• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Status
Not open for further replies.
In response to the third question, I say an eternity!

You certainly are optimistic. :)

You Bastard! I'll see Carlos hanged for this!

I'm a bit curious as to why you didn't take West Papua since you had the opportunity (you did say you were finished expanding the Eastern Empire, but still...), and why would you invade poor Oldenburg to serve another nation's ambitions is beyond me.


Agreed! also reinstate the Inquisition...

West Papau would be largely worthless, would give me alot of BB and wouldn't actually cost that much warscore (I thrashed the Dutch so I wanted something substantial).

Freedom is always the freedom of the slave holder!

It could be worse!

They could be Welsh.

Time for the Spanish proletariat to rise?

Yes.

It's time the Philippines becomes independent and Carlist/Tsarist in ideology.

The Philippines are unlikely to get full indepdence unless there is a full blown socialist revolution. As things stand there is no real socialist revolutionary movement. The energy of the proleterians has been focussed on the Republican movement - a movement whose membership are more socialist and whose leadership are more liberal.

Ahh, getting revenge for the Eighty Years' War, I see.

And it's sad to see Oldenburg's place in the sun finally lost. :( Ah, well, maybe they can make it up through colonies...

I've never seen Germany unify and Oldenburg did not get quickly knocked out form the GPs as I expected so I intervened because I wanted Germany to form. *spoiler alert* I was not dissapointed :cool:
 
In other wordswith your help Prussia was allowed to destroy Oldenburg and form Germany.

Just a note, when Germany is formed, DESTROY AUSTRIA!!!!!
Then we could divide Austria w/ Austria-Bohemia going to Germany and the rest as independent states.
 
Given knowledge of real history, it seems a bit foolish to aid in the creation of a unified Germany under Prussian leadership. But then, given your situation, I guess creating a counterweight to France (and possibly the British?) is a useful thing to do.

The unprovoked gang-rape of the Netherlands is a bit harder to stomach, but then, I confess to a bit of personal bias there. ;)

Based on your last comment, I look forward to the next clash between liberalism and the forces of Reaction in Spain.
 
The Rest of the World 1888-1900

Nationalist Movements

PAVARESI.gif


The end of the 1880s were harsh times for the Ottoman Empire. At the start of this decade the Turkish state had only just started to stabilise itself following Civil War in the 1870s that led to constitutional monarchy. However in 1888 Romanian nationalists cast off Constantinople’s shackles and united their nation. This sparked off a second wave of nationalist revolution which was largely centred on Albania. The Albanian people had remained largely loyal during the troubles of the 1870s and had expected some sort of reward from their Turkish masters; instead the new ‘democratic’ Ottoman government began a program aimed at transforming the multi-national Ottoman Empire into a Turkish nation state. In Albania tens of thousands of Turkish settled were introduced in order to place the region firmly under their grip.

When the Romanian Revolution sent another wave of nationalistic fervour across the Empire the Albanians became the frontline and leaders of the revolution. At the same time the Arabs rose up in Mesopotamia. The most iconic moment of the Albanian Revolution was the battle of Vlore – barely 6,000 Albanian soldiers defended the fortified town against some 28,000 Turks. After 3 weeks of failed assaults the Turks withdrew from the town – they would never again enter Albanian territory. Following Vlore Albania was granted independence (1889), the following year (under heavy pressure from Russia) the Turks let Iraq go as well.

peoplesparty.jpg


In the American Presidential election of 1892 People’s Party candidate Thomas E. Watson was elected President of the United States. Watson was the first socialist to become President of the United States and was elected on a program of radical wealth redistribution.

V2_19.gif


His election was followed immediately by the 2nd great secession of American history. The middle class provinces of New England unilaterally decided to secede from the Union just two weeks before Watson took office. Watson had reached office with just 42% of the popular vote and with much of the population he remained horrifically unpopular – indeed there was a strong pro-New England sentiment throughout the country that made it impossible for the new President to do anything to restore the North East to the Union.

V2_29.gif


On July 7th 1897 Westminster passed the Government of Ireland Act. Ireland’s parliamentary union with Britain was brought to an end. Victoria was to remain Ireland’s Queen, the country’s foreign policy was to remain under British control and the British military maintained access to the country. However Ireland opened its own Parliament in Dublin and was allowed to take care of its own domestic affairs – Britain’s first Dominion was born.

Dutch Woes

In 1888 the Dutch colonial Empire took a mauling at the hands of the Spanish. In 1892 it would take another at the hands of the French.

Picture66.jpg


A small border dispute with Belgium was quickly blown out of all proportion by the French Republican government that was desperate to restore its military pride. The country that had only just started to recover from an invasion four years before didn’t stand a chance.

V2_29gifxxxx.gif


Strangely the French did not choose to annex part of the Dutch overseas Empire but instead took control of a large section of the Dutch mainland. The territory quickly became a centre for the French military – apparently the French wanted a secondary route from which they could attack the Prussian Rhineland.

Three Hurrahs!

For ten years the French Republic built up its strength in preparations for a war with Prussia. For ten years the Prussian prepared to face them. In March 1899 all the tension was unleashed as 80,000 French soldiers poured into Elass-Lothringen and a further 30,000 marched down to Rhine from the French Netherlands towards Cologne.

1866_prinz-friedrich-karl-bei-koeniggraetz_1b-640x428.jpg


In April, with the French just 12 miles from Cologne Prinz Karl-Augustus led around 18,000 Prussians to total victory over the 30,000 man Northern French Army. Those that weren’t killed were captured and a French Field Marshal was humiliatingly taken back to Berlin. By the Summer the French Netherlands were firmly in Prussian hands.

To South things were not so clear.

german-soldiers.jpg


In Elass Marshal von Hindenburg had prepared a large system of trenches to receive the French assault. As was expected the initial 80,000 man professional army was utterly mauled at Hindenburg’s defences. However over the course of the next 6 months a total of 300-400 thousands conscripts would be sent to slaughter on the unbreakable Hindenburg Line. The Republican Generals seemed to believe that given enough pressure the Prussian line would eventually break open. The Prussians held firm and instead the French were left with little to defend themselves beyond an already broken army.

pikelhelms.jpg


The following Spring the Prussians and their German allies pounced. Between April 15th and June 3rd the Prussian advanced from Strasbourg to Paris, losing just 24,000 men in the process. For a second time in barely a decade a Prussian Army marched through Paris.

REICHS1.jpg


When King Wilhelm of Prussia arrived in Versailles to sign the peace treaty with France he was proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany in the Hall of Mirrors.

Wilhelm_II_of_Germany.jpg


Within a few weeks every single state of the German Confederation had agreed to accept Kaiser Wilhelm as their Emperor. A new superpower had been created in the centre of Europe.


V2_MAP_SPA_190014_1.gif
 
Germany, guardian of Dutch interests in Europe? Could you provide a screenshot of just Germany? judging from the world screenshot it looks like they inherited more territory than they did in real life.
 
From what I can tell, this Germany, along with the real-life German Empire, also has Moravia and the southwestern corner of Congress Poland. It is kind of tricky to tell at this size, though, you're right.

Poor Oldenburg... :( *boos and hisses at another Prussian-led Germany*
 
That 'Hindenburg Line' was a nice touch, twenty years early. :)

Bad times for most other Great Powers (well, Germany excepting - and possibly Spain. Depends on how messy the next move by the Liberals/Socialists gets). A Socialist America dealing with seceding New Englanders, Britain already losing its grip on Ireland, The Ottomans crumbling... I'm kinda lost for words. ;)
 
Germany, guardian of Dutch interests in Europe? Could you provide a screenshot of just Germany? judging from the world screenshot it looks like they inherited more territory than they did in real life.

nah, looks like prussia beat the shit outta Austria before forming Germany. :p

From what I can tell, this Germany, along with the real-life German Empire, also has Moravia and the southwestern corner of Congress Poland. It is kind of tricky to tell at this size, though, you're right.

Poor Oldenburg... :( *boos and hisses at another Prussian-led Germany*

RL Germany plus South-West Poland and Moravia. You may remember Prussia took these lands during its phase of kicking all of Europe's asses. This Germany also includes Luxembourg - Luxembourg will join Germany if its in your SoI when you select 3 hurrahs but is not required for 3 hurrahs.

Spain should have a socialist revolution. Monarchs and the 20th century do not mix well.

;)

That 'Hindenburg Line' was a nice touch, twenty years early. :)

Bad times for most other Great Powers (well, Germany excepting - and possibly Spain. Depends on how messy the next move by the Liberals/Socialists gets). A Socialist America dealing with seceding New Englanders, Britain already losing its grip on Ireland, The Ottomans crumbling... I'm kinda lost for words. ;)

In Patch 1.1 rebels conquer eveything. At this stage Prussia and Spain are the only GPs that are not atleast 2/3s occupied by rebels. I'm probably facing the worst revolts of all, by this stage I'm getting around 200 brigades of rebels each year (in several waves). :(
 
The Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War (1900-1902) represented the final and inevitable clash between the left and the right that Spain had been heading towards for a century. Throughout the 19th century Spain had swung violently between liberalism and absolutism, experiencing numerous civil wars as it did so.

Spanish Politics in the 19th Century

After throwing out the French in 1812 the Spanish people proclaimed the famously liberal 1812 Constitution that made Spain Europe’s most progressive state. The following year the restored King Ferdinand VII betrayed the liberals and ignored the constitution. However as Spain tried to reassert control over her American Empire the colonials flared up and soon Spain was entangled in a costly and hopelessly unwinnable attempt to maintain her old Empire. Dissatisfaction with Ferdinand led to a coup d’état by the liberals within the army in 1820 and the setting up of the Liberal Treinium which restored the 1812 Constitution. With the help of a massive French army the royalists restored Ferdinand to absolutism in 1823 and the King began to purge the Spanish left. For the last years of Ferdinand’s reign Spain enjoyed a sort of stability which was shattered by his death in 1833.

S_M_C_-Don-Carlos-V.jpg


In the Carlist War (1833-1838) Ferdinand’s brother Carlos led the forces of reaction against the Queen-Regent Cristina and the infant Queen Isabella who were championed by Spain’s liberals. The war was extremely destructive, defeat for the liberals meant two decades in the shadows. Carlos V’s reign was the crowing success of absolutism. He held the belief that the King was the father of the nation – he was there to guide the country, by force if necessary, towards its betterment. He once wrote that if he ever believed that his rule was no longer in the interests of the Spanish people he would abdicate. However he led Spain towards industrialisation, a period of peace and the beginnings of a new Empire. Most importantly of all he stopped Spain’s rapid decline dead in its tracks and forced the country to push towards progress.

JUANIII.jpg


Yet with Carlos’ death in 1855 Spain swung back towards the left. The Communion Carlista did everything within its power to keep the liberal Juan from taking the Spanish throne but following a bloody coup by the Spanish military they were decisively beaten. The new King, Juan III, and his supporters then had to fight a brief civil war before order was restored. Rather than go to the extremes as both the left and the right had frequently attempted during the 19th century Juan found compromise between the parties and even allowed Carlists into his government. Spain entered a brief age of reform and it seemed that it might be possible for the liberals and the conservatives to make peace for good.

CarlosVII.jpg


However it was not to be. In 1868 Juan died and was replaced by his son Carlos VI who was forced to make his way to the throne through the blood of his own people. Importantly he was opposed by a new, Republican, movement which introduced mass politics to Spain. Socialists and liberals joined together in common hatred of their King. Unlike his illustrious grandfather Carlos VI did not see himself as a guiding father set to lead the Spanish to a New Jerusalem. Instead he saw himself as their master, he demanding unconditional loyalty and was not afraid to use force to keep his people in their place. This was exemplified by Bloody Sunday on December 12th 1885 when Carlos ordered his soldiers to fire upon peaceful protesters outside his palace in Madrid. It was under Carlos VI that the ties between the common man and the government were forever severed, yet he did succeed in one thing that his predecessors had failed to do – he transformed the traditionally liberal Spanish Army into a force totally dedicated to the monarch and his absolute right to rule.

The Outbreak of the Civil War

REPUBLICA.jpg


The spark that set off the civil war came from non-other than the twice humiliated French Republic, a nation fresh from a second defeat to the Prussians and now surrounded by reactionary powers to both its South and East. On June 3rd 1900 the Prussians had taken Paris, within a couple of weeks the war was over and the French army started to demobilise.

Carlos VI had never tried to hide his hatred of the French Republic and his desire to destroy it, with the nation now appearing so weak he was desperate for war. For several months tensions between Spain and France reached boiling point as both states rushed troops to one another’s border. The decisive moment came at the start of October when France ordered the remobilisation of its entire army. Carlos, who had faced strong opposition from his people jumped at his chance and ordered the mobilisation of his own army. There was one problem with his plan – it relied on the men he called up agreeing to go to war.

196_no_war_but_class_war_lg.jpg


On October 13th at least half a million anti-war protesters marched through Madrid championing the slogan ‘’no war but class war’’. On the same day similarly large protests occurred in all Spain’s great cities. More worrying than the fact that the traditionally politically active proletarians were protesting was the fact that huge numbers of peasants were brought in from the countryside to join the marchers. The protests were organised and supported by the Spanish Republican Party – an organisation unashamedly sponsored by the French Republic.

At this stage Carlos was in a terrible position. If he backed down now both within Spain and abroad his reputation would be shattered. His authority would be forever smashed if he backed down at this late stage with so much already invested in the war. He therefore ordered army units to go out and bring the conscripts into the army by force. Little did Carlos know that the French had been supplying the Republican Party with more than just money – by 1900 the party maintained secret arms depots across the country. When the military detachments started to forcibly conscript the people the people fought back. The traditional date for the start of the Spanish Civil War is October 27th as it was on that day that the first skirmish between would be conscripts and the army took place.

The War

rr19.jpg


Within a few weeks the Republican leadership had started to amalgamate the common people into a powerful military force. However from the end of October through into January 1901 the war remained very chaotic. Masses of people, some armed some not, rampaged through the major industrial cities attacking all signs of government. The first city to be abandoned by the government was, unsurprisingly, Barcelona (November 6th), it was soon followed by Valencia (November 25th) and Madrid (December 13th). Soon, using organised bands of troops known as Red Guards, the Republicans struck out from their urban powerbases into the countryside where they were met with celebratory approval by the peasantry. However in the first weeks of 1901 the government forces started to rally, using the poor, uneducated, un-industrialised regions in the North, the West and the South as power bases.

CW.png


By February the lines between the two sides had started to settle down as the thrusting, storm trooper style, tactics of the Red Guards started to fail – their units facing numerous defeats to government forces. A Winter of warfare had also started to take its toll on both sides, starvation was only avoided by large-scale donations of food by the French (to the Republicans) and the Germans (to the government). Despite their offensives running out of momentum time was most definitely on the side of the Republicans – every day hundreds, even thousands of more men were added into their increasingly professional looking army whilst the government struggled to get more than a trickle of new recruits and still suffered from a significant problem of desertion. Realising this the government Generals decided to launch a major offensive in March 1901 with the aim of taking Madrid and breaking the back of the Republican army before it could gather even more strength.

Russo-Japanese20War.jpg


The Battle of Madrid (March-July) was by far the bloodiest and most decisive engagement of the entire war. The initial government attack smashed through the flimsy Republican defensive and by the start of April government troops were entering the fringes of Madrid itself. However this success was short lived as just when the capital was most under threat the Republicans unleashed a massive counterattack involving some 180,000 men (it is estimated only 2/3s were properly armed and far less had any real training). This force suffered horrendous casualties but forced the government troops back from Madrid. From this period on, realising that the cream of the Republican army was on the field, the government forces switched their primary aim from taking Madrid to destroying the core of the Republican army. Feint assaults on Madrid that provoked rash counterattacks from the Republicans continued on for the rest of the battle – over the course of the Battle of Madrid 3 Republicans died for every government soldier killed. The core of the Republican army was destroyed; both sides lauded the battle as a great victory with the government celebrating the damage to the rebel army and the Republicans citing their continued ownership of Madrid.

potemkin.jpg


At this moment, when for the first time the rebellion looked to be at risk of losing momentum, the most crucial event of the war took place in Cadiz – the base of the fearsome Spanish Fleet. On August 26th Grand Admiral Elcano, listening to a wave of liberal and socialist sentiment amongst his officers and the common sailors, renounced the Kingdom of Spain and joined forces with the Republic along with his entire fleet – the single most powerful and modern on earth. Units of sailors quickly surged inland from Cadiz and captured Seville (one of the few largely industrial cities not in Republican hands) and encouraged the tired Republican army to launch and offensive to join up his enclave in the South with the main body of Republican territory (an enterprise that was wholly successful). Not only had Elcano’s mutiny provided the Republicans with thousands of trained and armed troops (in the form of the sailors) but it also effectively separated the government from the Empire. Up until now the overseas Empire had tried to stay non-committal whilst most provinces still supported the government, but few actually sent troops. Now with the fear of a Republican attack at any time Cuba, the Caribbean and the Philippines (traditionally left wing colonies) declared openly for the Republic whilst assistance from Africa and Asia for Carlos effectively ceased.

CW3.png


The government’s position quickly started to collapse. Divided from the main government territory to the North the Carlist troops in Andalucía surrendered at the start of October. In December Republican probing offensives resumed across the front and found the government army to be lacking. Around this time Carlos requested assistance from the Madrid Pact in a humiliating but highly necessary move. South America refused to help, the Italian states were suffering from instability of their own, the Islamic states had no means to help whilst Portugal point blank refused to use its tiny army in against the Republican – who appeared likely to win. From this stage on Carlos seemed certain that he was to fight to the last and began to turn La Caruna into a formidable fortress, defending from both the sea and from in land threats.

frenchdoingwhattheydobest.jpg


In the Spring of 1902 the Republican launched a grand offensive against the government army. Despite being stronger on paper the demoralised and increasingly rebellious government army started to surrender in great swathes. Were ever they attacked the Republicans were greeted by white flags – despite resorting to shooting hundreds of their own troops in attempts to frighten their soldiers into battle there was nothing the government hierarchy could do but to withdraw back to La Caruna with the die-hard supporters of Carlos. As the Republicans started to surround the city by land and sea in June it was apparent that these supporters were few and far between.

9point2how.jpg


For two weeks the Republicans pummelled the city with their artillery and with the guns of battleships off shore. The aim was to force Carlos to give up – the Republican hierarchy had already offered him an amnesty on the condition that he abdicate and surrender all his estates – and in that it was unsuccessful. However the brutal barrage did bring an end to the war without a bloody climax on the streets of La Caruna. Whilst Carlos might have been set on a heroic death on the battlements of the last fortress of absolutism his Generals were not. On June 21st they turned Carlos over to the Republicans and surrendered the city.

When news of the surrender and the capture of Carlos reached the newly formed Republican government in Madrid the army was ordered to return the King to the capital where his abdication and the passing of his estates to the state could be dealt with. However General Silva, the man in control Carlos in La Caruna, had other ideas. Unlike the government in Madrid Silva was violently socialist rather than placidly liberal. Unlike the government he supported his troops who were baying for the blood of their former tyrant. And unlike the government he had the power to as he wished with the dethroned King of Spain.

hanged.jpg


On June 27th Carlos VI was led up to a specially built gallows in front of thousands of cheering soldiers. The crowds were briefly silenced as Silva read out a proclamation directly to Carlos ‘’you are a tyrant, an enemy to the Spanish people, a murder, a common criminal and a herby sentence you to death’’. Moments later Carlos was hung, his neck snapped in the initial drop and he was spared a slow and agonising death by strangling. Carlos VI of Spain joined Charles I of England and Scotland and Louis XVI of France amongst the famous regicides of history.

The story of the Carlists was over.

The End
 
Thats-all-folks.jpg


First completed AAR of Victoria II! WOOT!

ps Could anyone and everyone who reads this final update drop a comment please? Its the last time you'll ever get a chance to with this AAR. :)
 
Last edited:
that was an abrupt ending but a good one none the less :p great story and im looking forward to the next one ^_^
 
Great AAR, great ending. But I want an epilogue! Pretty please?:) Just a short "summary" of how the new Spain fares. Does it shine? Does it falter? Is it stable, or do we see a new civil war between the liberals and the socialists? The ending of the king could point to a divide already in the making. How will the people and the liberals react? Teh excitement!:D
 
Excellent AAR realy enjoyed it as I dropped in and out.

I support the call for an epilogue!
 
Good recap and a great, climactic civil war - follow by a regicide. Very nice indeed. The 'No war but class war' slogan (and picture) feels quite appropriate and I liked the picture of man-to-man combat (I assume it's from the Russo-Japanese war?).

Did your game end (roughly) as you described it? I.e. did the incessant rebels succeed in overthrowing the monarchy? Or did you just grow tired of the rebel-überspawn and call it a day? Whatever the cause, from a story point of view it's a very good choice - the tale of the Carlists is most definitely ended and you leave us with a nice bit of uncertainty about where Spain goes from here.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.