-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Option A. You worked hard to get those territories and even though you are no longer playing, it would seem like a waste to me to allow it to simply break away
Isn't the color of the Netherlands Antilles that of Byzantium (and, yes, i do know you said you would change it)?
We want a update!!!!!
And how do you manage to create Rev Burgundy and Patestine and Turkey?
And how do you manage to create Rev Burgundy and Patestine and Turkey?
Last edited:
Sorry that I haven't updated in a while, a lot of unexpected stress came up. I should be able to post the next one this weekend.
PrawnStar: Besides the irony of it, logically as it’s so close to Friesland’s vassal Venezuela they would be able to use their meagre navy to rapidly ship over some forces and pacify the rebels there.
History_Buff: It is a shame to see them go, but colonial empires definitely don’t last forever so it would have to happen sooner or later.
balkanite: I’m not sure, I’ve edited it now so the old RGB values are gone and I can’t check. I’ve now changed the Netherlands Antilles to have the Netherland’s colour (since that doesn’t exist).
The Messenger: Those are all countries I manually modded into the game. There’s an extensive guide on creating your own countries here.
Sorry for the wait, and thank you all for voting. I knew I could count on my readership to pick interesting choices. If I planned out everything that would happen right to the end, it would get boring quickly.
I also like the fact that both of Portugal’s main SA colonies were picked to rebel, it adds that extra bit of irony considering the end of last update.
Edit: Just to let everyone know, I've added a link to the (original, not AAR version) mod that I'm using to the first post in the thread.
Chapter Three: Quest for Independence
The success of the Antillean Independence Movement lent legitimacy to the vast array of independence movements that dotted the American continents. The people of the colonies were tired of funding the wars of their European cousins and wanted to strike out on their own and achieve greatness by themselves. It was time to bring independence to the Americas, whether Friesland, Portugal and the rest of the European imperialists wanted it or not.
A last ditch effort by a group of Frisian politicians to halt the impending crisis was launched. They approached the Assembly and pleaded on the ideals of the Revolution that the remaining colonies of the Frisian Americas should be granted the independence they deserve to prevent the crisis from getting out of hand. However, they were shouted down by hardline nationalists and others that had political or economic interests in keeping the colonies in Frisian hands. In hindsight, this refusal to compromise would be seen tipping point in the Revolutionary Wars, where the ultimate outcome of the conflict was decided.
New Players in the New World
Manhattan
Capital: New Groningen
Manhat territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
New Groningen was the centre of Frisian culture in the Americas, from the day it was founded in the era when the land had been called New Friesland, right up until recently. As the heart of the Frisian administration Manhattan received a massive influx of people seeking personal wealth and glory in the name of the crown. In recent years, it has been the site of the largest uprising against trade restrictions put in place by the revolutionary government. The feelings of independence and self-governance have been building in the cities of the region and have now reached boiling point.
Acadia
Capital: New Amsterdam
Acadian territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
If New Groningen was the cultural heart of the Frisian Americas, then New Amsterdam was the economic heart. Built near the mouth of the St Lawrence River, the city controlled the majority of trade flowing out of the interior of the Great Lakes region in the early days of the Frisian colonisation. As time wore on that particular trade became less important, but the city remained one of the most valuable on the continent as its standing meant that the vast majority of American trade either flowed through or was otherwise controlled by interests in the city. As a result of this, the whole region is incredibly wealthy and in some places developed on par with Europe. The revolutionary trade restrictions have hit them even harder than in Manhattan and now they are more than eager to throw off the yoke of Europe completely.
Quebec
Capital: Nouvelle Calais
Quebecois territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The cold north was not somewhere that was anticipated to be well populated, and it was only initially colonised to prevent Friesland’s rivals from getting a foothold on the northern reaches of the continent. However, as France began to collapse under Frisian and Burgundian advances the regions unexpectedly became the refuge of the many French Calvinists who fled in fear of being forced to convert to the Church of Burgundy. Their numbers received an even larger boost when the French colonies in Greenland came to Navarra by inheritance and the Basque nation began a program to replace the French population with its own settlers, causing many to flee west. Now they seek self-determination.
Florida
Capital: Pensacola
Floridan territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The Florida province of the Frisian colonies was a land of bizarre contrast. On the one hand, the Calvinist French of the peninsula and the Catholic Portuguese on the east coast were closely integrated with the main Frisian administration in Pensacola. However, on the other hand, the whole region’s economy was dominated by massive plantations farming cash crops for shipment abroad that were run by immigrants that, while technically free, lived lives that had barely changed from the days of slavery. The conflict between the progressives in the coastal cities simply seeking freedom from the homeland and the rural landowners looking for independence to return to the days of true slavery made this newborn nation one of the most volatile in the region.
Illinois
Capital: Johansburg
Illinoisese territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The youngest of the Frisian colonies to declare independence, Illinois is a nation of pioneers and entrepreneurs seeking their riches in the American interior. However, its youth was it biggest disadvantage in the early years of freedom. Most of its land was undeveloped and enormous amounts of resources went untapped. The city of Johansburg, set up to be the hub of Frisian expansion in the region, was the closest thing to civilization that could be found
Panama
Capital: Panama City
Panamanian territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The colony of Panama was isolated from the rest of the Frisian Americas, leaving it in a vulnerable position that many of the neighbouring powers sought to exploit. Over the years it had suffered repeated invasions at the hands of the Portuguese and recently large areas of land had been given up to the Iberians and Venezuela. Tired of being a prize to be fought over by the imperialists, the inhabitants of Panama have joined the independence movement to carve their own path in the region.
Texas-California
The Texas-California Region, free of rebellion for the moment
The only major American colony to remain loyal to Friesland was the massive combined Texas-California district. As the frontline with many recent conflicts with Portugal and British Oregon, the whole region was highly militarized with the majority of its population being descended from soldiers or supporting the army and so loyalty to the homeland was far higher. It would have to be the centre of the Frisian counterattack on their rebellious cousins to the north and east, but with Portugal at their back it might not be as easy as that for the Texans.
South America
Peru, Ecuador and La Plata
Portugal’s decision to back the Antilleans in their quest finally came back to bite it. While their administration was based in the Americas unlike the other colonial powers, the colonies in South America hungered for independence after seeing Brazil successfully winning it decades earlier. Further encouraged by the success in the Antilles and emboldened by the removal of the Portuguese garrisons to fight against Friesland, they declared independence. With all of its available forces committed, Portugal could do nothing but let them go so that it could focus all its attention on Friesland.
Retreat
Early 1815, Colonial separatists clash with Frisian forces in the Manhattan and Acadia regions
The massive uprising to the north caught the Frisian armies completely off guard. The Armies of Manhattan, Quebec and Acadia were the only proper forces on station in the vicinity of the uprisings and they very soon had their hands full as local forces came pouring out of the woodwork. While the rebels were not as effective as the properly disciplined Frisian armies they had numbers and local knowledge on their side, and it seemed that they were receiving finances and supplies from foreign interests. Britain was the most likely suspect, as it had little territory in the Americas and so had little to lose if the wave of independence fervour spread.
Facing increasing resistance from the locals and no hope of reinforcement from the homeland, which continued to be gripped in the fierce battle against Austria, the Frisian armies were forced to fight increasingly desperate battles to stem the tide. Manhat and Acadian forces continued to grow in strength with outside supplies while the cut off Frisians grew weaker and weaker. Inevitably, they had to withdraw from this fight to keep from being overrun entirely. It was decided that they would retreat into Illinois. There, they could replenish their numbers and ammunition from the many loyalists that still existed far away from the centres of the independence movements and then march on the weakest American government in Johansburg.
Early-Mid 1815, Armies of Texas and Florida withdrawing from Portugal
Three Frisian armies, totalling four divisions, were engaged in combat with the monarchical powers when the American Independence War began. The Army of Illinois was already far north in Oregon fighting the British, and so it had little chance to return in time to have any kind of impact. However, the Armies of Texas and Florida were within reach of the rebellious Florida region. The colonials there had made little progress due to infighting between the factions that made up their independence movement. This bought enough time for the two armies to retreat from Portugal entirely and began marching to crush the upstarts in the southern half of the colonies. With all mobile Frisian forces gone from Mexico, Portugal was able scrape together an army of its own from local regiments to start taking back the land lost so far in the conflict.
Early-Mid 1815, three-way struggle in Frisian Panama
Panama was already the site of a conflict between hostile powers, and the addition of rebels seeking independence did nothing but complicate it further. Frisian and Venezuelan forces withdrew into the borders of Venezuela to let the rebels and the invaders fight it out amongst themselves. Once the two sides had exhausted one another, then it would be time to strike.
Austrian Collapse, Russian Ascendance
Late 1814 –Mid 1815, the Frisian counterattack begins
As 1814 drew to a close, the Austrian invasion of Friesland started to rapidly lose steam with the onset of winter and the full arrival of both Frisian and Scandinavian reinforcements. Outnumbered exhausted after tearing through every Frisian garrison on the way, the Austrians dug into the territory they already held east of the Elbe River. The goal was to buy time for the conquest of Prussia to be completed and free up three more divisions to deliver a decisive blow to the Frisian lines. It was hoped that soon the combination of the uprisings in the colonies and the devastation wrought to the eastern half of the Frisian homeland would force the Frisians to terms and grant Austria the victory they had been craving over their rivals for centuries.
Victory in Prussia would not come, however. With Russia stripping its border forces to supply the preparations for their own invasion of Austria, the Army of Oldenburg that had been deployed to the Baltic Coast to watch the Russian border was free to deploy south and assist their allies in Prussia. Once again the numbers were even leading to a stalemate with Austrian forces just a few dozen miles from Konigsberg. The situation was too dangerous for the Austrians to maintain, as there always remained the threat of the Silesians launching an armed uprising with the remnants of their army. They had no choice but to give up their conquests and pull the battle line back so their forces could deal with any threat emerging from the already occupied regions.
Spring inevitably came, as much as the Austrians wished it didn’t, and as the weather improved the Frisian and Scandinavian armies that had been studiously preparing for months were able to put their plans into motion. The Frisian armies engaged the Austrians across the Elbe with sufficient numbers to tie their forces down completely. At the same time, the Danish and Swedish forces swung around behind the Austrian lines and shattered the meagre garrison forces there. The cities of Lubeck and Magdeburg were liberated, severing the majority of the Austrian supply lines. Now surrounded, the Austrians fought hard in an attempt to break through the Scandinavians, but with the Frisian forces still skirmishing with the garrison forces to the south east they had no hope of the encirclement breaking from outside assistance. The entire army had surrendered within a month of the battle beginning and the Austrian invasion was broken.
It was far from over however. In the south, the Austrians had recovered from their earlier defeat and were striking back at the Army of Brunswick with superior numbers and a recovered initiative. With the horrendous losses taken by the Frisians on the banks of the Elbe, it would be a while before they had recovered enough to assist in this battle and finish rolling up the Austrian invaders. However, there was one power that was able to immediately act on this victory.
Early 1815-Mid 1815, Russia launches a full-scale invasion
Russia had been waiting for the turning point that would mark Austria’s inevitable downfall. With one hundred thousand men stationed on the border, they were ready to respond immediately with an invasion of all Austrian territory in reach. The defenders were a handful of Austrian divisions that expected to mop up the Russians as easily as it previous conflicts, but the newly modernized Russian military took them completely by surprise. They were crushed quickly and efficiently by the Russian war machine, leaving the Bear free to attack whatever it wanted at will. The main body of forces started the advance to Vienna, while other forces broke off to liberate Silesia and Transylvania.
The Russians, Frisians and all their allies were closing the noose around Austria. Its fall was inevitable, but there was still one more surprise to emerge from this battle as one man threw his hat into the ring and threatened to change the dynamics of the conflict and perhaps spark a whole new era in his wake.
Read more in the next chapter.
The outcome of the Revolutionary Wars in western Europe and the Americas has already been decided at this point, but the exact outcome in the east is still uncertain. Russia is truly a rising star in geopolitics. With a modernized military and a rapidly catching up economy as well they could very well be a major player in the post-revolutionary 19th Century. Are they going to go for broke and attempt a decisive push into European politics, although it might be a risky venture at this early stage, or are they going to leave the westerners to fight it out amongst themselves for a bit longer while consolidating their hold elsewhere? (Not all decisions will be for Friesland. If another nation has a major decision to make like this one and Friesland doesn’t, they’ll get the update’s vote)
Option A: Focus west. Don’t just defeat Austria, crush them and take whatever we can for the Czar! After that, the other Revolutionary scum will have to fall in line or face the Bear's wrath!
Option B: Focus south. The Middle East still has plenty of room for expansion, especially as the Revolutionary and Iberian puppets there are without support from their embattled sponsors.
Option C: Focus east. The remaining Altaic hordes have been a thorn in our backs for too long. Defeat them once and for all and push the Siberian frontier all the way to the British border (and perhaps beyond)!
History_Buff: It is a shame to see them go, but colonial empires definitely don’t last forever so it would have to happen sooner or later.
balkanite: I’m not sure, I’ve edited it now so the old RGB values are gone and I can’t check. I’ve now changed the Netherlands Antilles to have the Netherland’s colour (since that doesn’t exist).
The Messenger: Those are all countries I manually modded into the game. There’s an extensive guide on creating your own countries here.
Sorry for the wait, and thank you all for voting. I knew I could count on my readership to pick interesting choices. If I planned out everything that would happen right to the end, it would get boring quickly.
I also like the fact that both of Portugal’s main SA colonies were picked to rebel, it adds that extra bit of irony considering the end of last update. Edit: Just to let everyone know, I've added a link to the (original, not AAR version) mod that I'm using to the first post in the thread.
Chapter Three: Quest for Independence
The success of the Antillean Independence Movement lent legitimacy to the vast array of independence movements that dotted the American continents. The people of the colonies were tired of funding the wars of their European cousins and wanted to strike out on their own and achieve greatness by themselves. It was time to bring independence to the Americas, whether Friesland, Portugal and the rest of the European imperialists wanted it or not.
A last ditch effort by a group of Frisian politicians to halt the impending crisis was launched. They approached the Assembly and pleaded on the ideals of the Revolution that the remaining colonies of the Frisian Americas should be granted the independence they deserve to prevent the crisis from getting out of hand. However, they were shouted down by hardline nationalists and others that had political or economic interests in keeping the colonies in Frisian hands. In hindsight, this refusal to compromise would be seen tipping point in the Revolutionary Wars, where the ultimate outcome of the conflict was decided.
New Players in the New World
Manhattan
Capital: New Groningen
Manhat territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
New Groningen was the centre of Frisian culture in the Americas, from the day it was founded in the era when the land had been called New Friesland, right up until recently. As the heart of the Frisian administration Manhattan received a massive influx of people seeking personal wealth and glory in the name of the crown. In recent years, it has been the site of the largest uprising against trade restrictions put in place by the revolutionary government. The feelings of independence and self-governance have been building in the cities of the region and have now reached boiling point.
Acadia
Capital: New Amsterdam
Acadian territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
If New Groningen was the cultural heart of the Frisian Americas, then New Amsterdam was the economic heart. Built near the mouth of the St Lawrence River, the city controlled the majority of trade flowing out of the interior of the Great Lakes region in the early days of the Frisian colonisation. As time wore on that particular trade became less important, but the city remained one of the most valuable on the continent as its standing meant that the vast majority of American trade either flowed through or was otherwise controlled by interests in the city. As a result of this, the whole region is incredibly wealthy and in some places developed on par with Europe. The revolutionary trade restrictions have hit them even harder than in Manhattan and now they are more than eager to throw off the yoke of Europe completely.
Quebec
Capital: Nouvelle Calais
Quebecois territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The cold north was not somewhere that was anticipated to be well populated, and it was only initially colonised to prevent Friesland’s rivals from getting a foothold on the northern reaches of the continent. However, as France began to collapse under Frisian and Burgundian advances the regions unexpectedly became the refuge of the many French Calvinists who fled in fear of being forced to convert to the Church of Burgundy. Their numbers received an even larger boost when the French colonies in Greenland came to Navarra by inheritance and the Basque nation began a program to replace the French population with its own settlers, causing many to flee west. Now they seek self-determination.
Florida
Capital: Pensacola
Floridan territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The Florida province of the Frisian colonies was a land of bizarre contrast. On the one hand, the Calvinist French of the peninsula and the Catholic Portuguese on the east coast were closely integrated with the main Frisian administration in Pensacola. However, on the other hand, the whole region’s economy was dominated by massive plantations farming cash crops for shipment abroad that were run by immigrants that, while technically free, lived lives that had barely changed from the days of slavery. The conflict between the progressives in the coastal cities simply seeking freedom from the homeland and the rural landowners looking for independence to return to the days of true slavery made this newborn nation one of the most volatile in the region.
Illinois
Capital: Johansburg
Illinoisese territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The youngest of the Frisian colonies to declare independence, Illinois is a nation of pioneers and entrepreneurs seeking their riches in the American interior. However, its youth was it biggest disadvantage in the early years of freedom. Most of its land was undeveloped and enormous amounts of resources went untapped. The city of Johansburg, set up to be the hub of Frisian expansion in the region, was the closest thing to civilization that could be found
Panama
Capital: Panama City
Panamanian territory at the start of the American Independence Wars
The colony of Panama was isolated from the rest of the Frisian Americas, leaving it in a vulnerable position that many of the neighbouring powers sought to exploit. Over the years it had suffered repeated invasions at the hands of the Portuguese and recently large areas of land had been given up to the Iberians and Venezuela. Tired of being a prize to be fought over by the imperialists, the inhabitants of Panama have joined the independence movement to carve their own path in the region.
Texas-California
The Texas-California Region, free of rebellion for the moment
The only major American colony to remain loyal to Friesland was the massive combined Texas-California district. As the frontline with many recent conflicts with Portugal and British Oregon, the whole region was highly militarized with the majority of its population being descended from soldiers or supporting the army and so loyalty to the homeland was far higher. It would have to be the centre of the Frisian counterattack on their rebellious cousins to the north and east, but with Portugal at their back it might not be as easy as that for the Texans.
South America
Peru, Ecuador and La Plata
Portugal’s decision to back the Antilleans in their quest finally came back to bite it. While their administration was based in the Americas unlike the other colonial powers, the colonies in South America hungered for independence after seeing Brazil successfully winning it decades earlier. Further encouraged by the success in the Antilles and emboldened by the removal of the Portuguese garrisons to fight against Friesland, they declared independence. With all of its available forces committed, Portugal could do nothing but let them go so that it could focus all its attention on Friesland.
Retreat
Early 1815, Colonial separatists clash with Frisian forces in the Manhattan and Acadia regions
The massive uprising to the north caught the Frisian armies completely off guard. The Armies of Manhattan, Quebec and Acadia were the only proper forces on station in the vicinity of the uprisings and they very soon had their hands full as local forces came pouring out of the woodwork. While the rebels were not as effective as the properly disciplined Frisian armies they had numbers and local knowledge on their side, and it seemed that they were receiving finances and supplies from foreign interests. Britain was the most likely suspect, as it had little territory in the Americas and so had little to lose if the wave of independence fervour spread.
Facing increasing resistance from the locals and no hope of reinforcement from the homeland, which continued to be gripped in the fierce battle against Austria, the Frisian armies were forced to fight increasingly desperate battles to stem the tide. Manhat and Acadian forces continued to grow in strength with outside supplies while the cut off Frisians grew weaker and weaker. Inevitably, they had to withdraw from this fight to keep from being overrun entirely. It was decided that they would retreat into Illinois. There, they could replenish their numbers and ammunition from the many loyalists that still existed far away from the centres of the independence movements and then march on the weakest American government in Johansburg.
Early-Mid 1815, Armies of Texas and Florida withdrawing from Portugal
Three Frisian armies, totalling four divisions, were engaged in combat with the monarchical powers when the American Independence War began. The Army of Illinois was already far north in Oregon fighting the British, and so it had little chance to return in time to have any kind of impact. However, the Armies of Texas and Florida were within reach of the rebellious Florida region. The colonials there had made little progress due to infighting between the factions that made up their independence movement. This bought enough time for the two armies to retreat from Portugal entirely and began marching to crush the upstarts in the southern half of the colonies. With all mobile Frisian forces gone from Mexico, Portugal was able scrape together an army of its own from local regiments to start taking back the land lost so far in the conflict.
Early-Mid 1815, three-way struggle in Frisian Panama
Panama was already the site of a conflict between hostile powers, and the addition of rebels seeking independence did nothing but complicate it further. Frisian and Venezuelan forces withdrew into the borders of Venezuela to let the rebels and the invaders fight it out amongst themselves. Once the two sides had exhausted one another, then it would be time to strike.
Austrian Collapse, Russian Ascendance
Late 1814 –Mid 1815, the Frisian counterattack begins
As 1814 drew to a close, the Austrian invasion of Friesland started to rapidly lose steam with the onset of winter and the full arrival of both Frisian and Scandinavian reinforcements. Outnumbered exhausted after tearing through every Frisian garrison on the way, the Austrians dug into the territory they already held east of the Elbe River. The goal was to buy time for the conquest of Prussia to be completed and free up three more divisions to deliver a decisive blow to the Frisian lines. It was hoped that soon the combination of the uprisings in the colonies and the devastation wrought to the eastern half of the Frisian homeland would force the Frisians to terms and grant Austria the victory they had been craving over their rivals for centuries.
Victory in Prussia would not come, however. With Russia stripping its border forces to supply the preparations for their own invasion of Austria, the Army of Oldenburg that had been deployed to the Baltic Coast to watch the Russian border was free to deploy south and assist their allies in Prussia. Once again the numbers were even leading to a stalemate with Austrian forces just a few dozen miles from Konigsberg. The situation was too dangerous for the Austrians to maintain, as there always remained the threat of the Silesians launching an armed uprising with the remnants of their army. They had no choice but to give up their conquests and pull the battle line back so their forces could deal with any threat emerging from the already occupied regions.
Spring inevitably came, as much as the Austrians wished it didn’t, and as the weather improved the Frisian and Scandinavian armies that had been studiously preparing for months were able to put their plans into motion. The Frisian armies engaged the Austrians across the Elbe with sufficient numbers to tie their forces down completely. At the same time, the Danish and Swedish forces swung around behind the Austrian lines and shattered the meagre garrison forces there. The cities of Lubeck and Magdeburg were liberated, severing the majority of the Austrian supply lines. Now surrounded, the Austrians fought hard in an attempt to break through the Scandinavians, but with the Frisian forces still skirmishing with the garrison forces to the south east they had no hope of the encirclement breaking from outside assistance. The entire army had surrendered within a month of the battle beginning and the Austrian invasion was broken.
It was far from over however. In the south, the Austrians had recovered from their earlier defeat and were striking back at the Army of Brunswick with superior numbers and a recovered initiative. With the horrendous losses taken by the Frisians on the banks of the Elbe, it would be a while before they had recovered enough to assist in this battle and finish rolling up the Austrian invaders. However, there was one power that was able to immediately act on this victory.
Early 1815-Mid 1815, Russia launches a full-scale invasion
Russia had been waiting for the turning point that would mark Austria’s inevitable downfall. With one hundred thousand men stationed on the border, they were ready to respond immediately with an invasion of all Austrian territory in reach. The defenders were a handful of Austrian divisions that expected to mop up the Russians as easily as it previous conflicts, but the newly modernized Russian military took them completely by surprise. They were crushed quickly and efficiently by the Russian war machine, leaving the Bear free to attack whatever it wanted at will. The main body of forces started the advance to Vienna, while other forces broke off to liberate Silesia and Transylvania.
The Russians, Frisians and all their allies were closing the noose around Austria. Its fall was inevitable, but there was still one more surprise to emerge from this battle as one man threw his hat into the ring and threatened to change the dynamics of the conflict and perhaps spark a whole new era in his wake.
Read more in the next chapter.
The outcome of the Revolutionary Wars in western Europe and the Americas has already been decided at this point, but the exact outcome in the east is still uncertain. Russia is truly a rising star in geopolitics. With a modernized military and a rapidly catching up economy as well they could very well be a major player in the post-revolutionary 19th Century. Are they going to go for broke and attempt a decisive push into European politics, although it might be a risky venture at this early stage, or are they going to leave the westerners to fight it out amongst themselves for a bit longer while consolidating their hold elsewhere? (Not all decisions will be for Friesland. If another nation has a major decision to make like this one and Friesland doesn’t, they’ll get the update’s vote)
Option A: Focus west. Don’t just defeat Austria, crush them and take whatever we can for the Czar! After that, the other Revolutionary scum will have to fall in line or face the Bear's wrath!
Option B: Focus south. The Middle East still has plenty of room for expansion, especially as the Revolutionary and Iberian puppets there are without support from their embattled sponsors.
Option C: Focus east. The remaining Altaic hordes have been a thorn in our backs for too long. Defeat them once and for all and push the Siberian frontier all the way to the British border (and perhaps beyond)!
Last edited:
Vote C
Are you going to continue this game during World War 2???? If so, are you going to use Hearts Of Iron III????
And why are the american countries (Manhattan, Acadia, Panama) different in the introductory pictures and the history pictures????
Ex: Manhattan had no connection between it's lake coast provinces and the Atlantic coast, and then suddently, it has a connection when your talking about the redeployments.
Are you going to continue this game during World War 2???? If so, are you going to use Hearts Of Iron III????
And why are the american countries (Manhattan, Acadia, Panama) different in the introductory pictures and the history pictures????
Ex: Manhattan had no connection between it's lake coast provinces and the Atlantic coast, and then suddently, it has a connection when your talking about the redeployments.
Last edited:
The Messenger: WW2 will likely be the end of this AAR, but I don’t think I’ll use Hearts of Iron (2/3/whatever) for it unless I find using EU3 to display that is too hard. About the colonies, I should have made this clearer in the update itself but the expansions represent colonial forces ‘liberating’ regions as they advance and having the provinces join the new country straight-up because they want independence too, rather than being occupied. Also, taking over provinces completely is easier to work with than occupying when making these pictures.
Thank you for voting. It looks like C was the most popular by far, which was definitely expected. Not that it has that much impact right now. Russia will be making its moves later, mostly because I’ve got a lot to cover in this one update.
Chapter Four: Revolution’s End?
Italian Ambition
1814-1815, Battle for the Mediterranean
In all the excitement of the wars abroad, one front had mostly been overlooked by the major participants. The revolutionary Republic of Italy sought to reunite all Italian-speakers under its banner and the only way to do that would be to drive off the Iberians and their influence on the tip of the peninsular and Sicily. Helping the fledging nation was the Frisian Army of Koln which worked on rebuilding what had once been the Sienese army into a modern revolutionary fighting force. Additionally a massive construction program was instituted by the new government to gather up enough naval strength to match the Iberians at sea. The Frisian Navy had to be recalled to fight the British and the remaining Frisian naval assets in the Mediterranean refused to leave their posts as guardians of the independent Republic of Venice so the Italians would have to provide their own support for fighting across the sea.
Between the naval construction and the army reconstruction, it wasn’t until the middle of 1814 that the Italian armies were ready to move out. With assistance from the Burgundian Fleet, the Sicilian Navy was crushed at the Battle of the Crossing as they attempted to ambush the vulnerable cargo ships loaded with soldiers. Before the Iberian fleets could react and cross the Western Med to intercept, the troops were already landing on Sicily itself. The island fell quickly, while further forces moved overland and seized Aragonese territory on the mainland. What followed were a series of rapid engagements between Italian and Iberian craft. As they had no designs on the Iberian peninsula, the Italians were content to flit between ports with their faster frigates and strike whenever the more powerful but slower Iberian ships of the lines were vulnerable. In all the confusion, the islands of Sardinia and Corsica were secured and fully incorporated while Malta was occupied.
Mid-Late 1815, renegade Italian forces under General Cafarelli enter Austria and Croatia
While this was going on, more divisions were raised in the north of Italy to reinforce the south and guard the northern border should the ongoing war between Austria and Friesland spill over into their land. Commanding these forces was General Augusto Cafarelli, an ambitious commander who had quickly ascended the ranks following the summary executions of many of the aristocrat Sienese generals after the revolutionary government came to power. Popular with both his men and the people, he had been given this inglorious assignment to keep him from gaining too much power in the politically turbulent Italian Republic. This proved to backfire on his enemies, as he used the relative isolation from both the main theatre of battle and Rome itself to further consolidate his hold on his forces and enact his own agenda.
Without any authorisation from the Revolutionary Assembly he marched his Army of Lombardy across the border into Austria, citing Italian claims to the regions of Treviso and Friuli. The failure of the Austrian invasion of Friesland and the overwhelming Russian invasion had not escaped his sight, and he intended to take full advantage of it. Simultaneously, a small secondary force was quietly shipped across the Adriatic to storm the Croation capital of Ragusa. With one fell swoop, he intended to take the entire south-west and Adriatic coast of Austria and its client state. Shortly afterwards, the politicians in Rome agreed that it would be easier to follow up the attack with a formal declaration of war than attempt to label tens of thousands of their own troops as renegades. Cafarelli’s political domination of the Assembly had taken its first step.
The Congress of Vienna
Mid-Late 1815, Austrian lines collapse under the weight of the combined invasions.
The Russian invasion and the Italian invasion following shortly behind it caused panic in the Austrian command structure. Even entertaining the idea of completing the invasion of Friesland was entirely out of the question with Vienna itself under threat. All forces were recalled from the frontlines to defend the heart of Austria to the last man. This was not an easy task, as a significant portion of the invasion force was already trapped north of Dresden and Silesia thanks to the Frisians and the Russian lines of advance. The Army of Holstein which continued to engage the Austrian rearguard and the remnants of the annihilated advance force began an all-out offensive to drive the Austrians out, while the Army of Oldenburg did similarly with support from both Prussian and Russian armies. It was a very strange feeling fighting alongside troops belonging to a bitter ideological enemy, but in this case pragmatism won out over rivalry and the combined army drove the Austrians out of Prussia entirely. Face with being surrounded on all sides and slaughtered to the last man if they attempted to resist, the forces comprising a good third of remaining Austrian manpower officially surrendered and turned over control of North Austria to the impromptu allies.
The Austrian Revolutionary Assembly, fearing Russia completely annihilating their revolutionary government if they were able to overrun Vienna, ordered all forces to the eastern border to hold back the Bear for as long as possible even if it meant neglecting the other fronts. Experience fighting the modernised Russian forces in earlier battles paid off as the Austrians treated their foe with far more respect and did not underestimate them. With odds even again, the fervour of defending their very homes gave Austrian forces the edge, and they ultimately shattered the Russian spearhead in the bloody Battle of Vienna, fought just outside the city itself. However, the losses sustained in that battle were too great to repeat and so when Italian and Frisian forces marched on the gates from the opposite direction, the Austrians were only able to offer up token resistance. It had served its purpose however, as the city was occupied by fellow revolutionaries who guaranteed the safety of the current government.
November 1815, Russian, Frisian and Italian diplomats meet in one of the former royal palaces shortly after the capture of the city
For the first time in a long time, Friesland was not alone in its defeat of its arch-rival Austria. Instead of deciding the share of the spoils itself it would have to negotiate with the powers that still held onto significant occupation regions. Luckily, their national interests did not clash very harshly on the matter of dividing their victory. Russia was only interested in humiliating Austria and content with minor gains as their interest lay in other parts of the world. Friesland was interested in the northern regions of Austria, while Italy was mostly focused around the Adriatic. Despite frosty relations between the revolutionaries and the monarchical Russians, the negotiations went smoothly.
The outcome of the Congress of Vienna
The outcome of the Congress can be summarised thus:
-Hungary will be annexed by Transylvania and the Austrian Hungarian provinces handed to it.
-Russia will take two minor border regions and the rump state of Poland and will be acknowledged as a Russian dependency.
-Italy will take the Austrian Adriatic coast regions.
-Croatia and Austrian Bosnia will be combined into a new nation, Illyria, under Italian sponsorship.
-North Austria will be totally annexed by Friesland, while the remaining isolated Polish provinces fall to Prussia.
-Bohemia goes to Silesia.
A humiliating treaty that finally put an end to any ambitions Austria might have as a major power on the continent. Also contained in the treaty were stipulations on the number of soldiers Austria could field and repayment for the damages done during the invasion of Friesland. At the time, the Frisian leadership was confident that this was a defeat that their nemesis could never recover from.
Stalemate in the Colonies
Mid-Late 1815, Iberian forces overrun Panama, but get held at the Venezuelan border (now with changed Ecuador colour to reduce the number of blues in SA)
The separatists in Panama were by far in the worst situation amongst the new American nations. Not only were they at war with their former masters, but the whole region was in the middle of an invasion by overwhelming Iberian forces. Inevitably, their government was captured with the fall of Panama City and forced to issue a surrender order o all separatist troops. Naturally, the rebel forces weren’t organised enough for this to have a total effect and several regiments of troops continued to fight on to the last. The constant partisan activity from these groups continued to hinder Iberian forces as they advanced on Venezuela and inflicted enough losses that an invasion of the Frisian satellite was out of the question for the moment.
Mid-Late 1815, Frisian forces reincorporate Florida and Illinois
The Republic of Illinois simply didn’t have the manpower or industry to field an army of any meaningful size. The handful of regiments they were able to muster were easily pushed aside even by the depleted Frisians retreating from the east coast. With Johansburg as the only notable centre of civilization in the region it took a single offensive to bring the government to heel, although partisan activity would continue for some time to come.
Florida was a different story, as the internal divisions amongst the rebel forces were finally pushed aside when the invasion by the returning Armies of Texas and Florida became imminent. The numbers were far more even in this case compared to the clashes further north and now the Frisian armies had the benefit of an established supply line from Texas. A series of battles were fought as Floridan forces engaged in delaying actions and attempts to keep the Frisians at bay long enough to find a weakness and strike against it. They even received aid from the Antilleans, who were eager to help fellow freedom fighters following their success. Ultimately it was not a military defeat, but purely bad geography that brought down Florida. The capital, Pensacola was located too close to the front lines and was rapidly seized in a Frisian offensive before the defenders could stop them. With the government captured, the rebel armies’ command structure deteriorated and they effectively devolved into bands of partisan militia with no organisation.
Late 1815-Early 1816, Frisian forces brace against Colonial and Portuguese attacks
There wasn’t time to celebrate, as in addition to mopping up the rebel militia there was the ever-pressing concern of forces coming down from the other colonies to liberate their brethren as well as the Portuguese launching a counterattack from Mexico. In the brief lull before these attacks began there was a desperate gathering up of every able-bodied and loyal Frisian citizen in the region to replenish the losses in the earlier battles. Similarly, weapons were handed out freely to the citizens of Texas to fend off the impending invasion as the regular forces were occupied against the rebels.
Manhat and Acadian armies advanced into Florida and Illinois shortly after the start of 1816, but unlike earlier battles they met against refreshed and properly supplied Frisian defenders and were forced to halt their advance and recuperate. Crushing Frisian garrisons en route had exhausted their forces and with the supply of fanatical patriots drying up, a proper draft would have to be instituted to keep up their independence struggle. In the meantime they would continue to press the attack as best they could with what they had to prevent the Frisians from launching a counterattack.
After liberating Mexico, the Portuguese army advanced into Texas-California unopposed by any significant Frisian armed forces. California, still a network of isolated colonies, fell with impunity and barely any resistance. The same could not be said for the more well developed and populated Texas. Knowing they couldn’t match the Portuguese in an open battle, the Texan militia engaged in partisan tactics to slow down and deplete the invasion force. When any house could contain armed men by the dozen thanks to the local government handing out muskets freely then policing the occupied territory was an unenviable task. Many times the Portuguese would believe they had pacified a town only for it to rise up and overthrow the garrison. It was starting to get to the point where Portuguese generals were considering simply razing any town that resisted, but they were reluctant to try it as they knew it would only make the remaining militia fight harder. Either way, it left them bogged down before they could hit the Frisian forces in Florida and Illinois from behind.
Wellington’s Gambit
Late 1815-Early 1816, combined British-Iberian force marches into Burgundy
The defeat of Wellington’s earlier invasion of Friesland had been a major military setback for Britain in Europe. Not just from the men and material lost, but the political will to get involved on the continent had been quashed. It took months for Parliament to authorise the next plan to deal with the situation. The Duke of Wellington had been able to convince the King and his ministers to let him attempt another invasion to take advantage of Frisian distractions in Austria, this one with the aid of their allies on the Iberian Peninsula. For most of 1814 and 1815, British troop transports steadily and quietly moved thousands of men across the sea to Galicia where they would march overland into Aragon and prepare for the day when the attack came.
That time came even as the Frisians were marching on Vienna itself. Wellington realised that those very same troops would soon be turning around to repeat the process with the western monarchies and ordered the armies forward without delay. For a long time the Iberians and Burgundians had been trading shots in the foothills of the Pyrenees with neither side willing to commit to an all-out offensive. That finally changed and caught the Burgundians on the wrong foot. Unlike their battle-hardened allies, the Burgundians had seen very little action through the course of the war and were no match for the more experienced British led by the survivors of the first invasion attempt. It was far from over after the first victories though, as Burgundy still had the resources of the French region to call on and soon tens of thousands more men were descending on the frontlines to try and contain the breakthrough. It looked as this would turn into yet another bloody slog, but the British had a surprise waiting in the wings.
Early 1816, Basque and Breton intervention causes Burgundian rout
As the smallest nations still left on the continent that were outside of revolutionary control, Navarra and Brittany, were eager to keep it that way and for the most part tried to stay out of the revolutionary wars and let the major powers do all the fighting. It took a lot of convincing, but after hearing the British plans for a full invasion of Burgundy as well as agreements to renegotiate the territorial disputes among the three once the war was over the two nations agreed to enter the war when the time was right.
And that was now. Declaring war on Burgundy and Friesland, Basque and Breton soldiers entered the country from the west bypassing the main region of battle entirely and soon marching on Paris. As well as that, they pledged free access from British and Iberian troops, providing alternate avenues for invasion that meant Burgundy would face a full assault from multiple directions at once. In light of the sudden invasion, the Burgundian Army broke apart in a rout as the commanders fell over themselves to retreat to a better position and defend Paris and Dijon. A coherent defence was ultimately established once a lull in the attacks came as the British supply lines had to catch up with the advancing forces. The Burgundians would make their final stand, and hope that the Frisians returned from Austrian in time to fix up their armies and begin the counterattack.
Friesland’s Weakness
Early 1816, severed trade routes into Friesland, with only the long and dangerous route around the north of Britain remaining open.
Friesland was having troubles of its own, although they were of a different nature to Burgundy’s. For over a century the colonies had been the greatest source of income to Greater Friesland, with massive quantities of exotic goods flowing from the Americas, Africa, India and the East Indies into Europe. However, that trade was being stifled by the war. With the destruction of the Roorda Fleet, the main Frisian fleet in Europe had to be split up to keep up a naval presence in the Americas and with a much diminished opponent the British and Iberian fleets in Europe were able to operate without fear of being run down and overwhelmed by a far superior enemy. With these fleets in the water they could easily keep the main arteries of trade, the Channel and the Straits of Gibraltar, closed tight and throttle the Frisian economy. And it was working. With next to no trade coming in from the colonies the economy was straining and if it kept up would ultimately be on the verge of collapse.
Shortages of luxuries and the shutting down of many commercial interests as a result of the blockade were causing serious amounts of discontent amongst the general population. Nearly every day a city within Greater Friesland would rise up in a riot demanding an end to the war. The army, still recovering from the war with Austria, was needed to put these uprisings down before the situation could get out of hand. The British-led invasion of Burgundy was another cause for the people, who did not want a repeat of Austria breaking so far into Frisian lands. Worse, in this case it seemed apparent that with Basque and Breton assistance the invasion force wasn’t going anywhere except back into Iberia through what would undoubtedly be a long bloodbath. The people and more moderate elements of the Revolutionary Assembly would not stomach it, so something would have to be done to placate at least some of their woes before tens of thousands more died in the next offensive.
May 14th 1816, Battle of Trafalgar
In a last-ditch effort to bring an end to the blockade, the remaining Frisian ships in Europe sailed towards Gibraltar to seize the valuable position and secure a trading route through to Italy. There the good would have to be brought slowly overland, but it was safer than running all the way up the English Channel. However, that move had been anticipated by the British Admiral Nelson and a significant portion of the Royal Navy had been docked in Cadiz to prepare for such a move. They sailed out with a number of Castillian and Portuguese at their side and met with the Frisian fleet off of Cape Trafalgar. Both sides fought bravely, but the British and their allies triumphed in the end with their superior numbers and well rested crews. With the Frisian fleet fleeing in tatters, the Straits of Gibraltar were effectively closed for good to revolutionary traffic.
Peace
Following the Battle of Trafalgar, the Frisian economy went into freefall as the population realised that the blockade would not be lifted for as long as the war continued. With that, the anti-war movement picked up an even greater surge in popularity that drove it into a majority of the people. The war was still theoretically winnable from a military standpoint, but the internal situation was getting too dangerous to ignore and so, with heavy hearts, the Frisian and Burgundian Revolutionary Assemblies sued for peace.
What followed was a meeting similar to the Congress of Vienna that was to be held in the city of Dublin in Catholic Ireland, which was considered neutral ground as the Emerald Isle had remained entirely neutral in the Revolutionary Wars. Unlike Vienna however, this meeting had both sides meeting on an equal footing rather than terms being forced upon the defeated. Nonetheless, the treaty that was ultimately agreed on leaned against the revolutionary powers as it was recognised by both sides that they could not continue the present wars without facing internal collapse. At the same time, it was also recognised that continuing the war to that point would result in horrendous losses for the counterrevolutionaries as the revolutionary powers would be willing fight to the last even after collapsing. For almost two decades the revolution had torn the world apart and now vast numbers on both sides realised that it was time for peace and rebuilding
The final peace treaty that was agreed upon, the Dublin Treaty, contained the following major points:
-The Kingdoms of Britain, Castille, Portugal, Aragon, Brittany and the Principality of Navarra recognise the Republics of Friesland, Burgundy, Austria, Italy and their associated subordinates as the legitimate governments of those regions.
-The opposite holds true, meaning that revolutionary governments will halt all attempts to overthrow monarchical governments.
-Friesland will remove from its sphere of influence and release from vassalage all nations outside of the former HRE. This includes Sweden, Finland, Venezuela and the various Middle-Eastern states.
-Friesland will recognise the legitimacy of the governments of Manhattan, Acadia, Quebec and the Netherlands Antilles and officially grant them independence.
-Britain will take the Frisian Filipino islands and Tierra del Feugo, and Portugal will take the Mexican territories that are rightfully theirs.
-Further territorial concessions expanded upon later.
Peace finally descended upon the world. Or that was what was intended, but there was still one loose end left to tie up. Italy, while featured within the treaty, had no say in the proceedings and still technically remained at war with the Iberian nations whose territory it held on to. The world was ready to be plunged into war all over again; not one of republican versus monarchical ideology, but pure unfettered imperialism.
Read more in the next chapter.
There is one aspect of the treaty not fully touched upon in the main section of description. In actuality there were three main factions present at the peace conference with their own agendas for spoils to take from the defeated revolutionaries. Which faction ultimately came out on top in the final treaty? (World map posted once this vote is decided)
Option A: British/Basque/Breton faction. South Africa plus a little more to Britain. Parts of Burgundy to Navarra (Brittany gets Basque and British controlled)Breton regions). Release Wallonia to act as a British-sponsored wedge between Friesland and Burgundy.
Option B: Iberian faction. Java to Portugal. Cameroon to Aragon. Venezuela comes under Castillian domination. Release Panama with all claimed land.
Option C: American faction. Hendrik’s Isle to Acadia. Bermuda to Manhattan. Curacao to Antilles. Release Florida and Illinois with all claimed land.
The Revolutionary Wars are over and I can finally explain some of the thoughts behind the decisions. I had always intended to end the wars relatively quickly once this started and so I made the first two decisions in such a way that they could easily send one side or the other on the path to defeat. With your choices splitting off Frisian forces to deal with Austria and then the Americans you sent them down the path to losing the Revolutionary Wars. This treaty was the second-worst ending to the wars possible (or not, if you think a crippled and humiliated Austria is good), but don’t feel bad about that. Losing the wars definitely makes the resulting world more interesting as the two sides now have to try and work together to build a future, especially in light of a new threat emerging.
Thank you for voting. It looks like C was the most popular by far, which was definitely expected. Not that it has that much impact right now. Russia will be making its moves later, mostly because I’ve got a lot to cover in this one update.
Chapter Four: Revolution’s End?
Italian Ambition
1814-1815, Battle for the Mediterranean
In all the excitement of the wars abroad, one front had mostly been overlooked by the major participants. The revolutionary Republic of Italy sought to reunite all Italian-speakers under its banner and the only way to do that would be to drive off the Iberians and their influence on the tip of the peninsular and Sicily. Helping the fledging nation was the Frisian Army of Koln which worked on rebuilding what had once been the Sienese army into a modern revolutionary fighting force. Additionally a massive construction program was instituted by the new government to gather up enough naval strength to match the Iberians at sea. The Frisian Navy had to be recalled to fight the British and the remaining Frisian naval assets in the Mediterranean refused to leave their posts as guardians of the independent Republic of Venice so the Italians would have to provide their own support for fighting across the sea.
Between the naval construction and the army reconstruction, it wasn’t until the middle of 1814 that the Italian armies were ready to move out. With assistance from the Burgundian Fleet, the Sicilian Navy was crushed at the Battle of the Crossing as they attempted to ambush the vulnerable cargo ships loaded with soldiers. Before the Iberian fleets could react and cross the Western Med to intercept, the troops were already landing on Sicily itself. The island fell quickly, while further forces moved overland and seized Aragonese territory on the mainland. What followed were a series of rapid engagements between Italian and Iberian craft. As they had no designs on the Iberian peninsula, the Italians were content to flit between ports with their faster frigates and strike whenever the more powerful but slower Iberian ships of the lines were vulnerable. In all the confusion, the islands of Sardinia and Corsica were secured and fully incorporated while Malta was occupied.
Mid-Late 1815, renegade Italian forces under General Cafarelli enter Austria and Croatia
While this was going on, more divisions were raised in the north of Italy to reinforce the south and guard the northern border should the ongoing war between Austria and Friesland spill over into their land. Commanding these forces was General Augusto Cafarelli, an ambitious commander who had quickly ascended the ranks following the summary executions of many of the aristocrat Sienese generals after the revolutionary government came to power. Popular with both his men and the people, he had been given this inglorious assignment to keep him from gaining too much power in the politically turbulent Italian Republic. This proved to backfire on his enemies, as he used the relative isolation from both the main theatre of battle and Rome itself to further consolidate his hold on his forces and enact his own agenda.
Without any authorisation from the Revolutionary Assembly he marched his Army of Lombardy across the border into Austria, citing Italian claims to the regions of Treviso and Friuli. The failure of the Austrian invasion of Friesland and the overwhelming Russian invasion had not escaped his sight, and he intended to take full advantage of it. Simultaneously, a small secondary force was quietly shipped across the Adriatic to storm the Croation capital of Ragusa. With one fell swoop, he intended to take the entire south-west and Adriatic coast of Austria and its client state. Shortly afterwards, the politicians in Rome agreed that it would be easier to follow up the attack with a formal declaration of war than attempt to label tens of thousands of their own troops as renegades. Cafarelli’s political domination of the Assembly had taken its first step.
The Congress of Vienna
Mid-Late 1815, Austrian lines collapse under the weight of the combined invasions.
The Russian invasion and the Italian invasion following shortly behind it caused panic in the Austrian command structure. Even entertaining the idea of completing the invasion of Friesland was entirely out of the question with Vienna itself under threat. All forces were recalled from the frontlines to defend the heart of Austria to the last man. This was not an easy task, as a significant portion of the invasion force was already trapped north of Dresden and Silesia thanks to the Frisians and the Russian lines of advance. The Army of Holstein which continued to engage the Austrian rearguard and the remnants of the annihilated advance force began an all-out offensive to drive the Austrians out, while the Army of Oldenburg did similarly with support from both Prussian and Russian armies. It was a very strange feeling fighting alongside troops belonging to a bitter ideological enemy, but in this case pragmatism won out over rivalry and the combined army drove the Austrians out of Prussia entirely. Face with being surrounded on all sides and slaughtered to the last man if they attempted to resist, the forces comprising a good third of remaining Austrian manpower officially surrendered and turned over control of North Austria to the impromptu allies.
The Austrian Revolutionary Assembly, fearing Russia completely annihilating their revolutionary government if they were able to overrun Vienna, ordered all forces to the eastern border to hold back the Bear for as long as possible even if it meant neglecting the other fronts. Experience fighting the modernised Russian forces in earlier battles paid off as the Austrians treated their foe with far more respect and did not underestimate them. With odds even again, the fervour of defending their very homes gave Austrian forces the edge, and they ultimately shattered the Russian spearhead in the bloody Battle of Vienna, fought just outside the city itself. However, the losses sustained in that battle were too great to repeat and so when Italian and Frisian forces marched on the gates from the opposite direction, the Austrians were only able to offer up token resistance. It had served its purpose however, as the city was occupied by fellow revolutionaries who guaranteed the safety of the current government.
November 1815, Russian, Frisian and Italian diplomats meet in one of the former royal palaces shortly after the capture of the city
For the first time in a long time, Friesland was not alone in its defeat of its arch-rival Austria. Instead of deciding the share of the spoils itself it would have to negotiate with the powers that still held onto significant occupation regions. Luckily, their national interests did not clash very harshly on the matter of dividing their victory. Russia was only interested in humiliating Austria and content with minor gains as their interest lay in other parts of the world. Friesland was interested in the northern regions of Austria, while Italy was mostly focused around the Adriatic. Despite frosty relations between the revolutionaries and the monarchical Russians, the negotiations went smoothly.
The outcome of the Congress of Vienna
The outcome of the Congress can be summarised thus:
-Hungary will be annexed by Transylvania and the Austrian Hungarian provinces handed to it.
-Russia will take two minor border regions and the rump state of Poland and will be acknowledged as a Russian dependency.
-Italy will take the Austrian Adriatic coast regions.
-Croatia and Austrian Bosnia will be combined into a new nation, Illyria, under Italian sponsorship.
-North Austria will be totally annexed by Friesland, while the remaining isolated Polish provinces fall to Prussia.
-Bohemia goes to Silesia.
A humiliating treaty that finally put an end to any ambitions Austria might have as a major power on the continent. Also contained in the treaty were stipulations on the number of soldiers Austria could field and repayment for the damages done during the invasion of Friesland. At the time, the Frisian leadership was confident that this was a defeat that their nemesis could never recover from.
Stalemate in the Colonies
Mid-Late 1815, Iberian forces overrun Panama, but get held at the Venezuelan border (now with changed Ecuador colour to reduce the number of blues in SA)
The separatists in Panama were by far in the worst situation amongst the new American nations. Not only were they at war with their former masters, but the whole region was in the middle of an invasion by overwhelming Iberian forces. Inevitably, their government was captured with the fall of Panama City and forced to issue a surrender order o all separatist troops. Naturally, the rebel forces weren’t organised enough for this to have a total effect and several regiments of troops continued to fight on to the last. The constant partisan activity from these groups continued to hinder Iberian forces as they advanced on Venezuela and inflicted enough losses that an invasion of the Frisian satellite was out of the question for the moment.
Mid-Late 1815, Frisian forces reincorporate Florida and Illinois
The Republic of Illinois simply didn’t have the manpower or industry to field an army of any meaningful size. The handful of regiments they were able to muster were easily pushed aside even by the depleted Frisians retreating from the east coast. With Johansburg as the only notable centre of civilization in the region it took a single offensive to bring the government to heel, although partisan activity would continue for some time to come.
Florida was a different story, as the internal divisions amongst the rebel forces were finally pushed aside when the invasion by the returning Armies of Texas and Florida became imminent. The numbers were far more even in this case compared to the clashes further north and now the Frisian armies had the benefit of an established supply line from Texas. A series of battles were fought as Floridan forces engaged in delaying actions and attempts to keep the Frisians at bay long enough to find a weakness and strike against it. They even received aid from the Antilleans, who were eager to help fellow freedom fighters following their success. Ultimately it was not a military defeat, but purely bad geography that brought down Florida. The capital, Pensacola was located too close to the front lines and was rapidly seized in a Frisian offensive before the defenders could stop them. With the government captured, the rebel armies’ command structure deteriorated and they effectively devolved into bands of partisan militia with no organisation.
Late 1815-Early 1816, Frisian forces brace against Colonial and Portuguese attacks
There wasn’t time to celebrate, as in addition to mopping up the rebel militia there was the ever-pressing concern of forces coming down from the other colonies to liberate their brethren as well as the Portuguese launching a counterattack from Mexico. In the brief lull before these attacks began there was a desperate gathering up of every able-bodied and loyal Frisian citizen in the region to replenish the losses in the earlier battles. Similarly, weapons were handed out freely to the citizens of Texas to fend off the impending invasion as the regular forces were occupied against the rebels.
Manhat and Acadian armies advanced into Florida and Illinois shortly after the start of 1816, but unlike earlier battles they met against refreshed and properly supplied Frisian defenders and were forced to halt their advance and recuperate. Crushing Frisian garrisons en route had exhausted their forces and with the supply of fanatical patriots drying up, a proper draft would have to be instituted to keep up their independence struggle. In the meantime they would continue to press the attack as best they could with what they had to prevent the Frisians from launching a counterattack.
After liberating Mexico, the Portuguese army advanced into Texas-California unopposed by any significant Frisian armed forces. California, still a network of isolated colonies, fell with impunity and barely any resistance. The same could not be said for the more well developed and populated Texas. Knowing they couldn’t match the Portuguese in an open battle, the Texan militia engaged in partisan tactics to slow down and deplete the invasion force. When any house could contain armed men by the dozen thanks to the local government handing out muskets freely then policing the occupied territory was an unenviable task. Many times the Portuguese would believe they had pacified a town only for it to rise up and overthrow the garrison. It was starting to get to the point where Portuguese generals were considering simply razing any town that resisted, but they were reluctant to try it as they knew it would only make the remaining militia fight harder. Either way, it left them bogged down before they could hit the Frisian forces in Florida and Illinois from behind.
Wellington’s Gambit
Late 1815-Early 1816, combined British-Iberian force marches into Burgundy
The defeat of Wellington’s earlier invasion of Friesland had been a major military setback for Britain in Europe. Not just from the men and material lost, but the political will to get involved on the continent had been quashed. It took months for Parliament to authorise the next plan to deal with the situation. The Duke of Wellington had been able to convince the King and his ministers to let him attempt another invasion to take advantage of Frisian distractions in Austria, this one with the aid of their allies on the Iberian Peninsula. For most of 1814 and 1815, British troop transports steadily and quietly moved thousands of men across the sea to Galicia where they would march overland into Aragon and prepare for the day when the attack came.
That time came even as the Frisians were marching on Vienna itself. Wellington realised that those very same troops would soon be turning around to repeat the process with the western monarchies and ordered the armies forward without delay. For a long time the Iberians and Burgundians had been trading shots in the foothills of the Pyrenees with neither side willing to commit to an all-out offensive. That finally changed and caught the Burgundians on the wrong foot. Unlike their battle-hardened allies, the Burgundians had seen very little action through the course of the war and were no match for the more experienced British led by the survivors of the first invasion attempt. It was far from over after the first victories though, as Burgundy still had the resources of the French region to call on and soon tens of thousands more men were descending on the frontlines to try and contain the breakthrough. It looked as this would turn into yet another bloody slog, but the British had a surprise waiting in the wings.
Early 1816, Basque and Breton intervention causes Burgundian rout
As the smallest nations still left on the continent that were outside of revolutionary control, Navarra and Brittany, were eager to keep it that way and for the most part tried to stay out of the revolutionary wars and let the major powers do all the fighting. It took a lot of convincing, but after hearing the British plans for a full invasion of Burgundy as well as agreements to renegotiate the territorial disputes among the three once the war was over the two nations agreed to enter the war when the time was right.
And that was now. Declaring war on Burgundy and Friesland, Basque and Breton soldiers entered the country from the west bypassing the main region of battle entirely and soon marching on Paris. As well as that, they pledged free access from British and Iberian troops, providing alternate avenues for invasion that meant Burgundy would face a full assault from multiple directions at once. In light of the sudden invasion, the Burgundian Army broke apart in a rout as the commanders fell over themselves to retreat to a better position and defend Paris and Dijon. A coherent defence was ultimately established once a lull in the attacks came as the British supply lines had to catch up with the advancing forces. The Burgundians would make their final stand, and hope that the Frisians returned from Austrian in time to fix up their armies and begin the counterattack.
Friesland’s Weakness
Early 1816, severed trade routes into Friesland, with only the long and dangerous route around the north of Britain remaining open.
Friesland was having troubles of its own, although they were of a different nature to Burgundy’s. For over a century the colonies had been the greatest source of income to Greater Friesland, with massive quantities of exotic goods flowing from the Americas, Africa, India and the East Indies into Europe. However, that trade was being stifled by the war. With the destruction of the Roorda Fleet, the main Frisian fleet in Europe had to be split up to keep up a naval presence in the Americas and with a much diminished opponent the British and Iberian fleets in Europe were able to operate without fear of being run down and overwhelmed by a far superior enemy. With these fleets in the water they could easily keep the main arteries of trade, the Channel and the Straits of Gibraltar, closed tight and throttle the Frisian economy. And it was working. With next to no trade coming in from the colonies the economy was straining and if it kept up would ultimately be on the verge of collapse.
Shortages of luxuries and the shutting down of many commercial interests as a result of the blockade were causing serious amounts of discontent amongst the general population. Nearly every day a city within Greater Friesland would rise up in a riot demanding an end to the war. The army, still recovering from the war with Austria, was needed to put these uprisings down before the situation could get out of hand. The British-led invasion of Burgundy was another cause for the people, who did not want a repeat of Austria breaking so far into Frisian lands. Worse, in this case it seemed apparent that with Basque and Breton assistance the invasion force wasn’t going anywhere except back into Iberia through what would undoubtedly be a long bloodbath. The people and more moderate elements of the Revolutionary Assembly would not stomach it, so something would have to be done to placate at least some of their woes before tens of thousands more died in the next offensive.
May 14th 1816, Battle of Trafalgar
In a last-ditch effort to bring an end to the blockade, the remaining Frisian ships in Europe sailed towards Gibraltar to seize the valuable position and secure a trading route through to Italy. There the good would have to be brought slowly overland, but it was safer than running all the way up the English Channel. However, that move had been anticipated by the British Admiral Nelson and a significant portion of the Royal Navy had been docked in Cadiz to prepare for such a move. They sailed out with a number of Castillian and Portuguese at their side and met with the Frisian fleet off of Cape Trafalgar. Both sides fought bravely, but the British and their allies triumphed in the end with their superior numbers and well rested crews. With the Frisian fleet fleeing in tatters, the Straits of Gibraltar were effectively closed for good to revolutionary traffic.
Peace
Following the Battle of Trafalgar, the Frisian economy went into freefall as the population realised that the blockade would not be lifted for as long as the war continued. With that, the anti-war movement picked up an even greater surge in popularity that drove it into a majority of the people. The war was still theoretically winnable from a military standpoint, but the internal situation was getting too dangerous to ignore and so, with heavy hearts, the Frisian and Burgundian Revolutionary Assemblies sued for peace.
What followed was a meeting similar to the Congress of Vienna that was to be held in the city of Dublin in Catholic Ireland, which was considered neutral ground as the Emerald Isle had remained entirely neutral in the Revolutionary Wars. Unlike Vienna however, this meeting had both sides meeting on an equal footing rather than terms being forced upon the defeated. Nonetheless, the treaty that was ultimately agreed on leaned against the revolutionary powers as it was recognised by both sides that they could not continue the present wars without facing internal collapse. At the same time, it was also recognised that continuing the war to that point would result in horrendous losses for the counterrevolutionaries as the revolutionary powers would be willing fight to the last even after collapsing. For almost two decades the revolution had torn the world apart and now vast numbers on both sides realised that it was time for peace and rebuilding
The final peace treaty that was agreed upon, the Dublin Treaty, contained the following major points:
-The Kingdoms of Britain, Castille, Portugal, Aragon, Brittany and the Principality of Navarra recognise the Republics of Friesland, Burgundy, Austria, Italy and their associated subordinates as the legitimate governments of those regions.
-The opposite holds true, meaning that revolutionary governments will halt all attempts to overthrow monarchical governments.
-Friesland will remove from its sphere of influence and release from vassalage all nations outside of the former HRE. This includes Sweden, Finland, Venezuela and the various Middle-Eastern states.
-Friesland will recognise the legitimacy of the governments of Manhattan, Acadia, Quebec and the Netherlands Antilles and officially grant them independence.
-Britain will take the Frisian Filipino islands and Tierra del Feugo, and Portugal will take the Mexican territories that are rightfully theirs.
-Further territorial concessions expanded upon later.
Peace finally descended upon the world. Or that was what was intended, but there was still one loose end left to tie up. Italy, while featured within the treaty, had no say in the proceedings and still technically remained at war with the Iberian nations whose territory it held on to. The world was ready to be plunged into war all over again; not one of republican versus monarchical ideology, but pure unfettered imperialism.
Read more in the next chapter.
There is one aspect of the treaty not fully touched upon in the main section of description. In actuality there were three main factions present at the peace conference with their own agendas for spoils to take from the defeated revolutionaries. Which faction ultimately came out on top in the final treaty? (World map posted once this vote is decided)
Option A: British/Basque/Breton faction. South Africa plus a little more to Britain. Parts of Burgundy to Navarra (Brittany gets Basque and British controlled)Breton regions). Release Wallonia to act as a British-sponsored wedge between Friesland and Burgundy.
Option B: Iberian faction. Java to Portugal. Cameroon to Aragon. Venezuela comes under Castillian domination. Release Panama with all claimed land.
Option C: American faction. Hendrik’s Isle to Acadia. Bermuda to Manhattan. Curacao to Antilles. Release Florida and Illinois with all claimed land.
The Revolutionary Wars are over and I can finally explain some of the thoughts behind the decisions. I had always intended to end the wars relatively quickly once this started and so I made the first two decisions in such a way that they could easily send one side or the other on the path to defeat. With your choices splitting off Frisian forces to deal with Austria and then the Americans you sent them down the path to losing the Revolutionary Wars. This treaty was the second-worst ending to the wars possible (or not, if you think a crippled and humiliated Austria is good), but don’t feel bad about that. Losing the wars definitely makes the resulting world more interesting as the two sides now have to try and work together to build a future, especially in light of a new threat emerging.