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1653-1657: A Bittersweet Victory​

The peace would only last for less than two months as in early September, Talken decided to press his claims on Ottoman Sieradz.

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While the Ottomans had over forty thousand men in their small Polish exclave, generals Franz Brach and August Talken responded with more than seventy thousand men in all as well as their superior leadership abilities. Brach, in particular, was extremely successful.

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By early December the Ottoman Polish provinces were occupied and their local military presence eliminated. Also, all of their Mediterranean ports were under Brunswicker blockade.

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But despite the strong position, the war was far from over. In fact, there was a bit of a stalemate: the Ottomans had no way of properly threatening Brunswick, but applying any additional pressure was difficult for Brunswick as well.

This changed in the autumn of 1654. Bohemia attacked Krakow, which was under Brunswicker protection, and decided to grant the Ottoman troops passage through their country, presumably hoping that the Turks would keep Brunswick busy.

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Bohemia had made a severe miscalculation. The military access ploy only led to more Ottoman casualties, and their own war effort didn't fare much better. Any major Bohemian armies were obliterated by Talken and Brach.

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By the end of January 1655 the Bohemian heartland was under Brunswicker occupation and the enemy had no choice but to accept Talken's peace terms. Bohemia would have to give Styria its independence again.

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With that war over, Brunswick could only guard the borders, intercepting any Ottoman forces that tried to enter.

Talken wasn't sitting idle however. With Lithuania ravaged by war, many in the capital yearned for Brunswicker rule, and the Syndic was happy to work this into a claim.

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Nothing would be done immediately as Talken didn't want to hamper Lithuania's current war effort - it was against Bohemia, and the Lithuanians seemed to be winning. In fact, Bohemia would end up losing Transylvania in the conflict.

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But it turned out that the choice between war and peace wasn't Talken's to make. Austria and its allies, including Lithuania, attacked Styria in July despite Brunswick's protection.

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This war wasn't much of an issue as the enemy coalition was relatively weak. General Talken took his army to the Austrian front, making sure that the only opposing nation with decent forces was properly taken care of.

Separate peace deals were quickly signed with many of the smaller participants. Most of them consisted of nations giving up claims on Brunswick's lands, but the Lithuanian deal forced the rebirth of Yaroslavl in the province of Pskov.

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While the Austrian side didn't seem to stand a chance against Brunswick, a distinct lack of resilience led to a loss of land for Styria. They reached peace with Austria in September, with Austria gaining Lienz, before Brunswick's forces could liberate the province.

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The death of Christian Franz Wassman in October left Brunswick's fleet without a skilled leader, but fortunately the Ottoman blockade was going well enough that no new naval planning was needed at the moment.

Important steps were taken in the late month: Austrian king Franz I was humiliated on the battlefield by general Talken, leading to the king accepting a peace deal that gave Brunswick a small indemnity. Perhaps more importantly, general Brach had taken advantage of the Austrian war and marched his men into Ottoman territory in Slavonia.

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Osijek fell in early December, and the apparently successful war effort gave Syndic Talken the boost he needed in the imminent election. Minor battles took place in early 1656, and Banat was taken in March. Meanwhile Austria continued its rejuvenation, reconquering Tirol.

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General Talken, having snuck through Austrian territory to the Ottoman lands, led Brunswick's troops there into a victorious battle against the combined forces of Serbia and Bosnia. With those armies out of the picture, the province of Bosnia was taken in June, followed by Hum in August.

While the prolonged campaign went on, there were some developments of interest on Brunswick's borders. Most importantly, Novgorod was annexed by Sweden, giving Brunswick a new land border with their perennial punching bag.

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By the late year, the Ottomans were starting to run into the same problems that the British had grown to know so well in wars against Brunswick. The mounting casualties and increasing amounts of war-torn land were turning their subjects against them, leading to some unrest in the nation. Syndic Talken tried to talk sense into the Turks, but to no avail.

So the war had to go on. Serbia, Kosovo and Oltenia were occupied in October, November and December, respectively.

However, not all went well in Oltenia. General August Talken, the Syndic's brother, caught a terrible fever in the cold of January 1657 and perished.

The Syndic was furious: if not for the Ottomans' stubbornness, his dear little brother would still be alive. General Brach retook command of the army and pushed through with a new level of purpose. Nis fell in March, followed by Macedonia in April.

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It was Macedonia's demise - Brunswick entering their rich heartland, obviously fueled by anger - that made the Ottoman Sultan realize that things could not go on like this or his nation would be in ruins. Ottoman Northern Europe was ceded to Brunswick.

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Finally, Brunswick's Baltic holdings were properly connected to the rest of the country. For Karl Talken it was a bittersweet moment. He had accomplished what many before him had striven for, but at a high cost personally.

At least August had not died in vain.

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The letters! :D

That was rather neat campaign in the Balkans - while I was reading the update, I was wondering how you would gather enough WS. And then I got my answer ;).

Btw, that's rather sad Sweden you got there. Hopefully PI won't freeze your game for that.
 
well Talken and Brach were quite the pair weren't they ... competition to see who could massacre the most enemies in a single battle

and so nice of the Lithuanians (or at least a province worth of them) to throw themselves at you in such a genteel manner

and that font at the end, so refined, so gentlemanly
 
What a fantastic looking country you have there. The cores are just candy on top of the delicious land connection you've gained.

A well written update. It's nice to see rebels running through Bohemian lands. Any chance they swap to you?
 
Not in vain indeed; look at that gallant font!

And could those be the long-awaited Lithuanian rebels, just itching to give you a bunch of Imperial Reconquest cores? With you got a ready-made permanent CB against Lithuania to boot!
 
These borders look just splendid! BUT they would look much more better if you manage to get cores for the bunch of minors near Loraine. After all, I am sure that during an earlier geological era they were on the sae tectonic plate as Brunswick...
 
Interesting war against the Ottomans. You took a non-core province in the peace. As Poland already exists, to whom will you give Plock? Mazovia?
Austria is another of those nations that keeps coming back. Bohemia is unravelling. Good to see Sweden ready for another round or two with Brunswick. Denmark has been strangely quiet.
 
The letters! :D

Yes! A joy to look at. :D

That was rather neat campaign in the Balkans - while I was reading the update, I was wondering how you would gather enough WS. And then I got my answer ;).

I actually missed an opportunity to head for the Balkans in the Bohemian war - I was kicking myself when I realized I could have moved troops to Ottoman territory through Bohemian land then. Fortunately, the Austria DoW gave me another chance.

Btw, that's rather sad Sweden you got there. Hopefully PI won't freeze your game for that.

:D Scandinavia has been rather eventful in this game, both Sweden and Denmark have been up and down. What's worrying for them, the Golden Horde has arrived...

well Talken and Brach were quite the pair weren't they ... competition to see who could massacre the most enemies in a single battle

Hehe... It was rigged against Talken as he (as the better general) had to face the enemy artillery stacks all the time. Still, he managed to pull it off when given an easier adversary against the Austrians.

All in all, I've very rarely had quite such a technological powerhouse that Brunswick is due to having so much income for the country size. The reason for that is that new provinces don't drag me down here plus my trade has been in excellent shape the whole time. Naturally, having awesome tech leads to some lopsided battles.

and so nice of the Lithuanians (or at least a province worth of them) to throw themselves at you in such a genteel manner

and that font at the end, so refined, so gentlemanly

It does look good! And the Lithuanians indeed saved me the trouble of declaring war on them myself. :p

What a fantastic looking country you have there. The cores are just candy on top of the delicious land connection you've gained.

A well written update. It's nice to see rebels running through Bohemian lands. Any chance they swap to you?

Thank you! Not me, wrong culture, but as Fronzel has found out, they are a useful bunch. It all comes back to that Ottoman-Bohemian war: it not only gave me the opportunity to get the land connection, but it also led to a Bohemia cut in half. Of course, the AI has much more trouble with the rebels in that situation.

Not in vain indeed; look at that gallant font!

And could those be the long-awaited Lithuanian rebels, just itching to give you a bunch of Imperial Reconquest cores? With you got a ready-made permanent CB against Lithuania to boot!

I realize I'm spoiling my own updates, but this is such a good hunch that I have to respond: yes! :D I'm so glad that one of my more complex machinations (i.e. nurturing an outside the Empire Lithuania) succeeds for once.

These borders look just splendid! BUT they would look much more better if you manage to get cores for the bunch of minors near Loraine. After all, I am sure that during an earlier geological era they were on the sae tectonic plate as Brunswick...

Thanks! Isn't it funny that I've expanded as far as Estonia, 10+ provinces away from my start, yet I still lack land that's two provinces away? That's randomness for you. ;) That said, I'll contact the Brunswick Cartographers' Guild and let them know of these rumors that some of the land outside our borders is actually rightfully ours...

Interesting war against the Ottomans. You took a non-core province in the peace. As Poland already exists, to whom will you give Plock? Mazovia?

Ah Chief, this isn't the first time you think I've taken non-core land when I actually haven't, is it? ;) See the "Gain core on Plock" in the second to last screenshot. Sieradz, meanwhile, was cored in the earlier Claims on our Rivals event.

Austria is another of those nations that keeps coming back. Bohemia is unravelling. Good to see Sweden ready for another round or two with Brunswick. Denmark has been strangely quiet.

Denmark has been slowly eating Sweden after being on the ropes earlier. I'm in the way of any southern expansion. Bohemia continued the cycle of conquering more land to compensate for what I took for a long time, but now they've run out of targets a bit...

Cheif Ragusa, both those were Imperial Territory in the hands of a non-imperial. He gets cores on them instantly.

Exactly. And while in this version of the game it's just one Imperial Reconquest core per peace deal, as mentioned I had a core on Sieradz already.
 
I believe the rule was that you needed to have a core on a province before you take it - not after.

No. From the first post:

- No conquering without either having a core on the province or getting one upon conquest.

Or getting one upon conquest.

I would have broken your version a lot throughout the game - that would prevent not only Imperial Reconquest but Conquest missions as well.
 
Remember to vote in the AARland Choice AwAARds everyone! Us writAARs would very much appreciate it. :)

Yes you would have, wouldn't you? You'd have had more of a challenge.

Now that's a bit unreasonable IMO. First of all, it's been somewhat of a challenge, full with taking loans when my entire country was under siege, having to pay people off and later practically losing a war more than a century in (partially due to RP, but still). None of that happens in your average non-challenging game. Also, as fragensienicht says, those rules would have made it based more on luck - or would mean less ways to make my own luck I suppose. Basically I'd have just gone for republic ASAP, kept the HRE strong and hoped for the best, none of this fancy stuff that's going on in Lithuania for instance. And no meaningful Baltic holdings in the first place, which I think have made this a lot more interesting game.

I have to disagree, Chief. The game would've been more boring and based more-so soley on luck and randomness.

Eitherway, lovely AAR, enjoying it alot so far!

Indeed, thanks for the support. ;) And the praise as well, good to hear that you're having fun reading this!
 
Just finished reading only 3 days. GREAT SUBSCRIBED
House rule's RULE!!
Love the found sufficient support. Tweaking policy here, a law there.
Convincing citizens to be Brunswicker citizens. Locals helping with terrain information.
PS I take notes as I read.
Work 14-15hrs. Eat play with 4 kids 1-2hrs. Read AAR's or play my current game 3-5hrs.
Go to bed get up do it all over again!
 
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Sorry but how centrlized are you now. Earlier in the aar you were doing diplo annexing of vassels. Doesnt that decentralize you. Any ways just wondering.
 
Just finished reading only 3 days. GREAT SUBSCRIBED
House rule's RULE!!
Love the found sufficient support. Tweaking policy here, a law there.
Convincing citizens to be Brunswicker citizens. Locals helping with terrain information.
PS I take notes as I read.
Work 14-15hrs. Eat play with 4 kids 1-2hrs. Read AAR's or play my current game 3-5hrs.
Go to bed get up do it all over again!

Thanks for the praise! You seem to be a pretty dedicated guy in anything you do then. I wonder how much you sleep though! :D

Nice campaign.

Thank you! :)

In HTTT and later you lose one stability instead, no slider move.

You're a nice great power now, still with horrible cartographers.

They're an integral part of our society!

Oh and thanks for explaining that one.

I guess I better get HTTT then.......

I see you already did. ;) While Chieron answered your original question, I'd like to add that I was much less willing to diploannex in game versions that gave the decentralization hit. It mostly wasn't worth it in my mind but that changed when the penalty did.