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Rise of the Empire - An Austrian AAR

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DonCossack

DonCossack

Ducimus. Infantry.
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Sep 15, 2002
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AEIOU - Austria Erit In Orbe Ultima (Latin)
"Austria will be in existence until the end of the world."

Rise of the Empire - Chaper 1 - Tides of War

As the sun rose on January 1, 1419, the winds were brewing a storm over the horizon. The coulds were dark and menacing and the grass and trees swayed in the wind. I awoke early that morning to find a messanger at my doorstep.
"Guden tag, mein herr." he swiftly said to me. "The king wants you present at his castle immediately."
I opened my mouth to speak but no sooner had I objected that I had more pressing matters than he was gone. I dressed in my finest garments and was quickly en route to the Imperial Palace in Vienna. King Albert I was in power in these times, and it seems that he had a premonition the night before, of comets and demons and all the fire of hell. His advisors, in all their knowledge and wisdom, acknowledged his downfall and the overunning of his kingdom, pf the glorious Austrian nation. He quickly called for me, his most trusted Baron, to comment on how we can quell these harsh fortunes. I knew that this was all nonsense and I thoroughly believed that a man cannot just have visions like these and call them anything other than dreams! But the king would have none of that. He demanded upon my arrival that we take action as soon as possible, and that he wanted to leave a lasting impression upon the kingdom, for the better, not as the man who sat by and did nothing. I did as I was told, and by January 7, I had assembled all the military councils across the nation. I asked a simple question:
"What can be done?"
General Franz Heinder responded first.
"The Hungarians are a weak people. I have seen them in battle time and time again break formations and scatter into the wilderness. I would sooner trust a woman in battle, mein herr."
"Hungary? By Almighty God, we shall have none of that. We have a royal marriage with them and if we break that send the wrong message to our people and other close friends."
"But..."
"I said no, General."
Heinder sat back in his chair and stubbornly kept his mouth shut for the rest of the meeting.
"Mein Herr, what about the Bohemians? They..." spoke up one of our younger colonels.
"No. The situation is the same as that of Hungary..."
But no sooner had I spoken these words than a messenger ran in.
"Baron. THe Bohemians have changed their national religion to that of the Protestants. All alliances we have with them have been broken!"
This was a moment we had all been wanting. The chance to advance strongly into another large country where we hold the advantage. I gave word immediately to pull our troops from Croatia (we had been fighting here since January but felt the Bohemians were a greater prize so settled peace with the Croats for 50 chests of gold. Hardly worth our time.). We took our army of Imperial Guardsmen, 40,000 strong, and divided it into 3 armies: Imperial Guards 20,000, KuK Armee 10,000, Tiroerschutzen 10,000. We assembled the men at the only common border we had with Bohemia: Ostmarch. I sent a messenger ahead to ride and deliver our declaration of war to the Bohemian king. Then, we set out on our conquest of a nation.
Albert I, learning of this diplomatic action, had the audacity of demoting me of all things, to a lowly Baronet. Oh, I thought, he would see I am much more than that. I sent the KuK Armee into Sudeten and defeated the local army. The siege had begun. The Tirolschutzen smartly marched into Moravia, and set to work on besieging the local garrison. The only trial came in the capitol province of Bohemia, where 10,000 enemy soldiers made a pitiful stand against our Imperial Guard. All three provinces were besieged. The Bohemians were no fools though, and retreated their army to Erz, where they regrouped and returned to the capitol and to my surprise, defeated a powerdful Imperial Guard army. I was in shock as they retreated back to Ostmarch. But the Bohemians didn't capitalize on their victory and we seized the provinces of Sudeten and Masovia. Those two armies moved farther north and began to surround and cut off the capitol, as Erz and Silesia were set ablaze. By now the Imperial Guard were ready to fight again, and charged the fields of Bohemia. But the Bohemian commander was an intelligent tactician, more so than our own army generals, and took the field yet again. This happened three more time until I finally took control and with 20,000 infantry and 14,000 cavalry smashed the Bohemians into hell. The siege begun.
By now, it was 1422. The war had raged for three long years. Siliesia fell in March of that year, as did Erz. I sent 10,000 men of the KuK Armee back to Ostmarch for their victories. Tirolerschutzen was sent to Erz, where they set up camp and prepared to garrison there from now on. Finally, on June of 1422, the Imperial Guard seized the fortress of Bohemia. I now occupied all five of the Bohemian provinces. Peace talks commenced immediately. Our government was unrelenting and demanded all we could get from Bohemia. We gained military access in their lands, 100 chests of gold and more importantly, the provinces of Sudeten, Masovia, Erz and Silesia. The war was over. Imperial Guards marched back to Vienna and were given a heroes welcome for their brave actions. Drums beat, banners unfurled and joyous crowds celebrated our victory. The men would be treated well tonight. I gave the men leave and many were found the next day passed out from drunkeness in the many streets. But nothing could dampen our spirits. I was reinstated as a Baron. The king applauded us and gave the generals and I a huge feast in our honour.
But even now, the peace will not last long. We forged a new alliance, with Bavaria, Wurtemburg and Wurzburg. Our great eye and hunger has shifted to Mantua, and their allies of Helvetia, Milan and Genoa. Blood will be spilt again, but none can tell when it shall occur.
 
AEIOU :D I love it!
 
Our great eye and hunger has shifted to Mantua, and their allies of Helvetia, Milan and Genoa. Blood will be spilt again, but none can tell when it shall occur.
Click to expand...

Soon, I'd bet. What a great alliance to fight against since it gives you a CB and lots of tasty provinces to eye. Watch that BB rating though or you'll bring the wrath of many nations down on your head. :eek:

Interesting take on AEIOU - which I'd point out aren't in use yet...you've got to wait for Friedrich V for that - although I suppose he's probably alive by now and begining his slow rise to tenuous power.

Great start...although perhaps I could make a suggestion? It's a little easier to read if you put an extra line break in between paragraphs. Like this:
...He demanded upon my arrival that we take action as soon as possible, and that he wanted to leave a lasting impression upon the kingdom, for the better, not as the man who sat by and did nothing. I did as I was told, and by January 7, I had assembled all the military councils across the nation. I asked a simple question:

"What can be done?"

General Franz Heinder responded first.

"The Hungarians are a weak people. I have seen them in battle time and time again break formations and scatter into the wilderness. I would sooner trust a woman in battle, mein herr."

"Hungary? By Almighty God, we shall have none of that. We have a royal marriage with them and if we break that send the wrong message to our people and other close friends."

"But..."

"I said no, General."

Heinder sat back in his chair and stubbornly kept his mouth shut for the rest of the meeting.

"Mein Herr, what about the Bohemians? They..." spoke up one of our younger colonels.

"No. The situation is the same as that of Hungary..."

But no sooner had I spoken these words than a messenger ran in.

"Baron. THe Bohemians have changed their national religion to that of the Protestants. All alliances we have with them have been broken!"

This was a moment we had all been wanting. The chance to advance strongly into another large country where we hold the advantage. I gave word immediately to pull our troops from Croatia (we had been fighting here since January but felt the Bohemians were a greater prize...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the input...I'll take the paragraph space into mind as I write the next chapter...which will come soon...
 
Well as requested here is part 2...
 
Rise of the Empire - Chapter 2 - Italian Campaign

The blood from my crusade against the Bohemians was barely dried when the winds of war directed my attention to the feuding city states of the Italian penninsula. King Albert V (sorry, I put Albert I earlier) was desperately hungry for more lands after he had seen our valiant armies crush those Bohemians like the dogs they were. It was 1422, and the month of August was upon us. On the night of the 14th, Albert V summoned me to his royal chambers.

"Ah, my ever worthy Baron. Please, let us talk of things, not relating to our own country. One man to another..."

But I knew what he was talking about. He had no interest in finding out news from around the world. He was talking about Mantua. The Italian states had been squabbling for the scraps of the Venetians and Papal States table and so had decreased their armies dratically in their many wars with each other, that left only more dead. So, I told him what he wanted to hear. The strangest part was, I wasn't making up stories to please the monarch. They were all true.

"Mein Herr, the state of Mantua is ripe for the picking. They have no forces to deal with. The garrison at their only fortress is minimal and at a state of unreadiness. THeir neighbours, the state of Milan, has 10,000 willing bodies, but we have just as many on the opposing border, and half of those troops are cavarlymen. The downside is Helvetia. Their forts are stronger than we had thought and they have 21,000 men available. Genoa has a strong fortress on the mainland and while their holding in Corsica aren't exactly troubling, we have no navy with which to reach them. What are your thought, sire?"

The most cruel smile crept onto his face, like the devil must have when the most fiendish commit their dastardly deeds. He gave the simplist of orders to me. It was one word alone, but I knew what it meant.

"Go."
 
October 20th, 1422

The order to moblize the troops has been given. The 20,000 man strong army of the Imperial Guard has been sumoned and placed on the common broder with Lombardia province, of Milan. 10,000 men from Army of Silesia was staged upon the same Tirol province as the Imperial Guard, and set to attack those from Manuta. THe next day, the word was passed down our supply lines ot the troops on the border. War had been declared upon the Italians. Commence with the invasion plans.

Mantua was joined by Milan, Genoa and Helvetia, though there was little chance of vicotry for them. Just as an added measure, our allies, Wurtemburg, Wurzburg and Bavaria were calledi n to deal with the Helvetians as we invaded Italy. THe stage was set for our first, full scale war.

Our troops crossed the borders on both sides the very next month, catching the Italians by surprise with our speed. The Imperial Guard faced the armied of Milan, and outnumbered them two to one. It was a slaughter. For 1,500 Austrian dead, we annihilated the Milanese soldiers and pillaged the countryside. In Mantua, the fields could be seen burning for miles on end. Thick black clumns of smoke rose into the air, as if the be swept away by the very hands of God, miles up into the heavens. The troops from Helvetia, 21,000 of them, invaded our allies of Wurtemburg, but were truned back at the border after a battle that left thousands dead on either side. Genoa, fearing our reprisals, evacuated their 9,000 men from their capitol province and sent them to Corsica, as they knew we had no naval capabilities. Yet. The war went better than we had ever expected. Within a year, we had eliminated the enemy armies and besieged their forts. By now, the enemies had been starving for months now. Soon, the white flag for Milan had been raised over the fort. It was ours. We sent our terms to the garrison commander: full annexation of Milan. No other options. If not, we massacre the surrounding populations with no mercy, then take their lands. He accpeted the terms, though I imagine he would've accpeted on the very first day. Lombardia was the newest Austrian province. At Mantua, the final relief column attempted to break the siege of their city. But it was too little too late. On October of 1423, the Mantuan governemtn handed over their lands and populace, in the terms of our annexation. The war was over, with our fine country being the undisputed victors. Celebrations commenced immediately, and we felt invincible. So did our monarch, and decided to press the issue and see just how strong we were.
 
The day after our victory over the Italians, our greta ruler, Albert V, called another military council. I almost had a heart attack when the messenger arrived the next morning with the summons. I had barely worked off the hangover from the endless celebrations and carousing with the men the night before and my wife pleaded with me not to go. We had barely seen each other in the last year and she relished in the oppurtunityies where I was finally home. But I was ever loyal to my king above all, and quickly dug my spurs into my horse and I was off towards the Imperial Palace in Vienna. When I arrived, the other generals (including my old friend General Franz Heidner) were all in the same situation as I. Their heads were all laying on the tables, trying in vain to remember the events after our great fiasco at a local tavern and trying to work off the vicious headaches that come after victories, due to our over-drinking. That's when the trumpets blared to announceo ur kings arrival. My head rang with this sudden noise and Heidner, rabbing his midsection, stumbled over to a nearby window to release the contents of his morning meal (as I hear it, the unfortunate guard of the nearby tower was hit with a serving of ham). The king walked in with a huge grin on his face.

"Guden tag." He said. "and Congratulations on a hangover well deserved. I hear the campaign went well and that our troops are elated over the victory."

A garbled cheer went up from around the table.

"I have taken the liberty, after news of our victory, to check the newest developments on the Italian situation."

Was he serious?

"It seems, the states of Modena, Papal States, Venice, and Albania are allied. THis provides another oppurtunity to enhance our alreadyd magnificent glory."

I opened my mouth to speak but was silenced.

"There will be no objections gentlemen. The armies have alreaady been assembled at my command. They are waiting for you. I have left instructions for you with your seconds in command. Now, be off with you. To the front. You will be briefed on the situation by my aide-de-camp when you get there. God speed. For Austria gentlemen." and he was gone.

The council was speechless. It had all happened so fast and yet we knew we must follow orders. I departed for the border of newly annexed Mantua the next morning.
 
15,000 Imeprial Guardsmen departed for the provine of Romagna the next morning after our declaration of war. The Papal States had no troops at all (they had been warring with Tuscany for the past sveral years) and met no resistance as we besieged the local garrison and commenced plunderingo nce more. On the Modena front, our Army of Silesia (10,000 strong) encountered 10,000 Modena troops, and quickly dispatched them no losses. THings wrere going great until the Venetians sent 7,000 men to Stiermark and besieged it at once. But there was no hurry there. I proceeded with besiegements in both countries, and already fearing my infinite wrath, Albania and Naples made a white peace wit my diplomats (I would ask the king to deal with them at a later date. They weren't going anywhere for the time being). I dealt with the Modena troops that had come to try to rescue to beleaguered defences, but to no avail. General Heidner led the Army of Silesia smartly and evetually got away with taking the fortress. Romagna fell the very next month. The Imperial Guards marched on to the Italian province of Marche and took out the accompanying Papal Army. Siege machines were set in place and the countdown to victory began, as the Papacy was out of money and pleaded with me to take their remaining money. I laughed at their diplomats as they were turned down, one by one. But by this time, the Venetians were doing quite well in Stiermark. I had 11,000 men in nearby Austria province and sent the 8,000 men of the Army of Silesia in towards that threat. But then, 11,000 Venetians decicded to also attack my province of Tirol, and so I sent both of those nearby armies to the Tirol province to deal with the new threat, but the moral of the troops from Venice was higher than that of my own troops and we were defeated. The Venetians delivered a 50,000 ducat ultamatum and I accepted for I wanted to concentrate on the other enemies for the time being. It was of little concern as I had no intention of attacking Venice at this time anyways. Marche fell a few months later. The Imperial Guard eventually moved onto Rome, the most glorious city in all of Italy. I myself went to asee the progress and marvelled at the old Roman architecture. The Pope himself begged for peace, by offering Romagna and 42,000 ducats, but we were hungry and owould not relent to such a treaty. Finally, after three years, in 1426, Roma fell to our forces. We took Romagna and Marche, along with military access and those 42,000 ducats from the Pope. He was as mad as anything I have ever seen when our forces left the ruins of the province. Then, we ended the glorious campaign with annexxing Modena, and gaining three naval ship at the same time. The war and capmaign was finally over. We gained at least half of Italy in this one fell swoop. We clebrated twice as mcuh as before until we heard the news: the Danish, Swedish and Norwegians had declared war upon us. It was strange, seeing as the Nordics would have to travel all the way around Europe to attack us and there isn't much chance of our country launching an attrack of our own with the three ships we have, so that gave us plenty of time to set up our coastal defences. Now, we are waiting for the invasion and are prepared to defend our country down to the last man. We are ready and confident. We shall not be beaten here. So ends the Italian Campaign.
 
I owuld love to be able to add screenshots to this AAR. If someone could please tell me hows it's done I would appreciate it a lot...
 
Thanks for the info. I'll try to add a screenie the next time I add to this AAR. How is it going for a first time AAR? I'm open to criticism. By the way, my next target hopefully is to annex Bohemia in the next war...as my truce with them has just expired...
 
Don't be shy people...if you who read this don't like it please comment on ways to improve for the next chapter...thanks in advance...
 
Originally posted by DonCossack
Thanks for the info. I'll try to add a screenie the next time I add to this AAR. How is it going for a first time AAR? I'm open to criticism. By the way, my next target hopefully is to annex Bohemia in the next war...as my truce with them has just expired...
Click to expand...
It is going quite well. Your dialogue is excellent, but there are so many Austrian AARs on the market that you face stiff competition.

Additionally, while you now break up conversation with more line-spacing (much appreciated), you still present the reader with 10+ line monstrosities without paragraphs (like the "15,000 Imeprial Guardsmen" ..... "So ends the Italian Campaign.", which adds up to something like 30 lines on my screen and is, I am sorry to say, very hard on the reader. Try making new paragraphs every 5-10 lines.

As a reader, there is only one thing you've left me wondering about at the moment, since the object seems to be overrunning everything in your path: Which difficulty setting are you playing on?

If playing on very hard, I predict that things will get interesting pretty soon, what with the rampant annexations driving up your BB. :)
 
Yes, that's true about the competition between the AAR's. I'll try to shorten the paragraphs as you ahve asked...also the difficulty is
Hard/(I forget what the setting is under Furious)
 

 
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