Maintain the Monarchy: The Tsar Demands It!

[sprites]

Why Slovakia of all places? It will be a bit like that austrian Kognisberg

[Vrael_1492]

Why Slovakia of all places? It will be a bit like that austrian Kognisberg

Probably because it has some valuable resources, and is in general bigger than Ostpreussen. I think they have much coal?

[Serek000]

I think that's what the Acquire State CB is for, innit? No BB and a free war with Austria sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

[Brandenburg III]

sprites: Slovakia is on my border and will give me a nice position for future wars. Its also a nice little industrial place for Austria. And it does bother me that Austria has Ostpreussen but Austria keeps putting large amounts of troops there and they’re easy to surround and destroy.

Vrael_1492: I didn’t even check to see their raw resources. Maybe that’s something I should pay attention to in the future.

Serek000: Yeah, finally got one I really needed… And in a few more months I’ll be below 15 BB…

***

This Update’s Observation:

If you liked Mass Effect 1 & 2 then don’t get 3. Just make up your own story. It’ll be much more satisfying. It is a safe rent but the common statement

Five years ruined in five minutes is an honest one. It almost makes you wonder if they hired George Lucas to finish the series. Psst, that isn’t a good thing.

***

Northern Italy was tough but with the way the Austrians had carved up the territory there, if I could just bottle up the Austrians in Ravenna I’d be able to demolish major units there. It’d become a second Austrian deathtrap much like Ostpreussen had evolved into.

Through the first week of the month I bailed out Wallachia in a small battle in Nagyszeben while I fled in Brescia. Again I lost the battle but won the casualty round in Italy by nearly 7500. Even though I’m fighting mostly militia units, I’m still surprised by the favorable casualty rates.

Weeks later I won a costly battle in Konigsberg while brushing aside the Austrians in Brasso. Even so, my navy didn’t fare so well when they tried aiding a Greek fleet. 27 ironclads and 28 steamers were lost. But who needs ironclads in the late 1890’s anyway?

And at the start of August Congo was granted to… Japan.

Within a week I began funding a trip to head to the North Pole because you can never have enough ice. Hey, refrigerators aren’t exactly a household thing yet which means single men all around the world have nothing to keep their frozen dinners cold… or their hard liquors.

Adequate victories continued in northern Italy where I was still abusing her Military Access. Another victory came in Przemsyl while my second loss was delivered in Kosice.

At the start of September I raised all taxes to 75% and took a few pics.

1 September 1897

A string of victories continued in northern Italy with an Austrian army’s ultimate destruction in Venice. By 1 October the armies had been reconfigured:

Austria 245 reg/ 314 ships
Russia 535 reg/ 13 ships

1 October 1897

The Austrians and Krakowians - - lost their armies three days into October after a nice Russian encirclement. Yeah, Armchair General constantly bothers me for articles… just a shame… all that destruction for .1 WS point.

In the same week I achieved my revenge in Kosice with roughly equal casualties but I regained my territory. I also won in Uzgorod but apparently ran into a professional Austrian force for once; 51,000 Russian casualties against Austria’s 21,500. However victories in Udvarhely and Nagyszeben would make up for that result.

Through the middle of the month I won a minor battle in Trent, Montenegro and Austria signed a white peace and I had finally demolished Austria's units in Memel on 19 October.

The rest of the month was full of minor battles and one accidental battle where I ultimately lost a 15,000 man army. I’ll give them a statue or something to make up for it.

[aldriq]

That Italian front is a quite a grinder, but definitely worth fighting it, imagine if all those units were in the eastern front...

I’ve never seen a giddy nun maybe I should actually read a CK II AAR. I’d like to see that.

Oh come on, there may be more in Europe, but it's not as if Hollywood doesn't have good examples – just thinking of Whoopi Goldberg's Sister Act and Heath Ledger's Casanova

[Brandenburg III]

aldriq: I’m still waiting for a classic Imam comedy. Do you think that would come with a CK II Muslim expansion? I’d even buy CK II to see a giddy Imam.

And yeah, much of those Austrian Italian troops eventually went away but didn’t come back however their delayed attention to the Russian border helped greatly. And I was able to destroy the stragglers.

***

This Update’s Observation:

I seem to be stuck in the realm of the mad god.

***

November began with a loss in Debrecen, my 15,000 to Austria’s 6000. But I think we can safely claim I’ve made up for those losses elsewhere. Meanwhile a pair of minor victories followed in Danzig an Bosnia. Ten days into the new month and Italy declared war on Austria for Romagna.

The same day I added Moravia to my war goals mostly because Japan was doing such a great job in Africa - Austria’s other states - and there would be no way I’d be able to get there otherwise considering the Austrian navy.

Another day followed with the Austrians losing a 22,000 man army in Uzgorod. November continued not being their month with five more losses and two more armies destroyed. Also my sieges in northern Italy were beginning to pay off.

1 December 1897

Right about now I heard an Austrian say, ah Sheik!

And I do find it funny the Austrians were having such trouble against Egypt.

A few more small victories came in December and by the start of the new year I had raised Military Maintenance to 90%, lowered Poor and Middle taxes to 49% with the Rich at 0%.

The war continued in this way for a long time. In the early part of the year I signed a white peace with Krakow and received an event for militancy. I’m bringing these people nationalist victories. What else could they possibly want?

Toward the end of March I reduced National Stockpile to 50% and by April the Japanese were deep inside European Austria. That’s always fun to see though I wish they wouldn’t pick on the rebels.

I had kept the war going a little longer than needed because I wanted to incapacitate the Austrians as much as possible. So on 8 July, while the Austrians had a grand total of 6 regiments left to fight the Italians, I signed peace. And yes, I border their capital.

Five months later the Italians would take Romagna.

Moravian factories: 7 Cement, 10 Reg Cloth, 11 Glass, 9 Furniture, 4 Explosive, 8 Luxury Cloth, 6 Paper.
Slovakia factories: 5 Steel, 3 Fabric, 7 Glass, 6 Furniture, 6 Reg Cloth, 5 Lux Cloth, 3 Wine.

Casualties:
Russia: 343,784
Wallachia: 2570

Austria: 717,071
Saxony: 16,340
Krakow: 9741

Ship Loss:
Russia: 27 Ironclad / 28 Steamer Transport

Debt: - 31,087.4
Population: 24.41
Literacy: 36.6%

[aldriq]

You've got to be proud of your Japanese allies. Hopefully the Italian AI will be at least as stubborn to take Romagna.

[Juan_de_Marco]

That is a very good position for future wars. How's the infamy coming along? And the gold mines?

[Veugdenmans]

This has been a very fun AAR to watch and i look forward to seeing you complete your goals.

[Brandenburg III]

aldriq: They did in the above update

Juan_de_Marco: Yeah, taking away the hills in the north is important, also being able to cut off their Romanian region and bordering their capital is very important. BB is still under 25 and there aren’t many precious metals but I’m about to kick that into overdrive.

Veugdenmans: Ah, if only I were good enough to complete all the goals. Nevertheless, we’ll see what can be done.

To all: I’m surprised no one remarked how northeastern Austria looks like a bunny munching on Moldavia.

***

This Update’s Observation:

Sure life’s a bitch and then you die but the afterlife is hell.

***

The end of 1898 left us with some unhappy former military guys. They should just be happy they were given a job.

Early January 1899 Portugal signed a white peace with Liberia… a day later the UK declared war on Liberia. Independence isn’t what it seems. On the 16th of January I was able to lower poor taxes to 3%. Things went on smoothly until 24 March when Jacobin rebels broke free. It would take until the beginning of November before they’d all been dealt with.

Casualties:
Russian Soldiers: 14,802

Jacobins: 297,000

Eat your heart out, Petrograd.

Those are almost real civil war numbers. I can guess those numbers are going to continue growing.

Backpedaling to April I received a nice small prestige boost and Italy invaded Abu Dhabi. BB well spent.

Communists overtook Paraguay a few months later and in July the United Kingdom annexed Liberia. And a beer hall reduced militancy. Who would’ve guessed?

Around October I began placing influence in Ecuador whenever it could be spared and by the end of the year Italy had annexed Abu Dhabi. They’re really investing some time in the Arabian peninsula.

1 January 1900 I began prepping for war and declared war on Kokkand for Yasi on 8 March. 24 March Ukrainian Nationalists rebelled. That revolution would last until July.

Casualties:
Russian Soldiers: 5985

Ukrainian Nationalists: 106,000

I defeated Kokkand twice in April and May before destroying their forces on 1 June. Just in time as a Communist Revolution began on 24 May. That revolution would last until March 1901.

Casualties:
Russian Soldiers: 28,555

Communists: 440,000

15 July 1900 I discovered Iron Railroad and moved onto Military Directionism. 17 August Kokkand and I agreed to peace.

Kokkand War:
Russia: 5412

Kokkand: 25,000

23 October I offered to host the Olympics which were eventually held on 14 December 1900.

21 July, with the revolution handled, I began prepping for war again. 1 October I pushed National Stockpile to 100%, became cordial with Ecuador and received the results of the Olympics almost one year after they occurred.

Population: 24.79
Literacy: 37.5%
Cash: 1.11 M.

[zagoroth]

Know you missed me, don't worry, still reading.


Funny note, I love to acquire Abu Dhabi. The population is so small that it allows a large enough of my primary pops to arrive, and thus achieve statehood. From there, inter border migrations help me spread to the more heavily occupied regions of the Middle East.

[Veugdenmans]

Lol I hadn't noticed the bunny before, but it does like like it is munching on moldavia!

[sprites]

Oh , I inverted Slovakia and Slovenja in my last comment ...
a few rebels pop , not really a problem.

[aldriq]

Just goes to show, I pay no attention to either text or bunny maps when I read after midnight...

From this point are you going to get more rebellions than wars? As long as you can contain them (that communist uprising was nearly half a million?!)

[Brandenburg III]

zagoroth: I still think 9 BB for that little plot of land is just too much. While I like the hunk of state you receive after a peace treaty in Vik II, some states just cost too much.

Veugdenmans: See what kind of world I live in?

sprites: Rebels are really a pain to keep tract of but much easier than they were in Victoria I.

aldriq: I know, who knew there were so many Communists in Russia in the early 1900s? I’m not out of the first decade of the century yet so I’m not sure how many more rebellions or wars there’ll be. I don’t get it how some of these people on the main Victoria II forum can blaze through a pair of games. EU3 was slow with mods but vanilla Vik II is a long crawl.

***

This Update’s Observation:

There hasn’t been an update in a while. You can blame Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for that.

***

I declared war on Prussia on 1 January 1902 sending me over the BB limit. As it stood Prussia had only one colony and I wanted a little Africa in my life so I went after Dahomey. And to keep my allies in my corner I didn’t call for them to aid me.

Prussia was still weak. They had 2 regiments and 189 ships while I had 142 regiments and 17 ships. Even after their mobilization a week later their numbers only rose to 79... mine went up to 557. This wasn’t going to be a naval affair.

Five battles were won in the final week of January which came easy considering I was essentially fighting against a militia army. Two of their armies during this week were destroyed numbering 52,000 Prussians.

Eleven battles were won over the following two months without a single loss. At the same time I was only able to destroy two enemy armies, both Prussian satellites, one at 15,000 the second at 3000.

At the end of March I was able to relax taxes a little and dropped rich taxes to 49% while poor and middle taxes remained at 90%.

1 April 1902

Russia 556 Regiments 19 ships
Prussia 63 Regiments 193 ships

Yeah, they’re building more ships. Its good to see their priorities are straight.

Wins continued to come in through April however I suffered a costly amount of casualties in Schwin - 22,500 to their 8000 - but I found some revenge in Stralsund - my 15,250 to their 50,000. It was on that day, 17 April, that I decided to add the war goal of Schlesein.

A few weeks passed without any event until I was handed the notice that the Prussians were invading Alaska. After maneuvering my Alaskan Defense unit its easy to see the Prussians weren’t going to last long there.

By July the war was in much safer hands.

1 July 1902

Russia 556 Regiments 20 ships
Prussia 43 Regiments 194 ships

4 September I made my first attempts to stray out of my natural waters and into the White Sea. It became apparent that I wasn’t quite yet ready to do the naval combat thing.

Thirteen days later however, I destroyed the last Prussian army in Europe. There were still 21 Prussian regiments running around the world somewhere. In other news, one day later Anarcho-Liberals took over Brazil. It’s a good thing they have all those ships and no army.

Mid October another naval loss came my way. I thought I’d be able to outmuscle the Prussians but I still lost ships without denting their fleet. I reduced National Stockpile to 50%, Rich taxes to 0%, Middle 49% and Poor 65%. The only other notable events through the rest of the year was my occupation of Berlin in late October and Mexico’s agreement to join my war on 7 November. I figured that Mexico might be able to get into Africa to help me with my warscore while I continued my occupations in Europe.

1 January 1903

A few days into the new year I discovered Military Directionism with Organic Chemistry to follow it.

The war was silent for the next six months until I was able to surprise two Prussian transports which I sunk. I’ll call it a victory.

19 days later on 21 July the Prussians agreed to peace.

Factories: 7 cement, 10 reg clothes, 11 glass, 9 furniture, 5 explosive, 8 lux clothes, 7 paper and 1 fabric.

I demobilized, reduced National Stockpile to 25% and Poor and Middle Taxes to 32%. There’s peace for now.

Casualties:
Russia: 179,347

Prussia: 200,857
Prussian Satellites: 54,958

Ship Loss:
Russia: 8 Commerce Raiders, 4 Transports

Prussia: 2 Transports

Cash: +829.44
Population: 25.44
Literacy: 39.7%

[Veugdenmans]

With your bb over the limit isn't britain going to declare a war of containment on you, because you now border them in africa. Or is you military score too high?

[aldriq]

Are you after some French Africa?

[thekinguter]

Reduce Prussia to a mere Brandenburg! No Germany is going to siege your Stalingrad/Volgograd..

[Brandenburg III]

Veugdenmans: Maybe eventually but I’m not worried. When’s the last time Britain won a war on their own? But for now my military score is keeping me safe.

aldriq: I didn’t think that far ahead. Although I do border France’s sphered Sokoto. I decided before my war with Prussia that I was going to try to form Manhattan and get those precious metals. I decided I’m not going to try taking this into HOI so I’m just going to try to fulfill those goals. And a little more.

thekinguter: Prussia is totally destroyed in this game. But I’ll go ahead and try that. They have a few precious metals anyway that I have to get.

***

This Update’s Observation:

Warning: B3 has discovered a JRPG he actually likes. The 2012 prophesy is true. Everyone! To the mountain!

***

1 September Italy canceled their Military Access. Since they’re interfering in all my small countries and its really annoying me I might go to war with them to knock them down and stop them. Trouble is logistics. So in late November I secured Military Access with Egypt in case I needed to drive into Italy’s Arabian provinces should war come.

30 May France decided to cancel MA and about two weeks after that the Communists returned.

Although this revolution would only last till 23 October.

Casualties:
Russian soldiers: 5195

Communists: 146,000

The timely Parliamentary Agitation event hit me just a few weeks later, angering all those beloved Anarcho-Liberals. Eight days later I became Friendly with Ecuador and acquired MA with Siam to polish up the rest of 1904.

5 February 1905 the game forced my Slavophile Party to become defunct, replacing it with the Octobrists without reason. It has the same stats and since I didn’t have a choice in the matter, I’m going to go on like nothing happened.

Three days later I declared war to annex Johore, only inviting Siam to the party.

I won a pair of battles in March, soon discovering Organic Chemistry and working on Clean Coal.

After receiving a CB on 16 June 1906, I declared war on Khiva to cut them down to size since Johore had massive forts and they were taking forever to occupy. I’d make peace with Khiva on 30 December.

Khiva War Casualties:
Russia: 605

Khiva: 3000

Also at the end of 1906 China canceled MA and I discovered Clean Coal, beginning work on Bolt Action Rifles.

3 April 1907 I grew tired of reading and declared war on Kokand to add them to my sphere and to eventually take the rest of the Yasi region. They don’t have any regiments so this war is really nothing more than a formality.

Meanwhile, Africa booms.

21 June Ukrainian Nationalists rose. They would all be put down by 9 September of the same year.

Casualties:
Russian soldiers: 4222

Ukrainians: 96,000

11 September I resecured MA through China. And 28 November the last Level 4 Johore fort fell. I forced their annexation, bringing in two Precious Metals into my empire.

Johore War Casualties:
Russia: 626

Johore: 3000

[thekinguter]

The bolsheviks are getting stronger. I recommend you prioritize defending Western Russia and Novobirsk (far eastern ports) as soon they might outnumber the imperial army

Also good job with Prussia! You should take Pommerania next, to leave them without ports. Then they will be worthless and you can concentrate on balkanizing Austria -the rebellions will be too much to handle with the commies running rampant and a satellite/sphered Hungary might keep the area under your control without taking too much of your time. Also, I suggest you adquire Bohemia-Moravia as it has a high population and it may plummet down Austria on the rankings.

Losing a land war with China might do the trick if you are struggling later with revolts. You may just hold on to St Petersburg and Moscow and wait for the chinese to clear some breathing space for you, giving you time to recover. The rebels and the chinese will fight, and the chinese will sweep all of the areas occupied by the rebels and then you can white peace or attack their armies (who will be dieing from attrition anyways) and cut them down to size.