"Machiavelli : Europe Arising", an MP RPG AAR

Wearied from decades of bloodshed in cruel wars that had rocked Central Europe to its very core, several enlightened monarchs joined forces to halt the descent into madness. When the issues were analysed, it turned out that there was a common view that these wars had happened at French instigation in an attempt to secure French dominion over Western and Central Europe. In their quest for hegemony, Kings Louis XIV, XV, and XVI had played the Dutch against the HRE, the Poles against the Prussians, and the Prussians against everybody else, destroying the flower of each generation on the field of futile battle.

In the imperial court and under the auspices of his majesty, Leopold II, the Dutch, Prussian, Polish, and Austria-Italian nations signed the charter of the Central European Treaty Organisation, which the sole purpose of mutual defense against any and all attackers.


Seing the might of CETO, king Louis XVI of France began making peaceful overtures to the imperial court. No longer would old enmities be pursued, no, indeed, it was to be a time of peace and prosperity cemented with a royal marriage, and a mutual pledge of non-aggression against each other.

The Emperor agreed to these provisions, as peace amongst Christians was much on his mind, but he was wary of the French intentions. Less than two decades earlier, the very same King Louis XVI had claimed to pursue a similar policy, the outcome of which was the betrayal and invasion of Austria-Italia when Louis annulled the marriage and invaded. Had the old dog really learned a new trick or was this merely a way to disarm the Empire? Time would tell.


A stunned diplomatic world stood silent witness to the surprising French invasion of Bourbon Spain in the spring of 1795. With exceptional leaders by the dozen, the French armies seemed ever victorious, yet Spain and its faithful ally Portugal bravely withstood the invasion. Was this the new face of King Louis XVI? An attempted fratricide? If he would so go against the natural law, his behaviour would truly be difficult to predict - but for now the Emperor bided his time, for a diplomatic crisis had arisen in the east.


Negotiations concerning the status of Krain with the Ottoman Empire broke down when the Sultana Imelda Marcos, utilizing the full force of harem politics, took control of the Turkish foreign office. Soon every letter from the Turk concerned shoes*, the lack of shoes, the colour and taste of shoes, and the impact velocity of shoes. The negotiations were tied up when Johann, the later Archduke, reacting to a taunt concerning his burly boys, severed the ties by main force by occupying Krain: The imperial armies were met with bullets and shoes (the Sultana had not exaggerated their number), and pretty soon what had begun as a minor incursion became a full-fledged war as imperial armies crushed Turkish Hungary and marched on Constantinople.

In the battle of Thrace (July 8th to August 4th, 1797), the Turkish might was finally broken, as 279,000 Austro-Italians completely destroyed the 363,000 man strong main Turkish army and a few smaller detachments for the loss of 22,000 men. The Imperial discipline, leadership, and combined arms approach proved to be decisive to the outcome.




Soon after the fall of Thrace, all of Hungary was under Austro-Italian control, yet Johann did not stop his advance. Assaulting one province after the other and destroying all who stood against him, he blazed a path straight to Persia, whose Shah was allied with the Sultana. Following the fall of Tabriz in May 1798 the Shah sued for peace, paying the entire treasury of 20d**. With the Persian capitulation, the Sultana lost the will to fight, and she signed away Krain, Croatia, and Dalmatia.




With France, Spain, Austria-Italia, and the Ottoman Empire all engaged in wars, other nations saw their chance to settle scores with their neighbours. Prussia and Sweden invaded Denmark in separate actions, Sweden to conquer Norway and Prussia to take control of Holstein, while Poland attacked Sweden to regain control of the baltic provinces. Russia began killing eastern muslims in great numbers under the transparent guise of a conquest of the steppes. By early 1799 Prussia was at peace, yet the Polish war dragged on. Spain and Portugal began imploring the Emperor to intervene against France, but, though sorely tested, he did not but continued rebuilding the Imperial armies, that were 100,000 short of the peace-time force level of 1,000,000 men.


Then fortune favoured the brave, for King Louis XVI of France in his overweening pride committed an incredibly diplomatic faux pas, revealing his degenerate ambitions for all to see. With most of CETO at peace, with the exception of Poland fighting Sweden, now in Finland, King Louis sent emissaries to Austria and Prussia suggesting that they "deal with Poland. Now would be the time, no?"

Clearly, even as his troops under the brilliant leadership of Shorty Bonaparte, an expatriate Corsican expelled from the imperial army due to extreme shortness, overran Spain, King Louis was attempting to split CETO and make its members war upon each other. The old dog had not learned a new trick, it had just decided to dine on the corpse of Spain before turning on the Central European powers once again.

Righteous in their wrath, the King of Prussia and the Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia and Italy, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Lord of the Sands, expelled the emissaries, as they would never consider attacking their good alliance member, the commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania. King Louis was warned that he had committed a serious affront to the entire CETO, and Poland-Lithuania was alerted to King Louis' plans.

New emissaries from Louis of France soon arrived, explaining that the King of France happened to have overlooked the creation of CETO, the greatest shift in alliance patterns within the last decade, and that he was only joking, really, not trying to get anybody to attack Poland. That he had been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and baselessly misjudged. As news of the rape of Castilla filtered in on the Autumn air, that did not seem very likely. The emissaries were sent packing, and CETO began preparing for war against France.


May 6th, Imperial stormtroopers and Prussian commandos poured into France - a France defended by Shorty Bonaparte and his merry men, back from a victorious Spanish campagign, that saw the ancient throne of Spain entangled in the bonds of vassalage. Many battles were to follow, and Shorty were to prove himself perhaps the general of the age, time and time again crushing numerically equivalent Imperial forces, yet for all his valour, Shorty was but one man, and could be in but one place at the same time. Not only that, due to Shorty's deep sense of insecurity, every single other brilliant French leader - and there were a lot of them - travelled with Shorty's army, as that was the safest place to be in the world, even despite the war.

Yet all Shorty's brilliant battles were for naught. When he was in the south, the Prussians attacked in the north. When he pursued the Prussians in the north, the imperial armies made headway in the south. Paris itself was sacked thrice. Despite crippling Prince Johann during the 5th battle of the plains, France was losing the war, slowly but steadily, as ever more provinces fell under the imperial sway. At last, in February 1803, King Louis XVI and Shorty Bonaparte gave in, signing away Cologne to Prussia and Mainz and Piedmonte to Austria-Italia.




Shorty and his merry men survived, and King Louis XVI of France has sworn revenge on the entire Austro-Italian people for subjecting the French to the depratory warfare that they have for so many years imposed on others. Against this threat, CETO stands united. We shall not give in to French demands, nor shall we give up our freedoms to please a tyrant, by he Fatty or Shorty.

The CETO-members reiterate their intentions to defend each other against the world, if that is what it takes. Additionally, observers from Portugal, Spain, and England, have been invited to observe the CETO deliberations. Against French aggression, CETO will stand firm, and should any nations feel that these troubled times will allow for attacks on CETO member states, they will face the full fury of the combined CETO armies.

To the Tyrants of the world, take heed. Against tyranny and offenses to liberty we stand united, and we support every nations right to shatter bonds of vassalage that binds them!











* The part about shoes is no joke. Mowers, who was subbing the Ottoman Empire, was in a strange, strange, mood. I did not even get the complimentary belly dancer when attending the Ottoman world fair (don't ask)

Excerpt from pre-war negotiations (yes, it was a surrealistic as it reads):

Mowers (Ottoman Empire): Now, no more naughty talk. Now, u have been invited to a lovely picnic and all you can do is send these burly boys, who are just not good picnicers at all. So helpful mr oostira and so chatty too, Come over for a slumber party and we can talk about boys and stuff. Peter piper, peter, you really are an ungrateful man, I have offered you all sorts of treats.

October 7, 1796 : Austria declared war upon Ottoman Empire.

Mowers (Ottoman Empire) :and u just continue to build armes"

Peter Ebbesen (Austria) :OK. That DOES it"

Mowers (Ottoman Empire) : oh dear me- you are just the one. hey? heyt? whoes an upset little oooostrian?

Peter Ebbesen (Austria) :On the positive side, you just gained +1 stab



Mowers gets first prize for his deranged Imelda Marcos impersonation.



** I had momentarily forgotten that the Persia-culture rule not only applied to the Ottomans, and was happilily looking forwards to a strong Austro-Italian enclave on the Persian Gulf. Ah, well, so be it.

*** lost 4 points of centralisation thorugh events and had an awful lot of stab hits as well.

Holland 1788-1803

What Happened Before?

At the beginning of this turbulent period Holland was in a very unfavorable position. Her alliance with France and Poland was destroyed by France and instead Prussia was the main French ally. Prussia that pillaged our land and destroyed our economy in the last war. Dutch people were not happy.
But even more unhappy, even enraged, were our merchants. Incredible amounts of money were senselessly pumped into French and Prussian war machine, in the beginning for just some vague promises, and later, according to some rumors, even just because we were threatened with invasion! Incredible! That will never happen again! We do not give money for nothing. And if someone threatens us, we do give money – to his most hated enemy! .
And even that was not all. Final blow was using always peaceful Holland to declare a war on Austria-Italia on behalf of France and Prussia. That after Staten Generaal clearly stated Holland wishes peaceful development in the defensive alliance with France and Poland! This is no way how an ally is treated! Thus Holland decided to put an end to that alliance. Naturally, it was not announced publicly, because the situation was very very dangerous…

The New Start

It was decided Holland is not any more French ally. If France tries some aggressive actions we would not answer her call to join the cause. If France was attacked, we would think about it from the position of a neutral country. Until such an occasion Holland was to stay in the French alliance. But not for long, because France immediately started demanding more money. Which was not coming. The excuses were all good and valid, but in the end it was obvious Holland would not send money any more. France had strong economy herself and her Bourbon cousin in Spain could send her as much money as she needed. And Dutch merchant had enough of that extortion!
In the mean time extensive diplomatic negotiations were conducted. First good relations with Poland were confirmed. The same was with Prussia, who received a lot of financial aid recently. And Poland and Prussia were now allies and members of Austrian alliance. Only Austria, the most difficult diplomatic test, remained. With a lot of common good will and efforts from both sides, Emperor accepted the Dutch explanation of the recent most unfortunate and unjust declaration of war. Notes saying that Holland and Austria-Italia have no mutual territorial disputes were exchanged.
France decided to attack Spain, and in the same old manner ORDERED Holland to prepare for war. We replied this was not the way allies are coordinating mutual goals – for that is what alliance is for – and pointed out Holland has no disputes with Portugal at all, and Spanish trade embargo was not good enough a reason to go to war. Holland would remain neutral.
It was than that there was a sudden change on the French throne. The new French ruler had the same goal: attack Spain and Portugal. And he got the same answer from Holland. After which France broke alliance with Holland.
An ambassador was send to Vienna offering the defensive alliance to Emperor, which he accepted. Thus ended one difficult period of our history. Holland is now a member of a defensive alliance with Austria-Italia, Poland and Prussia. We are 100% devoted to that defensive alliance. We are also peaceful country, so Holland will most likely remain neutral should any member of our alliance decide to pursue any aggressive action.

Consolidation of Trade

Dutch trade was very much neglected during past few years. Holland was the country with the highest number of embargoes in the world! That had to be resolved and it soon was.
Poland was the least problem. It appeared the only thing our allies wanted was Holland to keep not more than 2 merchants in Danzig, which we easily agreed to do.
There were again some problems with Ottoman Empire. Although our license was valid for 2 more years, they needed and this demanded money immediately. Well, since we agreed the new license would be valid for 22 years and since we had money in the treasury…why not? Especially since there were still 5 Dutch merchants in Thrace and Astrakhan.
Russia was the next step. She really only demanded to be treated the same way as Ottoman Empire: buy the license and than trade. We found no problems with that and soon Dutch merchants were making money in Moscow and Astrakhan.
Now only Spain and The Knights remained. We do hope this will be resolved soon.
Holland is a true supporter of a free trade. The proof is we lifted the embargo issued against Denmark and the warning to Sweden not to trade in our Asian COTs if she doesn’t want to be embargoed. We allow trade in our COTs to all countries. Even Spain and The Knights. Only our enemies should fear embargo. And currently Holland doesn’t see any country as an enemy.

Great Internal Crisis – 8 Years Without the Government

Yes, believe or not, that’s what Holland survived! (OOC: I dropped out of the game) And during that time EVERYTHING happened in Europe: French war against Spain and Portugal, Austrian and Prussian war against France. Polish war against Sweden, Swedish war against Denmark. And who knows what else.
In the mean time, Holland did nothing, except lost 57 ships because of some unknown error (OOC: bug – hopefully GM will edit them back and the navy should IMMEDIATELLY go to home waters to avoid further attrition). The consequence is more than 30.000 d in the treasury. Although it should have been more .

What is expected from Holland in the future – or instructions for a stand-in

Holland is currently 100% loyal member of defensive alliance with Austria-Italia, Poland and Prussia. We intend to honor defensive alliance call, but we are hardly interested in any aggressive wars.
There is no reason why Dutch trading income shouldn’t soon be the same as Portuguese, especially since there is no embargo against us. We wish to maintain that status if possible. But as usually, we do not accept ultimatums. And as long term customers we do expect special treatment from Ottoman Empire and Russia.

What to do with the treasury? A significant part of those 30.000 d in the treasury should remain for the case of aggression on us or our allies. Not less than 10.000 d.
With the rest of the money 8 new shipyards has to be constructed: Kansai, Mindoro, Flores, Taranaki, Timaru and when the stability reaches +3 Ciskei, Samar and Buru.
Holland has to have about the same number of warships as other naval powers (Spain, Portugal and England). Currently that’s 400. We build only warships.

Strong fleet has to be stationed in Indonesia (100 warships for example) and another one in Indian Ocean. Home Fleet of at least 200 warships is the ideal base for 200.000 soldiers that can easily intervene in any our province except Friesland (needs unloading, while in the rest of provinces army can be disembarked in the port). 100.000 more soldiers could be stationed on land. If possible we should arrange military access from our neighbors. Two strong armies should be stationed in colonies (Indonesia and Indian Ocean) to fight rebels and possible enemies.

The negotiations between the Bourbons were firmly underway to try and patch the French Fratricide. However, in the end, the demands imposed by Spain on France were deemed too much by the French despite claiming they’d do anything to make up for their grave mistake. So, Spain had to sit still and bide her time … Rebuilding began in earnest and went a whole lot smoother than in France, which was plagued by terrible revolts. The economy was tested severely though it proved steady as a rock.

The first Spanish move to re-assert itself back onto the world stage as a player was when the French were unable to quell the revolts in the COT of Kutch and they had to let them go. Spain wasted no time and shipped an army over and made xure the trade center from now on would be Spanish. Despite the setback of the Bourbon War, the last few years had seen Spain seriously increase its economic footing by doubling the amount of COTs under its control by adding Alexandria and Kutch to Andalusia and Mexico.

French merchants that dared show up in Mexico were straight away mercilessly competed out by handily available Spanish traders. However while we were slowly nibbling away at France’s power to free ourselves, France itself provided us with an excellent opportunity when it invaded Austria in retaliation for last war in 1807. The vassalization ties were swiftly broken and our support was offered to the Emperor.

Fernando VII was now King of Spain and Spain was part of the Grand Alliance, led by the Emperor, who was fighting France. The brilliant French generals blitzed their way into German lands and achieved great initial successes but faced with a formidable combination of forces from all over Europe it soon was pushed back and was forced to agree to a WP and forego any European ambitions, its foreign policy having been proved a complete failure as it achieved nothing more than to unite Europe against itself..

Spain was now back as a major power and reassembled the American Alliance with Portugal and England. France, meanwhile, started massive preparations to subjugate India completely. In Europe the Ottoman Empire would prove to be the battleground for the next decade. After beating Russia and acquiring the Astrakhan COT, the Sultan got under ever increasing pressure from the American Alliance to recognize Spanish hegemony over North Africa, open COTs and Portuguese-English rule in the Indian ocean.

Colonisation still occurred in South America as the inlands of Brazil were settled with outposts by Portugal and the most southern tip of Argentina received the same treatment by Spain. Trade was greatly expanded now that Spain was back on its feet military. An army of over 1M men and a fleet of 500+ warships were once again at our disposal. Wars could be waged again and the Sultan had managed to annoy the American Alliance once too much.

As news reached us from India that the great general himself had died, there really wasn’t anything holding us back for war now. Spain declared war upon Tunisia, a Turkish vassal and ally. However, the Sultan dishonoured the call for help and pretty soon Tunis was a Spanish province. With Algiers and Morocco being Spanish vassals all that was needed still to complete Spanish hegemony over North Africa was the Turkish enclave in Orania.

On the same day as England declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and called us for help, the signing of the Constitution took place in Madrid. Spain was now a constitutional monarchy and the establishment, which by now was almost completely made up of merchants and free subjects, didn’t object and the liberal new order was confirmed.

Meanwhile there was a war going on, but as had been proven in the previous Spanish-Ottoman war there was no danger for Spain. Pretty soon the 3 pronged attack achieved its goals and the Sultan concede defeat. Orania was ceded to Spain, Bahrein to Portugal and Mascate to the UK. The American Alliance’s navy was unstoppable, numbering over a combined 1500 warships and increasing still. 1812 was an exceptional year. Unless u were the Sultan, in which case it meant u would have Austria invading in 2 years …

The next few years were spent enlarging the Spanish navy and trade. By 1819 the Spanish navy was once again by far the largest, counting 750 warships, and its economy was performing even better. 10K+ ducats found its way every year into the Spanish treasury and its monthly income of quite a bit over 800 ducats was near 200 ducats a month better than the UK and near 300 better than Portugal, the 2nd and 3rd richest nations. The future looks bright for Spain …

(Now for two curious little facts : I never once DOWed a player in this game and this is the first ever EU2 game I have finished!)

Gathered works of the history of Sweden

1492 - 1820

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Sweden : 1492 - 1520 : The Kalmar Union

History of the Kalmar Union

In the middle of the 14th century, the Swedish King Magnus Eriksson had tried to reduce the power of the aristocracy. To counter this threat, the nobles sent aid for money and troops from Mecklemburg, a member of the Hanseatic league.
Magnus Eriksson was dethroned and because of their help, the nobles elected Albert of Mecklemburg as their king. The German influence in Sweden grew very quickly. The Mecklemburgers established themselves as the elite of the society and collected taxes with severe brutality. Albert also alienated the aristocrats, his former ally.
The nobles then turned to Norway and Denmark for aid, wich was ruled jointly by Queen Margaret. In combined forces they kicked Albert out in 1389. This was the prelude to the Kalmar Union.

In 1396, Erik of Pommern, a far away relative of Margaret was elected king of Sweden and a year later he was also proclaimed king of Denmark and Norway. The Kalmar Union was a fact. Margaret however stayed in power till her death in 1412.

[picture taken out]
Queen Margaret

When the Union was formed, Margaret promised the aristocracy that she would protect their political influence and privileges. She also promised that Sweden would be ruled with Swedes in all the important positions in society. But King Erik did not keep these promises. The Danish influence over Swedish politics increased rapidly. This angered the nobles once again. Also, only a Danish king could be elected leader of the Union, wich decreased the power of Sweden severely.

Because of the anti-Hansa policy of king Erik, Sweden was dragged into a war in Germany. The Hansa, supreme ruler of northern trade of the time closed all ports and embargoed Sweden. With a severe penalty to the economy and ever increasing taxes a rebellion sprung up led by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. He deposes Erik and takes the title "Rikshövitsman" (a kind of leader, not a king though).
He was later deposed, but rebelled once again.

After many tures, Erik is dethroned in all three kingdoms (1439). The following years, a struggle between Sweden and Denmark takes place. Sweden wants to leave the Union, but Denmark is stubborn.

Karl Knutsson Bonde is elected king in Sweden and Norway in 1448, while at the same time, Kristian I is elected king in Denmark and Norway. War erupts between the two countries and Karl is dethroned in Sweden. The Danish king Kristian I
now rules all of Scandinavia but is dethroned later when Sten Sture sr. defeats him. Now, peace will last for thirty years.

In 1493, the pro-Union nobles makes a final attempt at ressurecting the Union by strenghthening the bonds with Denmark. They now cooperate militarily. This hasnt been the case for a long time. This did not last long however, as in 1497, king Hans of Denmark tried to stage a coup in Sweden. He failed and once again the relations between the two nations turns sour.

In 1500, the Swedes declare war on Muscowy with the intention of freeing Kexholm from the orthodox yoke, but do not have the manpower to do so. After facing too great numbers, the Swedish army retreats from Ingermanland. The Russians follow, but is beaten back at the famous battle of Narva, where the Swedes face an army more than twice their strenghth!

By now, the relations with Denmark are at the bottom, but the Danes just sit there and dont make a move. The next twenty years are proven to be peaceful.

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The Court of Stockholm : Rumors from the Continent

1493 : February France sides with the infidel in the Venetian conflict! Rumors are that the French king drinks the blood of virgins and have intercourse with the Devil.

1493 : March The Turks have invaded Venice! In a massive battle with two hundred thousand Ventetian and a million Ottomans, the Turk is defeated! The Doge in his benevolence grants the Ionian isles to the Sultan. *

1495 (?) The demonic infidel has invaded Rhodes. In an enormous battle, they are defeated. This proves the superiority of the christian faith!

1512 Denmark enters in a marriage with Muscowy. This proves our already grave concern! The Danes are not to be trusted!

1518 The Turk has invaded Hungary! Will this madness never stop?!



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Sweden : 1520 - 1542 : A new Era

During troubled times, a hero always rises. To protect the people, to save them from an unlucky fate, a surpressing government or even from themselves. When the 16th century had ended its second decade, the state of the Kalmar Union was all but stable. The Danish supremacy over the Union had not been seen with friendly eyes by the nobles in Sweden. Yet some still fought on, trying to strenghthen the bonds with their neighbors, unaware that it would be for naught. The previous years, Sweden had drifted further and further away from Denmark, the failed coup by king Hans being a primary factor and serious attempts at leaving the Union had been made. The Danes kept silent however and this gave Sweden breathing space to go all the way.*

Gustav Vasa, reliever of the Danish yoke

From the ranks of nobles had risen a man, determined to make Sweden an independent nation once again. His name was Gustav Vasa and he had many great characteristics. He was strong and robust, a great speaker and the ability to lead people.

In August of 1521, a very important event happened in Kobenhavn. The local populace had risen against their king and were now sieging the capital of the Union!
This was a sign of the weakness of Christian II and a great opportunity for Gustav Vasa.

In October 1521, he took the title "Riksföreståndare", a title used during times when the nobles think the government is unfit to rule. Many couriers were sent across the country, gathering local support for what was to come.
In January of 1522, Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden and an official letter of dissolvement arrived in Kobenhavn. Sweden was no longer a part of the Kalmar Union!
[picture taken out]

But the Danes had finally decided that they would be humiliated no longer. In the latter part of 1522, two large Danish forces, about 30k and 20k, crossed the border and laid siege to Kalmar and Älvsborg. The Swedish force, under Field Chief Judge Von Mehlen waited in Stockholm, with an army consisting of about 32k, mostly infantry.
In Finland, a small Danish army of 2k began pillaging and raiding, but was soon sent retreating, both because of winter and that minor Swedish counterforces had arrived.

The opening of the war consisted mainly of small skirmishes and the smaller Swedish army trying to outmanuever the superior Danish force, plus trying to attrition them down to a more reasonable level.
The navy was, after a very close battle, sent buring into port and Admiral Jakob Bagge never tried a second expedition to challenge the superior Danish navy.
In Finland and Gästrikland, large numbers of the populace was conscripted. Throughout the entire war about six of ten men were sent to join the army.
After a few turns, Von Mehlen decided it was time to act. He marched for the sieging force in Småland, consisting of about 20k. The outcome was given, but sadly, Danish reinforcements arrived and Von Mehlen had to retreat to Stockholm. The Danish force pursued and Von Mehlen was forced to retreat even further up the country. Luckily, he wasnt pursued this time and he managed to establish base in Gästrikland, near the city of Gävle. New recruits arrived from Finland and the Swedish army was again numbering about 35k.

The situation looked dire. The Danish had raided and pillaged Götaland (Småland and Västergötland) and the taxes from Finland were slightly halted. But even worse, the capital was under siege! With a crippled economy and an army she was unable to hold for a longer time, Sweden had to act fast. Requests were sent to France to try to uphold the economy for at least a few months more and the last conscript was sent out in the country.
In February of 1523, Von Mehlen issued the order to break camp. Sweden was going to have the battle for her life and it was also the battle for future freedom.
Arriving in Stockholm on the 8th of March, they instantly clashed with the Danish force of about 20k. Exhausted and worse equipped, the Swedish fought with valor and were winning the battle. But after a week of fighting, Danish reinforcements started arriving from the south. In total, about 40k Danes defended their siege against 35k Swedes.

In the greatest victory in Swedish history, the Danes were sent fleeing to Småland. Von Mehlen followed and soon the entire Danish army was chased all the way back to Skåne. It was now that Christian II was ready to sign a white peace.

The Rule of Gustav Vasa

While Denmark sat down to lick her wounds, Gustav issued major reforms in the country. In the past, Sweden had to pay major sums of gold in tribute to the Danish king, but now they were relieved of that burden. Gustav Vasa was a great economist and began using the strenghtened cash flow to make the economy more stable. Traders were sent out and Sweden finally started to have some cash to go around.
In Germany, a man named Matin Luther had nailed a few theses on a church door, causing great havoc in the religious world. His ideas spread quickly and soon they reached the cold north. Denmark was the first to adopt this new religion as their state philosophy and Gustav Vasa, not willing to be worse and for the fact that most of his subjects had expressed a liking in Luther´s teachings, went the same way as Denmark. Estates and wealth were confiscated from the church and this gave an even greater cash flow.
Royal "Convincers" were sent to the few places that didnt agree to the new change namely the province of Savolaks and the outlandinsh Lappland. The Savolakis quickly adopted the new faith, but the Lapps proved to be worrysome and decided to revolt.
It was now that Gustav showed a new side of himself. He could be extremely ruthless when fate required him to. One out of ten men were executed and the ringleaders and their families were exiled, their lands confiscated.

In 1532, Poland subjugated the protestant duchy (?) of Pommerania. Gustav, now a hardcore protestant felt the urge to come aid his fellow religion brothers. He sent letters that the province of Vorpommern be ceded to the Swedish crown, for future protection. Von Mehlen loaded his army into boats and sailed for the German coast. Two miles from shore, he set anchor, starting discussions with the Polish king.
Zygmunt I Stary was about to accept the demand, but Emperor Karl V strongly rejected this with serenity. Given the state Poland was in at the time, having lost a long-winded war against Russia and the local populace in uproar, Gustav took the opportunity and told Von Mehlen to sail further upwards along the Baltic coast, to the Lithuanian province of Livland. He was going to be reimbused for the Polish insult. Besides, Sweden had always looked for opportunities to expand eastwards.
Given the state Poland was in, Zygmunt was forced to cede Livland.
Sweden had now aquired a strong foothold in the Baltics.
The upcoming years were centered around improving the economy. With Sweden leaving hundreds of years of being a small state in the backwater of Europe, she was now ready to become something big.
Only God knows what the future might hold and i assure you, he isnt very talkative.


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Sweden : 1542 - 1562 : War and Peace

The Lithuanian Campaign

As has been stated before, Sweden went into a phase of economic reforms, mostly involving trade. In the earlier part of 1545, twelve years since the "Polish insult", the Commonwealth invaded the once powerful but now weak state of the Teutonic Order. Gustav had warned the Commonwealth of further expansion in the Baltics, but Zygmunt promised that no such thing would happen. In September, the Commonwealth annexed the Teutonic Order and a month later, Gustav sent a formal declaration of war to Poland, to free the minor protestant state.
Von Mehlen, shipped in from Sweden a few months before, Estland as a base, started his campaign with invading the province of Livland. The main city, Dorpat, lacking in fortifications and defensive structures, was taken swiftly by the assaulting Swedish forces.
Field chief judge Von Mehlen now had an open corridor into the Commonwealth, but he was forced to withdraw due to numerous revolts in the home country.

Peasants, furious of the heavy taxes and treatment of Gustav Vasa (Gustav had grown up on a large farm and knew lots about agriculture. He often sent personal letters to farmers, telling them what to do to get the best out of their lands. People didnt like that) had revolted and were raiding around in the south of Sweden.
Von Mehlen was shipped home with God´s speed and made short work of the troublemakers. This took all winter and by spring, with fresh reinforcements, he was able to sail back to Estland.

In Lithuania, the situation was troublesome. Enemy forces had sieged Livland and recaptured it and were now on their way to the Swedish city of Reval!
Von Mehlen, thinking fast, landed his army near Riga (Kurland) and assaulted the city. He then marched on Livland, trapping the enemy army assaulting Swedish fortifications.

In the end of 1546, Russia, the infidel Turk and some northern German minors then took the opportunity of a weakened Poland. They invaded, everyone seemingly on their own accord.
Von Mehlen, now heavily relieved of Polish concentration, got the momentum to wipe out the rest of the opposition in the Baltics.
The Teutonic Order was restored in Kurland and was made a Swedish vassal for their efforts.

Development and war with the Danes

After the sucessful campaign in Poland and due to old age, Von Mehlen retired to his estate in Västergötland. In December 21, 1550 he died in his sleep, now a very old man with a substantial fortune and fame. Von Mehlen had participated in the first war of liberation against the Danes, fought two wars versus Poland and another war against Denmark. His military experience and knowledge served Sweden greatly and an academy in Stockholm was founded in his name.

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Von Mehlen (believe it or not )

Gustav now started another round of reforms, promoting trade and building roads.
As he was growing old of age, his mind had become clouded, partly for the fact that his soul friend and comrade Von Mehlen had died a few years before. Some even claim he was schizophrenic. He was often seen rooming around the countryside, talking loudly to himself and causing general worry. He remembered his young days, where he had relieved Sweden from the Danish yoke. But the Danes had grown silent, no more trying to reinforce the claims of the Kalmar Union. Gustav started fantazising, perhaps the Danes were scheming, about to start a terrible war to bring Sweden back to the mouth of Denmark?
No matter what Gustav thought, he decided to start a war against them. With the intent of freeing the province of Jämtland from the Danes as a pretext, he invaded. This time Lt. General Klas E. Fleming headed the troops. He was an able commander, a student of Von Mehlen, the famed general.

Denmark decided that action was better than patience and was the first to cross the border. They laid siege to Älvsborg, but were soon beaten back across the border. Early in the war, Klas invaded Skåne and after two assaults, it was in Swedish hands.

The naval battle was a great victory all through. Admiral Jakob Bagge, with his inferior navy, pounded the split but numerically superior Danish counterpart. Sweden were victorious in every single naval battle despite incredibly superior Danish numbers.
Once during the war, Jakob was outnumbered 24 ships vs 40, but still sent the Danish navy burning into port.

On the mainland however, Klas decided it was time to act. Everything had been silent for a while, so he invaded southern Norway with his army of 30k. The battle of Oslo was proven to be worrysome, as despite larger numbers, Klas was forced to retreat. The Danes were not slow to rally and Klas had to withdraw once again. The spectacle continued all the way up to Gästrikland, where the enemy army, attritioned down and low on morale, was sent fleeing. During Klas´s long withdrawal, armies had been recruited and the Swedish army was numbering about 35k. The land battle was going to be an easy victory indeed.

But now something terrible happened. In March 1557, Russia, afraid of Swedish intentions and not willing to have a weak ally in Denmark, decided it was time to intervene. Gustav, in a moment of clearness, peaced out of the war as he understood Sweden was not in a face where she could wage a long war, even though she had great chances at winning it anyway.*

Old, tired and depressed, Gustav Vasa died in 1561.
One of his three sons took over the throne (More of that in the next entry).
Gustav had taken Sweden from being a poor nation in the backwater of Europe to a country with potential. His many economic reforms had created a stable ground and his wars with Denmark had rendered any chance of recreation of the Union almost impossible.

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Sweden : The Sons of Gustav Vasa

When Gustav Vasa died in 1561, he was the richest man in Sweden. During his reign, he had secured lands and estates for the dynasty, huge amounts of taxes had been collected for his own personal interest and a great number of farmers were working in his fields. He had understood the principle of power and had seemingly enjoyed it immensely.

The last years of Gustav Vasa´s rule became troublesome. For about fourty years he had practically ruled the entire kingdom on his own and he began to realize that he no longer possessed the vigour of his youth.
The misunderstandings and battlings within the family had taken a toll on Gustav. In 1560, he was an old man indeed. His main interest was nagging about the heavy burden of rule, worrying about the future of his kingdom, as he clearly didnt put much weight in the capability of his sons.
In the spring of 1560, Gustav fell victim of a troublesome disease. Though he quickly became free of it, he felt that his own end was very near.
He called together a Riksdag, where all representants of the kingdom came. He reminded them of the bad days when Sweden had been ruled by foreign kings, of his abolishment of elected kings and that the throne would stay in his family after his passing. Gustav, not a man of modesty, presented a scenario, where he was David and king Kristian II of Denmark was Goliath. He had beaten the giant, taken the kingdom from slavery to freedom and greatness and foul be thee who forgeteth that!
After his little speech, he demanded that his oldest son, Prince Erik, be king after him.

After this, king Gustav fell victim of another disease, diarrhéa (sp?). Though the official doctor bled him, the bishop read pslams and prayers and they gave him apples and milk, he still did not get better.
At four o´clock in the morning, the 15th of September 1560, Gustav died in his bed.

The corpse of the king was put on lit de parade on Stockholms castle for eight weeks. A large procession marched from Stockholm to Uppsala, where bishop Peder Swart held a four-hour long predicament. In the end of the burial ceremony, Svante Sture went forth and thrust the king´s sword in the ground three times and announced: "The king is dead!". After that, he gave the sword to prince Erik, telling him to rule well.

Erik XIV

The coronation in Uppsala was the greatest feast Sweden had ever seen. Wine and beer was abundant, wholesteaked oxen, filled with ducks, gees and other birds. Pigs, pheasants, hawks, deer and other animals were prepared for the table. More than one man died of over-eating.
Fireworks and tournaments were held and the victor was the hero of the day.

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Erik XIV was a true king of the rennaissance. He had a good education, tried to act in a weather of all-knowing and tried to rule with a just hand.
He was a good economist, though not as good as his father. Militarily, he dreamed of great victories and read Von Mehlens book of strategy more than once. His reign was not to be a lucky one however, as he died mad and schizophrenic.

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Sweden : 1564-1582 : The rule of descendants

King Erik XIV was a man of ambition. He foresaw great victories, riches and glory for himself. But his ambition was apparently not enough, he needed some skill too.
Although being gifted in the art of economy, he quite did not stand up to the level of his father. He was also very interested in the military, trying to reform and expand the army and navy, but he never did anything notable about it. He mostly inspected it, gave a few orders to the generals (who ignored the orders anyway) and rode away.

During his entire reign, he tried to expand the kingdom´s foreign trade. He invested huge amounts of money, but he only managed to establish a small base, never amounting to anything near the richer western powers.

Erik also lusted for glory through the military victory. He sought war with his southern neighbor of Poland, claiming the province of Livland for Sweden. He was about to send his troops into battle, when another call came.
In the west, England was about to be attacked by the Spanish Armada. Seeking the help of her fellow religion brothers, Sweden answered the call. The entire swedish navy was sent to London and several cities and villages around the country were busy with building new galleys. Now was the time of glory for Erik.

In many large and perilous battles, the Spanish Armada was beaten to shambles, but they still managed to land in Scotland, making a powerful southern advance until they stood at the gates of London. Noone could stand against the Iron Duke!
England had been beaten, but all was not lost. The Spanish had shown themselves vulnerable on the waves and they were no more the immortal gods everyone had taken them for.
This was also a great victory for Erik. Having taken part in such a great military campaign had put Sweden on the map of Europe.

Small notions that the king was not entirely right in the head began to show now. He became more and more paranoid, scared. He saw conspiracies in every corner, shadow and chair. Nobles were sent into prison and once when he came and visited one of them, Nils Sture, they began to squabble. Erik, putting a fast end to the fight, thrust his knife into the arm of Nils. Still pissed, Erik demanded his knights to murder some more nobles. This was called the Sture bloodbaths.
Now Eriks sickness began to accelerate. After a while, he was found irring around the countryside, making lots of noise and what else. The government council had to take over the rule for some time, until the king got more able to rule.

Erik had two other brothers, both of them pretenders to the throne. They were Johan and the youngest of the three, Karl.
Erik´s little brother Johan had been given the dukedom of Finland by his father. This was an incredibly important part of the kingdom, as here lay the wealthy trade routes to the east and a large portion of military supplies were produced here.
In the normal paranoid fashion of a ruler, Erik did not want Johan to become too powerful and thus imprisoned him, together with his wife Katarina, daughter of the polish king, in Gripsholms castle. They stayed here for four years, in the mean time giving birth to two children, the first one dying early, but the second one, Sigismund surviving.
When the government council took over rule, Johan was released. A reunion with Erik was arranged and they vowed never to hate each other again.

Erik, now back in full control of the throne, began to rule again. Erik liked women. They should be young and beautiful and he shared bed with more than one. But when he met Karin Månsdotter, he fell seriously in love. Karin had a soothing effect on the troubled king and thus, he decided to marry her. The great coronation of the new queen was supposed to be in July 1568.

Erik´s younger brothers and the nobles didnt like the kings escapades. They saw an opportunity to be relieved of the troublesome ruler. In the coup of June, 1568, they failed to capture the king. Erik fled to Gotland, gathering the entire navy and army.

Back in Stockholm, Johan now king, had established rule. His rule did not last long however, as a month later Erik arrived with the entire army. Outnumbered and lacking of defenses, Johan gave up.
Erik, quelling the threat of his brother, ordered his execution.

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They even managed to do a painting of Johan III. Busy bastards!

Erik was now in full control of the kingdom and by befriending his youngest brother Karl, he was even more safe on the throne.

During all these coups, murders and insanities, Sweden was fighting the Armada together with England. Poland, taking the opportunity of a distracted Sweden, sent a formal declaration of war.
No great offensives were executed by the poles and Sweden, in lack of a navy, could not transport troops to the continent.
When Brandenburg joined in with Sweden, Poland was facing a two front war. Not willing to drag this war for too long, Poland decided to peace out with the protestants*.

With the Armada beaten and England not suffering too great a defeat, Sweden had expanded the army to a considerable size and the navy was bigger than ever before.
Erik had regained his witts and now ruled in full power. Great things lay ahead.

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Sweden 1594-1618 (by standin Kalpeti)

In 1594 Sweden was in a big war as part of a big alliance. Just as usual the catholics against the protestants (and France).
The swedish forces were on the way to the front in France as suddenly the war was over. Sweden was completly left out of the negotiations and had no clue about it.
So nothing left to do the brave men sailed home in peace.
There was peace again but it was clear that the problems are not solved and sooner or later there will be another war and we have to be prepared.
One of the most important thing in a war is a stabile economy with stabile and high income. The swedish economy was fair but the income was low less than Denmark for example, 30 ducats a month to be accurarte. To make the situation worse there was absolutly no money in the treasury. But we also had a big plus which we could build on: inlation was at 0,2%.
We started with concentrating on trade and improving the infrastructure of the land. The swedish trade situation was in ruins, we had fairly effective traders but ther was no central policy to place tham to the right spots. So we concentrated on sending merchants and hold stabile positions in as many COT's as possible (or allowed).
Legal reforms started too, we needed money so as soon as our income become higher we started printing money since our low inflation gave us the room to play.
Finaly our investmets in infrastructure payed and we had the possibility to appoint governers.
We even had the money to build some manufactories too.

After the repeated provokations of the Emperor the world on the edge of another war, but swedish economy was prepared.
Now it was time build up our army with the arrival of our new great king Gustav Adolf II.


To summarize the results of our economic efforts:

Situation in 1594:
Land: 17 ----------- Treasury: 0 ducats
naval: 16 ----------- Income: 30,66/month
Trade: 5 ----------- 1 refinery
Infra: 4 ----------- Chief Judges only in 3 provinces
Inflation: 0,2%

Situation in 1618:
Land: 18 ----------- Treasury: 600 ducats
Naval: 17 ----------- Income: 62,6/month (before France refused trade, income was over 70 ducats a month)
Trade: 5 ----------- 2 refineries, 1 Fine Arts, 1 Weapon manu (no events!)
Inflation: 4,5%
Infra: 5 ----------- Chief Judge and governor in every province

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Sweden 1618-1622 (by standin Kalpeti)


In the last chapter I wrote about the economic reforms in Sweden. After 22 years of peacful development Swedens economy was at its best, our income almost doubled the income of Denmark.
Now it was tim eto rebuild our army, the swedish troops were at about 35 000 men, and everybody knew it is not enough to be secure from our neighbours or to help our allies. Especially as we saw as Denmark tried to abuse the situation and attacked its neighbour Bremen under the obvious goal to integrate this small german kingdom under the rule of Christian IV.
A little after the danish agression against Bremen Austria declared war on our ally Brandenburg. At this time our great king Gustav Adolf II. arrived with about 40 000 men in Brandenburg to defend all the protestants in the world against the rage of the Emperor. This attack came too early for us to be full prepared, the swedish army did not yet reached the numbers it should have.
It was clear that alliance of Denmark, Brandenburg and Sweden can not stand against the austrian overpower, we desperetly needed the heplp of our two other allies the english and the french. Both honored the alliance but after a few years France made a white peace and during the whole war not one english soldiers landed on the continent. This made the situation of the remaining 3 allies almost hopeless. But Gustav Adolf II. was too proud and brave to run away, he swore he will fight for the cause till there is no swedish soldiers alive.
The war started with the succesful austrian assault against Küstrin but Gustav responded with a counterattack and after beating Austria in a land battle he managed to seize Silezia.
It was obvious right from the beginning that the small alliance will have a hard time against the numbers of Austria. The Emperor could afford to assault the fortresses of Brandenburg and loose more thousend men sduring these assaults, but the manpower of the protestant allies was in no time depleted so there was no room for assaults. To make everything worse Denmarks foolish leaders thought after the first succes of Gustav that they can stay back and again tried to abuse to situation to their own goals. Denmark called back their troops and invaded the undefended kingdom of Mecklemburg.
In the following few years Brandenburg and Sweden struggled against the overpower of Austria, Denmark joined the war again as they saw the succesful austrian offensive but it was too late. In the third battle of Brandenburg, Gustav Adolf II. left alone from his allies were heavily wounded and the whole swedish army slaughtered to the last man. The wounds were so heavy that Gustav could never again lead an army to battle and there was no army to lead.
Sweden asked for peace and Austria agreed. After some more years the war was over Brandenburg were lost and Denmark payed for their foolishness.

In 1623 the opportunist dogs from Poland attacked the defeated Brandenburg which after the peace with Austria had no allies left.
Russia responded with counterattack against Poland. By that time the swedisg military tried to heal its wounds and rebuild the army as quickly as possible. At the beggining of the year 1624 sweden had about 40 000 men strong army which were send to Estonia to watch over the situation in this region....

(At that time Mulliman took back Swedenfrom me and finish the last week session)

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Sweden : Salvation and Peace

Prelude

Gustav II Adolf

In the beginning of the XVII century, Sweden was a country with ambitions. Great glory was sought on behalf of this poor country. When the Habsburgs started their war of protestant extermination, Gustav Adolf, the present king, acted at once. Fighting for many years, he received many personal victories, laying thousands of Austrian soldiers dead on the fields of Germany. Overconfident in his skills and divinity, he charged with a minor army of 20k, across a river against a humongous 80k Austrian one. The result was, of course given and Gustav was carried from the battle by his peg-legged servant. Having received a devastating blow by a knippel (fortunately, he wasnt ripped to pieces), his right arm was torn off and his chest was badly beaten.
Gustav was taken to Lübeck, where he was treated by the best of the best the German society could muster in medical treatment. Despite the state of medicine of the age, Gustav survived, although not with great beauty.
When the war was over, he was shipped back to Stockholm, guiding his country for a decade, before his wounds took the better of him.

Kristina and the rule of the Riksråd

Gustav only heir was his daughter, Kristina. Much worry and discussions took place wether she should marry the Pfalz Count Karl Gustav (who had been her childhood friend and belonged to a somewhat powerless family in Sweden), but eventually, she decided she woud rule the country herself.
Under the aid of Axel Oxenstierna, the rikskansler, Sweden came out of economic backwardness to a centralized government with a fully oiled state machinery and bueauraucratic (sp?) government.
At the time, Poland in war with Russia, had turned her defensive position and commited an all out offensive into the Russian heart lands. Soon, Polish troops stood not 20 miles from Moscow. The rulers in Kreml were truly shaking.
Sweden, the opportunistic rat that she was, took advantage of a terribly weakened Rus and invaded. General Lennart Torsstenson, an extremely able commander, guiding his armies from a carriage (his physical condition was not of the best, he suffered from rheumatism), hardly met any opposition. In a devastating peace, Russia was forced to cede large lands to Poland and Ingermanland and Kexholm to Sweden. The idea of dominium maris Baltici began to take form in the aristocratic heads of the Riksråd.

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The first reaction against Swedish supremacy in the Baltic happened a few years later. Russia, Denmark and Poland attacked jointly. Standing against such terrible odds, Sweden prevailed, much to the help of her western allies. Many journals were lost in this period, so the war cannot be portrayed with much accuracy and thus i will not at all. Sweden gained Olonets from Russia however, which would prove fatal in the future.

Abdication

Having grown up in a male society, being taught the basic things an aristocratic male should do and the heavy burden of the Swedish crown, a title very much made for a male, Kristina had no doubt suffered in personality. Her nightly adventures on the countryside caused great worry among the court and she discussed long and heavy with her mentor, Axel Oxenstierna about theology and issues of the soul.
During Kristinas reign, Stockholm became a capital of culture. Many great artists and philosophers flocked around her person, many of them were catholic. Her sense of economics were not too great however and the patiently built-up treasury and tax base praised king Gustav had created, were ruined by court festivals, balls, dances and parties.

Through the influence of her friends, or perhaps a feeling shed had since childhood, she felt not at home in the rigid and cold world of the protestant church. In 1654, she announced her abdication and conversion to the catholic church. The Pope was of course happy, but the protestant world crumbled!
Kristina, the daughter of Gustav Adolf!

Anyway, before her abdication, she made the Riksråd announce Karl Gustav, the Pfalz Count, rightful heir to the throne.

Karl X Gustav

The years of Karl X Gustav were not too eventful. Despite his great ambitions and skills on the battlefield, the only military partaking Sweden did was protecting the Low Countries during their invasion of Spain and here, Karl Gustav didnt even come!
Despite this, many forts were raised, among them Ingermanland and Livland.
Eight years passed and the king suddenly died in a severe lung illness.
His son, only four years old, was the only child of Ulrika Eleonora.
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Sweden : Axel Oxenstierna

Axel Oxenstierna was born in the end of the XVI:th century, during the reign of Johan III. He was from a noble family who had advised the kings of Sweden ever since the fourteenth century. Axel received the education of a rich noble and he had great knowledge of languages.

When Gustav II Adolf assumed the throne, Axel took his first step into politics. He became the right hand of the king, pressing the populace into feeding the always money hungry state. Great tax reforms were made and when the king died, he assumed supreme command of the army.
When Kristina took the crown, the real ruler was Axel. In the Riksråd, in common tongue called the Regency of Five (there were five voting aristocrats in it). It included one of his brothers and his cousin and thus Axel would always receive majority of votes in any decision. He was supreme.

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But when Kristina came of age, she began to show her authority. As a supporter of monarchical power, Axel could hardly complain about what Kristina was doing. Kristina sometimes made bad decisions only to trouble the rikskansler.
The main source of conflict between the two was the issue of marriage. Karl Gustav had long been the love object of the young queen, but because of his long absence (years abroad, serving the country as a general or just travelling) and rumors of his extraordinary capability of having a seriously good time, her feelings for him had faded. Plus, the young Pfalz Count had grown very fat lately, mostly because of his eternal partying and boredom (this was of course not a hinderance, a fat person was considered attractive, since they could afford the "be" fat). So the Pfalz Count had to stop his pursuits of gaining the throne through marriage. He was most likely extremely depressed.
Karls family was not very liked by Oxenstierna and the Count was dismissed to Öland and even more boredom.
When queen Kristina abdicated, her wish was to elect Karl Gustav as heir to the throne, something she succeeded in, much to the dismay of Axel.
From 1652 to his death in 1654, both resumed a ‘normal’ relationship.
At the time of his death, Axel had created the single most efficient state machine in Europe, able to squeeze so much out of so little. Before his death, he had aquired more power than any swede had or will likely ever aquire.

A pretty well known statement about the quality of the rikskansler is quoted from the french cardinal Mazarin:
"He´s a neverending source of well thought out advice and if all rulers of Europe were on the same ship together, he would be the one steering the wheel".

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Sweden : 1660 - 1679 : War of extinction and a new Beginning

Karl XI
Being the only child, without a father, Karl was treated as one. He received the best education, was spoiled beyond belief by his mother which caused him to grow into a weak persona at first. French advisors presiding at court during the time (When Karl was 19) described him as a weak king, always staggering with decisions and lacking the control to guide such an organized state as Sweden. This changed drastically however. The day Russian, Polish and Danish diplomats arrived to announce their formal declaration of war to counter the Swedish supremacy over the Baltic, Karl seemed to undergo a drastic change in personality.

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The Second Great Northern War
Taking direct control over one of the armies, Karl was ferried over to Finland and together with the extremely able field commander Karl Gustav Wrangel, the Swedish main force was numbering more than sixty thousand men. This was nothing however compared to the awesome hordes of Russia and Poland, sometimes estimated to a number above two hundred thousand!

The Swedish generals had no time to ponder on strategy or numerical superiority, as the first attack wave was launched. Russian troops of about 120k were invading Ingermanland, beginning an assault immediately upon their arrival. At the same time, Danish troops had landed in Skåne, forcing their way up to Småland and possibly the capital.
Splitting his forces, Karl was ferried over to Sweden, to stop the Danish advance (the Swedish motherland was virtually undefended, except for an army under-way, numbering aobut 19k), while Wrangel marched with his 40k on the Russians. Meanwhile, money was being minted like mad and new recruits arrived daily at the training camps.

The Swedish defending forces in Ingermanland, 15k at the start of the battle, had fought with vigour and skill, defending the fortress to the last man. When the first assault was over, the defenders had lost over twelve thousand men! The Russians, beaten back, had withdrawn to a nearby village, exhausted and low on morale.
When Wrangel arrived a few weeks later, it was a slaughterfest. The Russians never had time to form any formations and they retreated after just a few hours of battle, with the swedish army routing and killing as many as the could. Out of the 120k marching into the province, only 80k survived.

Meanwhile, on the western front, the newly recruited soldiers in Svealand had joined forces with Karls army. Together, they attacked and completely annihilated the Danish army stuck on the Swedish mainland. Eager for conquest and finshing the Danes off as fast as possible, so he could center his forces on the eastern front, Karl ordered the fleet (alot larger than the Danish one at the time) to beat up the Danish navy and ship the army over to Copenhagen. After initial failures against the enemy navy (how the hell can a 21 navy beat a navy with over 60 boats!!), the swedish army was positioned outside Copenhagen, immediately starting an assault. Even though the assault failed numerous times and the navy being beaten back again, Copenhagen finally raised Swedish flag (with some thanks to the French, invading Jylland with 50k). Karl prepared to ship the army over to Finland....

Meanwhile in Finland, Wrangel had beaten another Russian assault on Ingermanland, but when he withdrew, the Russians attacked him with full force outside Kexholm. Retreating, severely beaten and low on men, he began the hellish march back to Vaasa, where a new army was being put together, consisting of two mercenary companies and a hell of alot of recruits. Meanwhile, Dutch expedition forces were chasing minor Russian bands around Finland.

Finally arriving in Vaasa, the attritioned Russian army did not stand a chance against the joint Swedish counterpart and they were forced to retreat back to Russia. About now, the Tsar decided to cut the losses and offer peace, only demanding Olonets and Archangelsk (the former taken by Swedes in the first Northern War and the second defecting to the Swedish crown during Russian campaign against Ottomans), vowing to return a few years later and take the rest.

Peace and Economic Prosperity
Grateful for the allied help, Sweden settled down and began rebuilding a partly destroyed trade and rebuilding the defense. In order to strenghthen her position in the Baltics, the military and fortifications were going to be top priority for the next couple of years. In 1662, the project started and now Karl XI proved to be a very able economist too.
Many forts were raised in Finland, to stop any future Russian advances and the army was raised to the highest support limit. When 1668 rolled in, a large fort had been finished in Ingermanland as well as numerous medium ones along the border with Russia.

With the defensive project finished, Karl began focusing on rebuilding the trade. France finally lift her embargo on her ally and soon, Swedish merchants began to flood every major centre of trade in Europe as well as some in the Middle East.
Emerging as a small, but wealthy and able power in Europe, the future of Sweden was hopefully bright.

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Sweden : 1701 - 1727 : Is the Golden Age here? The Reign of Karl XII

When Karl XI died, Sweden had risen from being an economically and militarily weak nation to a nation with a strong base and the capital to field the huge armies required in todays warfare. Trade had boomed and soon Swedish merchants had established a presence in every major center of trade around Europe as well as some in the Middle East. (5 merchants in every known trade center, pretty hard considering the really awful competition in Europe). In the end of his reign, continued expansion in the baltics had taken place. Huge Swedish armies had invaded the Polish province of Livland, scaring the Polish king so much that he handed it over without much fuss.

The reign of a true genius
Karl XI died from cancer in the stomach and the same year, 1697, his son Karl took the throne. Karl was only 15 years old, but the fact that he had lost his mother, his father and three of his brothers had made him mature earlier and the kingdom decided that he was fit to rule. Karl took the throne of a very absolutistic country, where the nobility had very little influence and the king ruled supreme.
His reign started with yet another boost to trade and drew the Swedish economy to even greater heights.
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Karl sought to relive the Polish escapades of his father, trying to achieve the long sought dream of dominium maris baltici, Swedish supremacy over the Baltic. An invasion was skissed up, but rumors must have reached the cowardly rulers down in Warzaw, as an offer to purchase the former Teutonic lands of Kurland and Memel arrived in Stockholm a few months later. 800d was a reasonable price and it was immediately accepted. Sweden now ruled the entire eastern Baltic coast.

As any ruler, and very much the Swedish, Karl XII sought personal glory for himself. He dreamt of large victories and military fame, but now that his ambitions in Poland had been met, where would he direct his forces?
On the continent a huge war was taking place. The now Bourbon Spain had allied with France and was battling the Habsburgs & Co for supremacy over Germany and other areas. Apparently, monsieur Louis XIV had crawn a crayon line through the middle of Germany, the western side claimed for himself.
A terrible disaster, the rest of Europe thought. A golden opportunity Karl thought .
The western Baltic was not under the iron grip of the Swedes, although Vorpommern had been occupied during the war of religion in Germany. Brandenburg now ruled these lands, an ally of the Habsburg Austria. With these lands under Swedish rule it would strengthen the grip over the baltic and draw supremacy in northern Europe up one notch. Perhaps through taking these lands, Sweden would have a direct link to the continent, able to meddle in any European affairs and thus being treated as an individual of the European sphere of power. It had after all been a long time since Sweden made any reaches to join in on the eternal struggle of the west, two hundred years about, when gloried king Gustav stuck terror into the hearts of catholics. That age was over of course, the cause long lost in an ocean of blood and the escapade ending in disaster.
This was how the talk was going up in chilly Stockholm, nobles and councillers going about and trying to come up with a reason to or not to expand the realm. But in the end, the decision was in the hands of Karl.
And Karl very much wanted to, but he wouldnt like to risk his neck for something uncertain. If Sweden went to war alone, she would take the entire backlash if things went wrong. Striving whispers were sent to the court of Warzaw and soon, the Polish king proclaimed a guarrantee over the Prussian provinces Hinterpommern and Küstrin.
With his back secure, Karl proceeded his attack. With the main army (about 80k) landing in Vorpommern, he charged his way through, assaulting and taking the provnice and then proceeding into the heartland, Berlin. Friedrich Wilhelm, already occupied with French forces in the west, withdrew to try to save the core of his country. He arrived too late however, as Berlin fell a week after the Swedish army had arrived. After a minor operation on the other side of the Elbe, Karl XII withdrew, his army quite worn down from assaults and attrition.
In the east, the second division had stormed Prussia and were now being ferried over to Germany. At the same time, Karl had reinforced in Skåne and after a minor operation in Bremen (very successful by that, occupied Bremen, Oldenburg and Hannover, while the southern provnices were being ravaged by French troops, breaking the Prussian eastern defence) and was also shipped over to Germany. Marching against the Prussian army of 50k, the entire Swedish army in Germany (120k!) began mobilizing yet again.
The battle stood outside a village near Magdeburg and even though the Swedish force had to cross the Elbe, the Prussian army was completely annihilated together with her skilled commanders.
King Frederick Wilhelm had had enough. Vorpommern, Hinterpommern and Prussia was ceded to the Swedish crown.
The Poles had never made a move, which made Karl very uneasy and in the future it would prove that he was right.

Everyones out for my hide!
The reaction in the courts of Europe were not all too friendly. Swedish allies were heard to complain, the Russians and Poles were seen recruiting and fortificating and the Emperor told Sweden that she "....will go down and you [KarlXII] will go down hard.". The only one with a reason to be happy was France and allies, as the Swedish action in Northern Germany had won her the war (at least from the eyes of a certain Peter). The explosive atmosphere on the international scene began affecting domestic matters too. Several political crises and uprisings took place during this period and the newly incorporated German subjects revolted more than once (five times actually ). Times were hard and due to the instability, trade went down for a couple of years. Troops were being recruited in a feverish speed and soon the army was larger than ever before, taking a huge toll on the treasury. The German provinces were fortificated and tax collectors were appointed to begin taxing the new subjects. Every dime was important in these times!
The Habsburgs promised Prussia great aid of men and money whenever they felt like taking revenge upon the Swedes. Poland sent small requests for Hinterpommern, whenever a war would take place. A large fleet under English flag was seen in the Baltic and Swedish diplomats were sent to the Isles. It soon became clear that whenever a war would take place, England would make her job with the navy and clear out the Baltics of Swedish ships. To prevent such a disaster, Karl promised that he would not call for his own allies, if Germany did neither.
All the time, the Poles schemed and whispered in every court, noone sure of whos side they were on.
Europe was once again on the brink of war and it would all explode the second Friedrich Wilhelm "pushed the button". Luckily (for Sweden), he never did....

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In September of 1718, Karl XII was shot by an assassin right through the head. He died immediately. The government was terribly shocked. One of the greatest monarch in the history of Sweden had fallen to the hands of a lowly assassin!
No better was the fact that it remained a mystery to who had ordered the killing. The Swedish court even managed to conceal the death of the king, powdering the corpse with perfume and putting him on the throne, telling all ambassadors that he had an ache in the tongue, so he couldnt speak all that much. Nevertheless, Sweden needed a monarch and they needed it now.
The sister of Karl XII, Ulrika Eleonora, was crowned queen, but she ruled for but a year, as she stepped down from the throne in favor of her husband, Fredrik of Hessen.
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Fredrik wasnt much of a ruler and neither much of a husband, he liked the friendship of young women much better, to the dismay of Ulrika.

Anyway, after a while, the "Cold War" feeling began to dissapear and the frenzied build-up stalled. Now a new race took its place, the race for technology. A new theory had been proposed in Madrid, enabling the conscription of armies and the size of them to more than double. The information had leaked out however and soon almost every ruler in Europe began a desperate race for whom would finish this project first. In the lead was Holland and Spain, with France, Austria and Sweden close behind and Poland just slightly later. Due to bad stability and such, Sweden finished the project quite late, but started the work of building conscription centers with great speed.
In the middle of all of this, a proposition was sent to the king from the nobles, Arvid Horn being the leader. He wanted to break the absolute and just power of the monarch and increase the liberty and freedom of the provinces. They thought that the problem of instability and revolts were because of the monarchs inability to be everywhere at once. Suffice to say, Fredrik rejected the offer (he wasnt going to give that juicy power up in the first hand!), which caused some minor stirring among the nobles, but they feared to act, since the crown had the army on their side.

In 1727, Sweden was larger than ever before, with most of the Baltic under her wings. The jewel of the sea however, Danzig, was under the greedy hands of Poland. Something had to be done about that, but the fear of being the spark that fired the bazooka, Sweden stood silent on the matter.

My thoughts: Sweden has expanded alot in the latest session, in a very RPGish way too. The Baltic is nearly entirely under my rule, but at the cost of having alot more enemies on my fronts PLUS having two non religion non culture provinces without any chance of converting them. I could just as well not done it, in fact id had been better off, getting my income up into the 200d a month, but for the sake of RPG and the itching to finally get to use one of those super monarchs Sweden is blessed with i did it anyway. In conclusion, the expansion was really dumb, but RPGish.

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Sweden : 1727 - 1749 : Damn! That hurt!

In 1727, Sweden had seen the death of many great generals and kings, three wars of anti-Swedish aggression, wars in Germany, against Denmark, Poland and Russia. They had also been allied to every single one of their neighbours. Sweden had expanded slowly during a period of about two hundred years and the last few decades, the expansion had erupted in an explosive finale, where almost the whole coastline of the Baltic had been conquered (5 quite wealthy provinces).
This of course angered powerful nations down in Europe, not very eager to see yet another player on the diplomatic scene.
Austria, bitter of the desecration of her ally and Sweden being the main reason for her loss in the great war against France, was more than happy to aid Prussia in a war of revenge. Poland, glad of any territorial gain and perhaps a bit eager to flex her muscles, was more than happy to join in. The thought of reconquering the territories she had sold a few decades earlier also seemed quite nice.
Russia, having lost her access to the Baltic many years ago, needed this war as much as Prussia did.
And finally, secret messages and diplomats were sent to Kobenhavn, the Swedish ally, their purpose unknown, but easily understandable….

Da Bang of the Gang
Perhaps the situation could have been avoided, Brandenburg actually sent negotiators to buy Pommern from Sweden a few years earlier. Fredrik, being the self-minded monarch that he was, rejected the offer. “What we have beaten down before, we can beat down again!” was the exact quote. The hybris of the king would prove fatal.

October 4, 1727 : Prussia declared war upon Sweden.
And a few weeks later:
October 17, 1727 : Denmark dishonoured a Military Alliance she had with Sweden.

Denmark claimed that she would join in later on, she was just not “ready” to aid her Swedish allies in her war of life and death.

And so the tide came. Germans from the south, under the extremely skilled leadership of von Schwerin. Poles and Russians from the east, the latter untrained serfs, not amounting to much and easily routed and the former skilled and trained soldiers, perhaps not as advanced as the Swedish, but their numbers were well enough.
Stockholm began the war with conscripting forces and minting money like mad. Large forces were pumped into Pommern and the Baltic, to stop the Polish and Prussian advance, but due to the military skill of von Schwerin and the clumsiness of the Swedish generals, all of Pommern soon lay in Prussian hands, with the Poles advancing, Memel already in their hands. Russia was terribly beaten however, Moscow soon in Swedish hands and were taken out of the war for a time (this was probably the only time during the war that I did something right actually).

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After the spectacle of Pommern, the enemies played their card. Denmark, the traitorous bastard she was, joined the allies in the war and with their fleet, the Swedish ability to send their armies anywhere and whenever was disabled. From here on, the war was practically lost. Without the ability to reach the other side of the Baltic and some other mistakes, the Swedes suffered heavy casualties trying to march down the “highway” from Ingermanland to Pommern. The manpower had been drained early on and the combined military might of four powers and the economic aid of the westerners pulled down the giant that could have beaten any of them one on one (or even two on one!).

From here on, many errors were made in the Swedish strategic plan. The biggest one was the “Stupid Siege of Oslo”. Despite many generals advice that the armies should avoid this heavily fortified area by itself and target the more gainable areas of northern and western Norway before advancing on Oslo, was neglected by Fredrik, the military idiot. Estimates tell that approximately two-hundred thousand died in the ongoing assaults and still, they never succeeded in capturing the province!

Another error that was made was that the quite able general Arvid Horn was stationed up in Finland when he was very needed elsewhere.
The Swedes never made any concentrated attacks. An army was sent to Russia while another attacked Denmark and a third defended itself against Poland. This tore heavily on the manpower and they should have concentrated on taking out one enemy at a time instead.

When the war was over, Sweden was forced to sign a humiliating peace offer. Jämtland, Vorpommern, Hinterpommern, Prussia and Ingermanland were ceded to various neighbours.

Yet the blues would not lie down and they went back to plot and rejuvenate. Sweden will rise again!

Sorry if this AAR is a bit badly written (or just worse than before), but i simply did not find the wish to elaborate too much.

NOTE: The war was lost when Denmark joined in, simple as that. The others couldnt quite touch me except for my continental holdings, so i could just have sat there and built up my armies until i had enough to throw them out. Dont even understand why Denmark backstabbed me, i got the province back afterwards and my trust for Denmark decreased alot. Didnt make me much weaker either.
Ingermanland was also taken back a few years later (when i had allied Denmark, dont ask). So the only things i actually lost were Pommern and Prussia, the former i was happy to loose, as i would no longer be number one on the German hit list and the latter a bit sore.

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Sweden : 1749 - 1788 : A story without much detail

Picking up the pieces

After the gangbang of the century, Sweden began rebuilding. Reconciliating with the treacherous Danes earned her a free back and with the aid of her new-old allies, Russia was invaded with the objective to take back Ingermanland. The campaign went swiftly and the province was soon back under the administrative hands of Fredrik of Hessen king of Sweden. Trade had suffered enormously and Denmark even went past her in income (they were somewhere around 130 then, kind of like a record for them, as they are around 80-90 now), but it recovered relatively fast.
When Fredrik died, there was a dispute of who would take over the throne. The choice was between a Danish and a Russian pretendent, both of them enemies but the Danes a little less.

The Danish pretendent, Christian was elected by the Riksråd and he was crowned in a minor ceremony. Christian III was a very bad regent, but luckily he only ruled for a few years and after the Riksråd had forced him to abdicate (allright, im making things up now!), a noble from the family Holstein-Gottorp was chosen as king.

Adolf Fredrik: 1751-1771
Although not a very able king himself, the kingdom was administrated by his more skilled wife Lovisa Ulrika, sister of the Great king of Prussia. Her indirect rule would mean alot in the coming years, as she instated policies that would take back Sweden to her days of richness and catapult her beyond. It was also during her reign that Sweden began her gambling on the European stage yet again.

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Lovisa Ulrika´s brother in the south was seeking revenge on the scheming Poles, for their numerous backstabbs and trickery. Sweden, still angry for the Polish part in the gangbang, decided that she would help. Numerous diplomats ferried across the channel and finally an agreement was made. Prussia, Danzig and Poznan would fall in Prussian hands, the province Prussia itself granted as a dukedom to Swedish rulers.

A part of the treaty of Swedish-Prussian cooperation:
….. King Friedrich has [snip] agreed [to] an alliance with Sweden for the duration of hostilities against Poland. For Sweden's help in the war the Swedish King will be allowed to rule the province of Prussia as a dukedom beholden to the Prussian King.

The war went pretty well at start. Prussia was assaulted by Swedish forces and taken after a few months, the Prussian and Austrian armies swarming the south. From there, everything went out of control.
Peace was being worked out and the Poles accepted the united claims of Prussia, Austria and Sweden, but while Swedish forces had withdrawn from Poland, the Poles suddenly thought the treaty was nullified. After all, only some 20k Prussians we left in the land, why should they honour such a crippling treaty then?

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After Austrian and Swedish armies had left Poland, Poland got a free hand with Prussia, in this screenshot, the Prussians are aided by the French.

Nevertheless, Sweden, with yet another gain on their hands, sat back to strengthen trade and the infrastructure of the country.

Gustav III : 1771 - ?

Gustav was born during a time when the absolutistic monarchy was stronger than ever in the country (not what happened in real, but I chose hold on the the reins of Absolutism ). He was to be a very able king, skilled in administrative matters, something that was very important in the new age of statesmanship.
In 1788, he had kept the trade on normal levels, despite several stability problems and the major war down in Europe.

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The future looked bright, but it always did for Sweden .

NOTE: Suddenly realized that while the western powers ahve been quite peaceful, Sweden has been at war at least once every single session!
Thats not very smart of course, but damn fun!

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Sweden : 1788 - 1820 : Bang Boom, the show is over!

Well, to make you guys happy, ill stop writing narrative now, as i cant quite remember the events from here on, ill tell them as much as i can.

When the Napoleon wars came around, i backstabbed Denmark. I had been allied to them for a long time, but i never forgot that backstab back in 1720. Poland joined in and the war became very weird and exploitive. After being beaten lots of times in the Baltics, i completely ignored the Poles, even letting them take huge chunks of Finland and even reaching Stockholm!
Instead i focused all my power on Denmark, in order to get them to a 100% victory. A fun thing about this was that the very land focused Sweden beat Denmarks navy to a pulp by wars end! I just never finished building galleys and even though he must have taken out like 300 of my ships, his War Ships couldnt sustain that much damage . Quantity all the way baby!

Well, when i had made peace with Denmark (taking the three southern Norwegian provinces), Poland was still left. They had comparable land tech, waaay bigger manpower and probably a big war treasury so i made peace with them for 5000d. If this decision was wise is debatable, but it probably would have cost alot more if i was even going to beat him and those odds werent very high. Besides my country was very high on WE and trade was on its way down as i had suffered many stab hits from Poland.

After the peace, i began developing my income and by about 1815, my income was over 300d! When Netherlands were down Sweden was the fourth richest nation in the world.
Of course, that would have lasted if i hadnt accepted the challenge from Poland to have a final 1on1 before games end (the thought of owning Danzig was just too good i guess ) and when we began fighting he was the victor from day one, having invested tons in CCs from the 5000d i had given him and probably from some other donators. Still some things were weird, like him killing my army when i was in defensive position, about 200 cannons, just as good leader, more cav (he had only infantry) and a numerical superiority of 20k more. Of course these things happen and youll just have to accept it, even though you cant understand it. After those first humiliating defeats, it became a matter of who could build the biggest army the fastest and Poland was clearly the victor there.

At the same time, Sweden got some very bad monarchs and on top of that i couldnt concentrate with a war on my hands, so sadly Sweden lost ALOT in trade and was down to about 250 income in 1820.

NOTE: I admit some of my earlier comments to Slargos to day after the game were quite weird. I just couldnt understand why i lost. After thinking about it, it was just so obvious.
I guess i suffered a bit too much of hybris.

Well that was all and it was a nice game!
YAY!