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Not only is the Portrait of Ulrika that of the Swedish Regent and Queen Ulrika Eleonora you seem to have been quite inspired by her real life. She also abdicated but not for her brother but to her philandering husband Fredrik 1 of Hessen. A very good use of actual history for your purposes!

In the map above, What is the beige brown blob split all over eastern Europe? Just over Austria, Is it Bohemia?
Thanks!

And yes, that is Bohemia.
 
The Ryazani War of Reconquest
September 6, 1581 - September 14 1586


This was the first conflict that Scandinavia got into after the Long Night finally came to an end. Ryazan and Scandinavia relations had not gone well after Fyodor's attempt to claim the Kingdom of Finland from the Scandinavian Empire. Fyodor himself was a remarkably stubborn man, unwilling to accept that he had failed in the war. He would remain this way until his death. Remarkably his death would be only two weeks before that of Christian's. His son shared in his father's name and always looked for an opportunity to expand into Scandinavia and reclaim what the Russians (wrongly) believed to be their territory. When Scandinavia was experiencing internal troubles Fyodor had believed that the Empire was destined to collapse inward on itself. After all a state which had been in a condition of perpetual warfare for decades could not realistically hope to stand for much longer. Instead of going to war with the Scandinavians again, Fyodor committed himself to unifying his realm. The Russian People had always been divided by the various Princes and Kings that ruled over their own dominion. Fyodor was in a position to change all that. The Kingdom of Ryazan launched a campaign against the minor Russian Kingdoms still free from the Ryazani yoke. It would take a period of a decade, but by the time of the New Year of 1569 came around the only free Russian state was that of Smolensk, which was allied to the Ryazan.

With the Mongols nearing new heights Fyodor needed additional territories and alliances to consolidate his Kingdom. The Poles and the Lithuanians were obvious choices, but their campaigns have recently ended in disastrous defeat. The two kingdoms could handle themselves very well against their fellow Europeans, but not against the massive army of the Horde. The most obvious of choices after that were the Scandinavians, the Germans, and the Turks. The Scandinavians held rightful Ryazani territory and have recently been at war with Ryazan, no alliance could occur as long as they held Finland. The Germans were divided and petty, the Hessian Emperor, the Bavarians, Austrians, Pomeranians, Lubeck, and Munster were all powerful forces and Fyodor would make overtures to all of them to form a web of protection around Ryazan. The Turks were without a doubt the third strongest muslim force having already conquered much of the Balkans, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. They also have an intense rivalry with the Horde, having lost a number of engagements with them and being forced to surrender parts of Anatolia to their massive onslaught. They were, however, Muslim and the conquerors of Constantinople. They could not be trusted for these two facts alone, nor would they ever be accepted by the Russian nobility. Some talks about Persia or Corfu being an ally were also brought forth, but they were never pursued.

With this new network of allies Fyodor found himself at war with the Poles and Lithuanians over Pomerania almost immediately. The two powers were eager to cement their own presence in the region after several devastating defeats and they had a genuine feeling that Pomeranian Lands would be the only way to maintain their territorial sovereignty. The Russians and Germans would wage a war lasting just three years with the Poles and Lithuanians, ending in a decisive victory for their forces. The already weakened nations ceded lands to Fyodor and made peace with the establishment. Fyodor saw this triumph as a legitimization for his regime and his policies and began looking actively for places to expand. Upon learning of Emperor Karl's death in Scandinavia, Fyodor immediately set out for war against the Empire before it could consolidate itself under Karl's younger brother Christian.

Karl had been a successful but unremarkable Emperor. Most, if not all, of his policies were the continuation of past policies. The few areas where he had added his own personal touch to them were no where near standout amongst the minor rebellions of the last chapter of the Long Night. He died childless and his younger brother was the only one who could succeed him without causing a succession crisis. Christian had just been crowned in Copenhagen when the Ryazani Kingdom had declared war citing it was their aim to reclaim to the borderlands in Finland. The only force in the region was that of general Waldemar Jägerhorn and his 15,000 strong mixed order regiment. Waldemar was a competent general who had earned his name in the final chapter of the Long Night, but he was no match for the superior numbers and skill of Fyodor IV who was an even better general than his father. Waldemar was quick to retreat northward to the Norwegian territory and met up with general Niils. The two would make a number of counter attacks against the Ryazani. While Fyodor would not be defeated in battle, his army lost its numbers, its moral, and its momentum in the fall of 1582. Forced to retreat with his 24,000 strong army down to just 8000 Waldemar and Niils would pursue them well into Ryazani Territory.

As the Finnish Front slowly turned to the Scandinavians fairly early on in the engagement the Pomeranians and the Hessians did make their own contributions to the war effort. Christian himself would take to the battlefield in order to secure his Empire and his nation. On the mainland the Hessians rarely made attacks with more than 4000 soldiers, making it clear that their heart was not in the conflict. The collapse of Lubeck had been ugly and with this collapse came invariable instability, bankruptcy, and a total disdain for warfare amongst the central Germans. Hesse was no exception and they quickly bowed out of the conflict. The Pomeranians were another matter. Ulrich von Wetten was fully invested in the conflict having developed its own rivalry with the Scandinavians. This investment, however, would be very foolish on their part. The Scandinavian Navy decisively defeated the Pomeranian one just outside of Osel. Christian himself would lead the march against Ulrich's forces in Pomerania and would pursue him all the way to Osel. In 1586 Ulrich gave up the islands of Osel to Scandinavia in order to attain peace. Ryazan was now without allies and with the entire focus of the Scandinavian Empire on him, Fyodor was fighting a lost cause. He would continue to resist until half of his lands were lost or besieged by the Scandinavians. A peace treaty would sign away two provinces to the Scandinavians. Fyodor was humiliated, but for Christian this would be a triumph.

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Excellent that you got something out of those crazy Russians. Poland/Lith looks in a bad spot. Austria & France are looking poorly, good map to see the European balance
Thanks for the comment! The balance of power in Europe was nice, I only wish it could have lasted longer. The Aragonese War of Succession coupled with the Golden Horde doing freakishly weird things broke up much of Europe.
 
The Aragonese War of Succession
1603 - 1610

The D'Arago family ruled over Aragon for over three centuries. The de Avis family ruled over it for several more. Aragon was well acclimated to weather the storm of dynastic change. The de Avis family's two branches, one of Portugal and one of Aragon, died out in quick succession. The de Avis noble family situated in the fair away Iberian peninsula was closely related to the Gryf family of Scandinavia. As the Lorraine, Hesse, and other major royal families of Europe shunned the Scandinavians, the de Avis were one that often found themselves allying with the Scandinavians. Especially in regards to their common rivals in the form of Milan and Burgundy. The events of the early 1600 were unforeseeable. Both dynastic lines were light on Male heirs and heavy on women. The natural consequence of this would me that much of Europe would have ties to the de Avis family, especially France which was inherited by the de Avis of Aragon just in 1599. The Portuguese line ended with Maria de Avis's succession after the death of Pedro IV. Maria was the wife of Gustav I Adolf Gryf, Emperor of Scandinavia and it was only natural that the two states form a personal union. Gustav I Adolf died two years later giving rise to Olav, their first son, who ruled for just ten months. Their second son, Gustav II, would provide a more stable reign bringing the Portuguese and the Scandinavians closer than ever before. There were legitimate concerns that union with Scandinavia would lead to direct integration as had happened with Mecklenburg and Somolensk, but Gustav II made an oath that he would had no desire to integrate the two kingdoms.

The de Avis line in Aragon died out during Olav's reign, this time leaving no clear successor in place. Frederick Gryf was the closest in line to succeed the Aragonese throne, but he was a second cousin. There were many other second cousins and even third cousins that lusted over the throne of Aragon. the Lorraine family of Burgundy in particular coveted the throne of France for itself and demanded their own place on the throne. With British support Frederick made it to Aragon where he was crowned King Ferran II of the Aragonese Empire. This was not a well received action. Many had wished the succession to end similarly to the succession of Poland which saw Austrian, Bohemian, Turkish, Mongol, and Bavarian claims satisfied leaving only the beaten remnant husk of Poland to the Lombards of Milan. Needless to say the Polish themselves were unhappy and tried unsuccessfully to revolt and the Aragonese were eager to avoid the fate of Poland. In an effort to bolster the security of his throne Ferran sought help from his mother country, help which Scandinavia and Gustav were more than willing to provide.

Seeing the appointment of a Gryf on the throne without their claims properly discussed and the alliance with the Scandinavians as a threat, there would be a quick succession of declarations of war. Milan, Castille, Burgundy, Bavaria, Hesse, Morocco, and many others each launched their own individual wars. It was obvious that this war would be dangerous for the Scandinavians to take part in, but Gustav II was true to his word and declared war on almost all of Europe. Thankfully the Portuguese and the British were more than willing to provide any aid they could provide. Another small blessing was that the Horde and Ryazan both remained neutral in the conflict, as did the Turks. It is unlikely that Scandinavia could have taken on additional armies. Scandinavia's navy would play a great part in the destruction of the Milanese navy, and the Castillians. Both navies had not yet recovered from the disastrous wars with Great Britain and they were quickly swept aside by the powerful Scandinavians and the mainly maritime forces of Portugal, Aragon, and Great Britain.

While naval battles were decidedly in favor of the Gryfs, land battles were something else entirely. The Holy Roman Empire, now entirely under the thumb of the Hessian Regime, remained shockingly silent in the engagement on the Scandinavian front. Not a single Hessian soldier ever violated a piece of the Scandinavian realm, in return not a single Scandinavian soldier set foot into Hessian territory. The only active theater of conflict in the north would be that between the Scandinavian armies of Holstein and Mecklenburg against the forces of Bavaria. The events of this part of the conflict would be romanticized in later generations as the 'Bavarian Dances' in which the superior technology and equipment of the Scandinavian forces fought against the superior numbers and cavalry of the Bavarians. The engagement between the two armies was cut short by the Aragonese peace with the Bavarians, but not before a five year period of warfare where Ludwig X von Welf and Ferdinand Maria von Seckendorf of Bavaria fought constantly against Patrik Daa and Karl Johann Toll of Scandinavia across the former Pomeranian lands. The last major battle was just outside of Oberlausitz, which was a decisive victory for the Scandinavians as it made the whole of Bavaria susceptible to invasion.

The Bavarian dances would be popularized in a number of ways in novels, poems, and artworks. The Bavarian Dances were arranged in terms of the ten most highly popularized and significant of the engagements and their immediate aftermaths. It starts with the first battle and continues until the last battle. A famous musical suite would be inspired by the Bavarian Dances based on the aforementioned ten: FB, BD, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, Fin.

Aragon and the various powers against them would sign separate peaces after the Gryfs started to gain a decisive advantage over them. Milan recognized the independence of the Kingdoms of Genoa and Parma as well as the royal house of Gryf on the Aragonese throne. Burgundy would see the southern portion of their country consumed by the invaders before agreeing to a peace. Many of their conquests against the French were released as sovereign nations, in addition to the ceding of Dauphaine and the recognition of the house of Gryf. Hesse would agree to a mutual peace, recognizing the rightful reign of Ferran II. Bavaria paid an indemnity for damages sustained in Mecklenburg. The Grand Duchy of Tyrol conceded defeat in the engagement. A number of other minor forces ended their wars with a simple recognition of the other's right to rule their territory. Morocco, a powerful Muslim Empire, had not seriously been engaged with the Aragonese and the Scandinavians, Gustav agreed to a white peace when requested as he had expected that war to be over. Instead the Moroccan army descended upon the Aragonese in West Africa through Taodeni. Ferran was confused by this, as he had only recently finished the conquest of Kanem Bornu, but remained ready for conflict. Gustav was furious at being mislead out of the war effort. Unwilling to break a truce he instead started sending obscene amount of war subsidies to the Kingdom of Aragon in order to dispatch with this threat. Elsewhere the Kingdom of Ryazan was thoroughly crushed by the Golden Horde so decisively that it sent shock waves throughout Europe. It was rapidly becoming apparent that the Christian powers of the world were allowing a tremendous threat to emerge unchecked.*

1610AD.png




*I had found a spare copy of this game saved immediately after the first Ryazani war of reconquest. I was happy to have it after I thought this game was gone for good and checked to see if it worked, which it did. Unfortunately when Ryazan was crushed I was curious to see what was going on with the world. The Golden Horde and Morocco were in the Ottoman Tech Group and all Muslims received .05 colonists a year. It wasn't what I wanted at all for this AAR since I had initially spelled out all the changes I had made and this was making more of it. In addition the Golden Horde and Morocco have a coastal port bringing extra colonists which means Morocco is colonizing North Africa while the Golden Horde is colonizing Siberia. They're doing it very slowly, but they're still doing it. Morocco now has a land border with Aragon, which had conquered and colonized much of West Africa and is causing a large amount of trouble there. The Golden Horde has lands in the Baltic all the way to the Persian Gulf and all the way to the doorstep of China and India. They recently defeated the largest AI Persia I have ever seen, only adding to the fear. At the moment I'm conflicted if I should change the Golden Horde back to muslim level, along with Morocco, and remove their colonist making powers. If I do it then we'll probably see a resurgence of the Russian states, we I don't then I'll have one hell of an end game boss. I want to hear what you guys think first though.
 
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First, I'd like to congratulate you on an excellent AAR, since not nearly enough people have! Second, I think you should leave them be, (The Golden Horde) but maybe you will have to start fight them now if you want to have any chance against them later on. It should in any case make for an interesting war!
 
First, I'd like to congratulate you on an excellent AAR, since not nearly enough people have! Second, I think you should leave them be, (The Golden Horde) but maybe you will have to start fight them now if you want to have any chance against them later on. It should in any case make for an interesting war!
Thank you for the compliment and the comment, I appreciate it.

I'm not sure I will be getting into a war with them intentionally. The entire idea behind this game is to be as realistic as possible in presenting the moves and actions by the Danes (and by extension the Scandinavians), which hasn't been perfect. Mecklenburg, Smolensk, and Portugal getting into a union with the Scandinavian Empire wasn't planned and as I toyed with the idea of leading the countries on for a while to motivate future events Mecklenburg and Smolensk were inherited after Olav became Emperor. Mecklenburg wasn't a problem, but Smolensk is an island of Scandinavian rule surrounded by the Golden Horde after Ryazan was defeated. I'll keep it around and simply refer to it as a completely autonomous duchy, but I won't let Portugal or any other future states outside of the Baltic get inherited by Scandinavia without a very plausible reason. So I really don't think Scandinavia will actively get involved with a war against the Golden Horde unless there's the smell of blood in the water (IE Bohemia or the Turks get their act together and cause significant problems for them, high WE and low stability destroy Empires of that size). Instead I think my main aim will be to take one last province from Ryazan and then vassalize it.

If war comes though, I'll make sure I put up one hell of a fight! ;)
 
Let them be and let there be BLOOD! This could result in an epic endgame. And as a Swede, I think you need to remove the Horde from "vår sjö" or mare nostrum as the classicists would say. Nice touch having a Gustav II Adolf floating about at this time too albeit a bit early I suspect.
 
Excellent, good to see that you had a copy survive. The Horde will come knocking though...its the Horde way.
Besides, they have a Baltic coastline...I'd think the Scandinavians would find that...unpleasant.
Very much so. For now, however, there's a tenuous peace.

Let them be and let there be BLOOD! This could result in an epic endgame. And as a Swede, I think you need to remove the Horde from "vår sjö" or mare nostrum as the classicists would say. Nice touch having a Gustav II Adolf floating about at this time too albeit a bit early I suspect.
Haha :D

For Gustav, he shows up whenever the game demands.