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Chapter Thirteen
Wherein the Sea of Reeds is raided, the threefold Battle of Ragusa is fought, a Nation shifts its Focus overseas

With Fairfax gone, Oliver Dampier became the most veteran general of the New Model Army. Lord Protector Rodney was all too happy to delegate leadership of the war to him. So in January of 1676, Dampier and his army made for the Red Sea.

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The forces in the Mediterranean would not rest in the meanwhile. Dampier’s orders preceded him. First, as the blockade off Rhodes became unnecessary in the wake of defection, the ships thereof were used to greater effect off the coasts of Alexandria, Palestine, and Syria.

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Not only did this have greater economic effect--far more ports were blockaded thus--but it provided crucial intelligence, positioned as it was about the passage from Anatolia to Arabia and Egypt.

The land forces, now commanded by novice General Lawrence Uxbridge, were told to emulate Fairfax’s last action--the Antalya Raid. Dampier’s reasoning for this was twofold. First, the capture of Antalya was one of England's greatest victories thus far. A fort army of 300 men held back an Ottoman field army of 30,000 for almost a year. If that success could be repeated, it would be a boon to the war effort. Secondly, it would hopefully draw any Turkish forces away from the Red Sea littoral.

Yet Dampier only ordered action be taken, the specifics were left to Uxbridge. He, being keen if overly ambitious, targeted Ragusa.

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Ragusa had walls three times those of Antalya; it would not be an easy raid. Yet the decision was not without merit. Not only would it draw Turkish troops far from the Red Sea, but it would also lead to the destruction of the enemy coalition’s most significant concentration of naval force, meager though it was.

Thus, the two generals were in motion.

The war well within the hands of military men, Rodney was free to focus on other matters. Regrettably, one of those matters was yet another state funeral. H. van Beverningk, who had been Foreign Secretary since the Clive protectorship, passed. The Council of State--the executive advisory body proscribed in the Instrument of Government--was now vacant.

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Rodney took no great pains to reinstate the Council. Instead, he deferred to Parliament. Rodney, a legislative compromiser, did not a strong executive make. Deferment to Parliament’s judgment would mark his Protectorship.

In 1676, Parliament judged it prudent to expand the settlement colonies in North America. The coasts of that continent were by this time almost completely claimed by European nations, and could not be had without contention, but the interior remained open. Fully five settlement projects were chartered, immediately inland from Chesapeake Bay.

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As English settlers went to sea, English soldiers went ashore. In the Adriatic, Uxbridge won a decisive victory over the native defenders. Like Antalya before, an entire Ottoman vassal army was destroyed.

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In the Red Sea, Dampier began his campaign by capturing the unfortified province of Massawa. In doing so, he secured a port for his attendant fleet, precluding attrition. Also, he forced his Turkish enemy to the west coast of the Red Sea; then, he turned his attention east.

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In a bold move, the daring Dampier landed at Mecca. In ten days, Islam’s Holiest City was in the the hands of the Puritan Commonwealth.

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Uxbridge was not as stunningly successful. An exhaustive assault brought Ragusa tantalizingly close to occupation--only 200 men guarded her walls, down from 3,000. However, Uxbridge’s army could not press the attack any further. His forces suffered 5,000 casualties in the assault, and morale was lacking.

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Uxbridge’s army would need to rest throughout the month of May to return to fighting shape. Unfortunately, there’s no rest for the weary. Another Turkish vassal army--this one from Transylvania--came to relieve Ragusa.

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So diminished in size and morale, defeat was likely. Amazingly, Uxbridge was victorious--mostly through able use of Ragusa’s defensible geography.

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Soundly defeated, the Transylvanians vacated the region completely. Uxbridge was thus free to capture the city.

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The ninety day siege was incomparable to the swiftness of Fairfax’s capture of Antalya. Yet the selfsame defenses that made Ragusa’s capture so difficult could now be used against the Ottomans. Uxbridge was hopeful for a lengthy occupation. If 300 Englishman could hold Antalya for nearly a year, surely 3,000 could do better.

As a matter of fact, Ragusa’s navy was destroyed.

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Meanwhile, Dampier was frustrated. His original intention was to move from Mecca onto Medina, another sacred place for Mohammedans. However, the blockade he ordered served its purpose in spotting a large body of Ottoman soldiery bound for Mecca. Any northward movement was untenable. Dampier had no choice but to go south to the province of Asir.

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Come June, London’s attention turned across the Atlantic. Against the odds, four of the five colonial projects succeeded in establishing permanent settlements. To further the growth and development of these new colonies, Parliament designated Conoy as the center of colonial administration. Additionally, another attempt to settle Susquehanna was approved.

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As Summer ended, the war was again the forefront of attention. After their vassals failed, the Ottomans took it upon themselves to retake Ragusa. Uxbridge’s scouting was most effective and spotted the army immediately, but loading artillery onto ships offshore was too time consuming: He could not avoid engagement. Uxbridge managed a costly fighting retreat. He lost two men for every Ottoman casualty; Considering he was outnumbered three-to-one, this defeat was not as dismal as it could have been.

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Those who made it to sea returned to Cyprus. Uxbridge still had hope for a lengthy occupation. He had held Ragusa long enough for the fort garrison to reinforce to nearly 3,000 men. However, his hopes were shattered. There was no lengthy siege to be had. Quite in contrast to their behavior at Antalya, the Ottomans took Ragusa by storm. What took ninety days to take was lost in seventeen.

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Concurrently, Dampier captured Asir and went back to sea.

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Unfortunately, his gains were not to last. On both coasts of the Red Sea, 30,000 strong Ottoman armies marched to reverse Dampier’s efforts.

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The Red Squadron sailed north and met the Ottoman Red Sea fleet. It was a swift and easy victory. After, Dampier’s India Army landed at Sinai; Lacking fortification, it fell to England instantly. Marching north, he met an Ottoman regiment and destroyed it handily. Then, for the last time of the year, the India Army made for the waiting fleet. This time, it was Blue Squadron off the coast of Palestine.

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Finally, after a storied odyssey, Dampier took personal command of the English forces at Cyprus. Finally, Dampier’s war could begin in earnest.
 
Yep, slow and battering against the Otto's. No reinforcements available to try to even the quantity gap? I have double teamed the egyptian sinai in the past coming from both north and south then sucking the otto's (or mamlukes) in and crushing them that way especially if they have to cross the nile. But I'm sure Dampier will come up with something
 
Yep, slow and battering against the Otto's. No reinforcements available to try to even the quantity gap? I have double teamed the egyptian sinai in the past coming from both north and south then sucking the otto's (or mamlukes) in and crushing them that way especially if they have to cross the nile. But I'm sure Dampier will come up with something

Well the quantity gap is a result of Rodney compromising Braddock's plan for a full invasion. Local superiority would not be so hard to achieve if Braddock were alive to fight the war. As it is, the India Army are the reinforcements for now; I still can't meet those Ottoman stacks on equal footing. But as you say, geography can be advantageous--perhaps enough so to overcome numerical inferiority. Dampier does indeed think of something: in the next chapter, intriguing happenings allow progress to be made. However, I also make a pretty big blunder. Thanks for commenting!

The Ragusa one was a disappointment. Hope things would get better for the New Model Army.

Yeah I was looking to hold onto Ragusa for a bit longer. At the very least, I didn't want to lose a battle there. I was watching carefully for Ottoman armies, but as I said in the narrative the artillery regiments were just too slow to escape. But keep hope alive--things do get better for our intrepid heroes! Thanks for the comment!
 
Well the quantity gap is a result of Rodney compromising Braddock's plan for a full invasion. Local superiority would not be so hard to achieve if Braddock were alive to fight the war. As it is, the India Army are the reinforcements for now; I still can't meet those Ottoman stacks on equal footing. But as you say, geography can be advantageous--perhaps enough so to overcome numerical inferiority. Dampier does indeed think of something: in the next chapter, intriguing happenings allow progress to be made. However, I also make a pretty big blunder. Thanks for commenting!
Blunder...that sounds not too pretty good. But, its not like you're fighting in Essex.
 
Excellent work, Nuarq. My favourite style of AAR is the historical narrative sprinkled with lots of screenshots but sadly those seem to be a tiny minority around these parts. Give me a well-illustrated summary of the hows-and-whys of statecraft over paragraph after turgid paragraph spent transcribing the king's very dull conversations with his generals and ministers. Call me picky if you must but if there's not a single screenshot in an AAR's opening post I reach for my back button.
 
I see what you did there.

:D

So you've just finished Chapter Eight I take it? Thanks for reading and commenting! How do you like it so far?

Excellent work, Nuarq. My favourite style of AAR is the historical narrative sprinkled with lots of screenshots but sadly those seem to be a tiny minority around these parts. Give me a well-illustrated summary of the hows-and-whys of statecraft over paragraph after turgid paragraph spent transcribing the king's very dull conversations with his generals and ministers. Call me picky if you must but if there's not a single screenshot in an AAR's opening post I reach for my back button.

Thank for your comment! I'm glad you enjoy the style. Really I'm just imitating the kinds of AARs that got me into Paradox games in the first place, so I guess we have similar taste :)

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Next chapter will be posted this weekend! I'm sorry it took so long. I've actually had it done for a while but internet trouble has kept me from uploading the images.
 
Chapter Fourteen
Wherein Spy Games are won and lost, Opportunity is seized, a Road is blocked, a War cascades

As 1676 ended, the Ottomans retook Mecca, Asir, Massawa, and Sinai; thus reversing all Dampier had accomplished. Though in truth none of Dampier’s conquests had much effect on the war, despite Mecca’s religious significance.

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Likewise, their recapture by the Ottoman did little to reverse England’s war effort, the only consequence being the denial of ports on the Red Sea. Thus lacking, Red Squadron returned to its home port of Madras.

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Dampier, now heading the Expedition as well as the India Army, was eager to begin campaigning. However, the Expedition was in dire need of reinforcements after the defeat at Ragusa. They wouldn’t be ready for action until the Summer. In the meanwhile, Dampier would not sit idle. On Cyprus he met with the upper echelon of the Hellenic Republic. Many of these men still had contacts with the Greek communities in Ottoman territories; notably, the sizable Greek minority in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople.

Dampier saw the potential of the ready-made spy ring in the enemy’s capital. He made entreaty to London, requesting several hundred pounds bribery money. Rodney complied, reasoning espionage on Naxos and Rhodes had been the Commonwealth’s greatest success of the war.

The conditions could not have been better in Constantinople. For years the Ottoman administration had fallen victim to decadence; now, after years of exhaustive war, blockades, and piracy, there was no excess to be had. Canny Greeks had no trouble finding Ottoman bureaucrats willing to make a deal.

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One such corrupt bureaucrat was willing to part with the Ottoman armies’ communiques to the capital. These documents, in revealing their positions, lifted the fog of war. Generals since time immemorial wished for what Dampier now had: full knowledge of his enemy.

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No surprises came from the positions of armies about the Red Sea, nor that which recaptured Ragusa; though its partner in the Balkans was a previously unknown quantity. The Ottoman and vassal armies around the Black Sea coast were a welcome surprise, being as they were far from anywhere the Commonwealth would strike. Yet all of this information paled in comparison to one simple fact: Ottoman North Africa laid unguarded.

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Dampier knew he had to seize this opportunity. He also knew the Expedition would need to be at full strength before he could act on this intelligence. For now he would have to wait as reinforcements trickled in from England.

Across the Atlantic, the Commonwealth was reminded that the tree of intrigue can also bear bitter fruit.

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The small Italian state of Modena funded a rebellion in Belize. It was quickly dispatched, but Modenese efforts did not cease. London could detect no discernable motive for these actions. Only Modena’s ambition to increase their market share in English trade seemed relevant; Though how these Italians expected to accomplish that goal by rabble-rousing English colonies was a mystery to Commonwealth leadership.

Having such tremendous force already in the Mediterranean, Rodney investigated the feasibility of ending Modena’s clandestine shenanigans with a splendid little war. Unfortunately, the Italians were too well connected to the continental powers.

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The Commonwealth could not risk another major war over such a frivolity. For the time being, they would have to accept Modenese meddling in their colonies.

Yet colonial affairs were not dominated by Modena’s mischievous machinations. In more pleasant news, English settlers succeeded where once they failed: Susquehanna was colonized.

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In the neighboring province, Lenape, the agricultural base grew large enough to export cash crops. The agrarian settlers there began producing cotton, an ever-important trade good.

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Yet it was not the growth season that had London’s attention in the Summer of 1677; it was the war. The Expedition, now suitably reinforced, was underway. Ottoman North Africa, bereft of troops, would be easy prey for Dampier, but there was a problem. Large enemy armies were still as near as Egypt, and the Turks had a treaty with the Tuareg people of Tripoli stating Ottoman armies could draw supply from their stores.

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Therefore Dampier made his first landing not on Ottoman North Africa, but on the shores of Tripoli. He destroyed their army and took their capital without much exertion.

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The aim of this new war was to annul the treaty of safe passage between Tripoli and the Ottomans. If successful, this would leave the Turks two options: pass through Tripoli’s land without supply, suffering attrition in the inhospitable desert, or take Tripoli’s supplies by force. Either option would sap the strength of an Ottoman army en route to their possessions in North Africa.

Unfortunately, this aim was unachievable. In peace negotiations, the Malik of Tripoli absolutely refused to violate his treaty with the Turk, citing his honor as a Muslim to his oath.

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Fortunately, there was some hope of resolving this favorably. One Tuareg sheik was willing to accept English demands if they installed him as Malik and protected his nation from vengeful Turks. His proposition was accepted.

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With an English guarantee of independence--and an English ambassador serving as chief vizier in the Malik’s court--Tripoli became a protectorate. This was not the outcome London wanted, but it was perhaps acceptable for the duration of the war.

Though peace with Tripoli was resolved, the war was not over. Morocco had assumed leadership. They, being nothing if not bold, made an attempt on the English coast.

The Moroccan fleet of five ships-of-the-line, eight frigates, and six transports laden with troops, was spotted by a Commonwealth Navy patrol of three ships on September 6th, 1677. The English, confident in the superiority of their ships and seamanship, and having the weather gauge, decided to engage their more numerous foe.

The Moroccan and English lines met at noon. The Moroccans had more ships, the English more guns. Fire was exchanged for several hours. No ships were lost on either side, but the Moroccans suffered more damage, injury, and death.

Eventually, a Moroccan ship lost a mast. The Moroccan admiral knew that the disabled ship, like a wounded gazelle, would be easy prey. Therefore, his entire line slowed to keep the damaged shipped in range of support.

However, he had misread the intention of the English. Their true purpose was not a fleet engagement, but merely to repel the invasion. When the Moroccan line slowed, the English broke away and made for the body of the Moroccan fleet: the transports and their frigate escorts. Such ships were hopelessly outmatched against the English two-deckers. A frigate and transport were captured before the Moroccan fleet could regroup with their larger ships. Once regrouped, the Moroccans made full sail away, conceding the engagement.

Fatally, the Moroccans did not vacate Commonwealth waters; a squadron of twelve ships-of-the-line met and destroyed them in Dingle Bay.

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After so devastating a defeat, Morocco agreed to a cessation of hostilities. Unfortunately, they had already passed leadership of the war to their ally the Mughal Empire.

The Mughals shared Morocco’s fate: the Commonwealth Navy destroyed their own.

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However, even with the defeat of their navy and a complete blockade of Gujarat Bay, the Mughals would not accept any peace.

Luckily, they shared no land borders with Commonwealth Indian territory. Unluckily, that territory was threatened still. A group of Tamil patriots took up arms in the recently-conquered province of Kongu.

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Normally European competition in India was unwelcome, but now the presence of a Danish army might prove fortuitous. England reminded her ally that they were more than welcome on Commonwealth soil.

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It was the only hope of putting down this rebellion, for the defenders of English India were in North Africa.

On October 24th, 1677, Dampier took Tunis, completing his conquest of the Ottoman’s North African coast.

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The winter was coming, and it was welcome to the men that now had to march inland. In the harsh desert of the interior, dehydration was a bigger killer than Ottoman fort armies. With speed born of urgency, Dampier occupied the remaining provinces of Ottoman North Africa, then made for the coast, where supply was less limited.

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Even with the capture of North Africa, the Ottomans were little moved to surrender (though they pleaded constantly for white peace). Despite the fact his most recent action brought England little nearer to victory, Dampier swore his next would.
 
Great AAR - I've been drawn here thanks to the Weekly AAR Showcase. Your description of battles are very good - far better to spend sometime outlining what happened than going "Er...and then we beat them."

Keep up the good work!
 
just wandered over from the showcase for a read ... its great stuff, and its nice to see an EU AAR that starts in the early modern rather than late medieval part of the game ... in effect you're much more constrained by what has gone before

interesting to see your efforts in N Africa and your restraint when faced with Italian scheming
 
An excellent action against the Turks.

Thanks, Omen! I certainly caught them off guard. Since getting vision on them, I've seen their armies moving all over everywhere, so I was surprised they left Ottoman Africa unguarded. Welp, their loss is my gain.

Congratulations Nuarq!

You have been selected for the Weekly AAR Showcase.

I hope many others will enjoy reading your AAR as much as I have and that your good work, on your good cause continues happily!

Great thanks, friend! It's an honor to be Showcased. I'm glad you enjoy reading my AAR enough to select it.

Great AAR - I've been drawn here thanks to the Weekly AAR Showcase. Your description of battles are very good - far better to spend sometime outlining what happened than going "Er...and then we beat them."

Keep up the good work!

Welcome aboard and thank you for the kind words! I always try to put a little extra effort into describing battles, so it's gratifying to hear you're enjoying them.

just wandered over from the showcase for a read ... its great stuff, and its nice to see an EU AAR that starts in the early modern rather than late medieval part of the game ... in effect you're much more constrained by what has gone before

interesting to see your efforts in N Africa and your restraint when faced with Italian scheming

Thanks so much. I have to say one of the more interesting things about writing this AAR is the later start. It's been a new, interesting experience as a player, and I'm happy you enjoy it as a reader. I do feel a little more constrained, but that's only because I'm so used to the 1399 start. You're somewhat "locked in" to what's happened before in a Grand Campaign, but you don't think about it as much because that's when you're used to taking the reins of power and diverging.

As for the Italians, were I not at war with the Ottomans I might be more brash. Luckily they ran out of spies so I have a brief reprieve :rofl:

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As always, thanks to everybody for commenting, and lurkers your readership is much appreciated too!

I have a pretty large backlog of gameplay, but life is a little hectic right now so I don't know how long it will take me to convert it to updates. Optimistically, I should have a chapter out this weekend.
 
I have a pretty large backlog of gameplay, but life is a little hectic right now so I don't know how long it will take me to convert it to updates. Optimistically, I should have a chapter out this weekend.

Don't sweat it - running an AAR (and especially a picture heavy one) is a lot of hard work. Take your time - we'll be here when you come back!
 
Ahh, Danes in Southern India. A perfect combination. Just make sure they get the province holding Tranquebar as a reward :D