be going well, but the Austrians eventually caught up with them with a powerful enough force to destroy the Frisians outright. It was the first time in a long time that a European Frisian army had suffered a fate like that, but sacrifices have to be made in war. Replacements began to be drafted up far behind the front line almost as soon as the news of the defeat arrived.
By now, Austria was starting to suffer heavily and they began making overtures towards a ceasefire. Such messages were laughed out of the Frisian court by the Noble’s Council. Austria was the one that started the war, so it should see this showdown through to the end. Friesland wasn’t the only one they were fighting after all.
The minor nations of Cleves and Riga were doing the best they could against an army one hundred times their size. Their attacks in the north and south would prove a vital distraction to keep a portion of the Austrian army away from the front lines.
As the brutal stalemate continued in Europe, the colonial war was a different story. The Austrian lands in India were now under Frisian control and their Philippines colonies were nothing but rubble. The strategically placed island of Diego Garcia was next.
This island alone was seized because of its valuable location in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The rest of Austria’s Indian Ocean and Madagascan colonies weren’t as important and so would be torn apart.
The constant grinding warfare in Europe naturally leant itself to the assembling of a single massive army on the Austrian side, as any smaller armies were cut down by decisive Frisian counterattacks
With one army operating behind enemy lines to cut off any reinforcements, the rest converged on the seventy-thousand man army led by Albrecht V himself.
What followed was one of the bloodiest days in living memory. The problems with organisation that the other cavalry-heavy Austrian armies had suffered were mitigated by Albrecht’s brilliant skills at moulding masses of horsemen into coherent formations. They tore apart the Frisian armies like paper, and it was only Frisian General Sems’ use of cannon to halt the charges in their tracks that kept it from being a total defeat.
He ordered an organised retreat after the Frisian army had been reduced by a full third. Luckily, Albrecht’s forces had suffered just as badly and he withdrew to Austrian territory rather than pursue. More than sixty-thousand men had died, leaving the fields of Anhalt soaked with blood. And despite the magnitude of the devastation, it still wasn’t a decisive blow. The grinder continued its work.
More trouble with Frisian allies came about when Russia made another play for Riga. After much consideration and advice from his backers, Sibraht honoured the alliance to protect Friesland’s prestige even though no soldiers could be spared.
Amazingly, the Latvians and their allies in Polotsk were able to hold out long enough and inflict enough damage on the attacking Russians for Sibraht to organise a ceasefire. Subsequently the Russians gave up their designs on Livland and instead focused on attacking and vassalizing Novgorod, the last independent Russian state.
Constant indecisive battles continued in the grinder of northern Germany.
However, Austria was the one coming off worse overall. It seemed like victory could come, but the question was whether Friesland would run out of men before then.
Finally the Austrians gave when a portion of the Emperor’s cavalry army broke off and attempted to attack on its own. Without Albrecht’s leadership the horsemen were easy prey for General Sems’ cannons and the army was forced to completely surrender.
This army was the lynchpin of their front, and it collapsed almost immediately afterwards as the second large army on the frontlines was cornered and defeated in Austrian territory. Finally, the offensive could go into full swing.
Or at least that’s what was thought.
As Frisian troops moved into the Brandenburg region, they discovered that the Emperor was still around with his huge force and was returning once again. The last offensive had drained almost all of Friesland’s remaining manpower reserves, which at their peak had numbered over one hundred thousand. There was literally no chance of being able to continue the offensive, especially if another bloody battle with the Emperor had to be fought. On top of that, the stability of the country was suffering and the troops might be needed for pacification.
General Sems met the Emperor outside Berlin and read out Frisian demands. His people already crying for peace, the Emperor grudgingly accepted Friesland’s terms.
Austria ceded the westernmost portion of the Brandenburg region and their Indian territory, as well as ending the vassalization of the Duchy of Danzig and paying reparations. Finally, after two and a half years of brutal warfare, Frisian troops were able to return home and the devastated population could begin to recover and supply new warm bodies to the battlefield.
Overall, the war appeared to be little gain for such enormous losses. However this was a short-sighted view. While the battles in Europe hadn’t gone anywhere, the colonies had been a different story. Thanks to the actions of Frisian armies and fleets, the Austrians now owned no territory outside of Europe and Africa. They wouldn’t even be able to rebuild the destroyed colonies as their departure port in India had been seized and it would be decades before their facilities on the East African coast could reach that level. Milanese and British colonists were already moving on those lands to seize them before then. The Austrian colonial empire was over.
The war also proved a serious blow to their European empire, but not in the same way. The seemingly-random freeing of Danzig was a major political blow as it lost Austria its only supporter amongst electors. This meant that the Imperial crown was likely to go to either Burgundy or Thuringia in the next election, so Austria’s advantages as Emperor would soon be gone. Once that had happened...it would be time to strike.
To be continued...
I think it’s time for a nice relaxing colonial war to relieve the tension after that brutal throw-down. Obviously I want British California, but where else should Friesland aim?
Option A: Portuguese India/Java/whatever I can grab from Mexico. I now have the colonialism CB against them thanks to India so attacking them is once again an option.
Option B:Castillian South America. They’ve been doing a bit better recently, but these lands are still vulnerable and probably cheaper in infamy than most of what I can get from Portugal.
Option C:East Africa. Rich Pagans etc, but still a lack of missionaries to convert them.