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Seduction of the Seas: A Two Sicilies AAR

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FelixMajor: Thank you for the compliment and the next update, I'm happy to say will come out today! :)

AlbinoPolarBear: Ferdinando will not forget the early support of the Hellenes. The borders may not include ALL Greek cores, but certainly most of them if things go to plan.
 
Oh, and by the way, anyone know any tricks to boost your Industrial score in 1.3? I've never played this far in 1.3 and my industry is lagging fairly heavily against some of the others. I'm already building some Luxury Clothes and Furniture factories, which is the main trick I've heard, but its starting to get annoying how I'm not meeting my industrial goal of being in the top 5.

Although this may all just have to do with the fact that I have fewer states to build factories in than most other countries (the downside of not uniting Italy).
 
I don't think its possible to get much more with just the 3 states and around 2 million people although you will be punching quite strong for a nation of that size because Sicily has sulphur which seems to make people want to go soldier or craftsman.
 
I'm doing fairly well in Industry, just not as well as I'd like. And yeah, although I won't give too much away, I do have somewhat more than 3 states now, which has helped me reach beyond an initial plateau I hit in the 1840's as you suggest, Quacky. So I guess as soon as I get more NF's I'll work on making some of my few colonies states.
 
Later on, when you get into the high-tech stuff, you might see a big boost in industrial score, but other than that, you're kind of limited for the time being.
 
:eek:o OK all, this update is getting way, way longer than I thought it would get. So yeah, its not coming out until tomorrow because its so darned long and I'm still not finished. But just to give you a little preview, Sicily moves up in the world and gets into not one but two, wars.
 
Just so you all know, this AAR is not dead. It is just taking me quite a while to write, and RL things keep interrupting. Anyways, the update will be out tomorrow, come hell or high water.
 
BAMman100 said:
Just so you all know, this AAR is not dead. It is just taking me quite a while to write, and RL things keep interrupting. Anyways, the update will be out tomorrow, come hell or high water.
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Do not worry, we will be here. You should not fall into the trap of thinking that you have to update super-fast, lords knows I have before at the expense of my writing :)

Not sure if it will help you, but if you are producing everything that you pops need, doubtful given you size, then high tariffs do not hurt you at all when coupled with zero taxes... but that may just be a luxury of being British and producing large amounts of everything I'm afraid that states make industrial score so while you will punch way above your weight, you may still lack due to a low number of states, colonisation can help here :)
 
SirCliveWolfe said:
Do not worry, we will be here. You should not fall into the trap of thinking that you have to update super-fast, lords knows I have before at the expense of my writing :)

Not sure if it will help you, but if you are producing everything that you pops need, doubtful given you size, then high tariffs do not hurt you at all when coupled with zero taxes... but that may just be a luxury of being British and producing large amounts of everything I'm afraid that states make industrial score so while you will punch way above your weight, you may still lack due to a low number of states, colonisation can help here :)
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Oh, I'm well aware that high tariffs aren't necessarily bad. The game itself is going fine, its the writing and sorting through my 300+ screen caps that's been delaying this. But rejoice, Chapter II is almost done and shall be released around 9:00 PM tonight!
 
Chapter II: The First Wars of Expansion

Part I:

The Neapolitan summer was generally quite mild, especially when the sea breeze provided cooling circulation of air. June of 1837, however, had proved unseasonably warm. In a conference room at the Portici Palace, furthermore, the climate was exacerbated by windows that were firmly locked, drapes that were drawn, and a shut, solid oak door. What breeze there was, was completely corralled outside the room and, as a consequence, tempers flared as violently as Mt. Vesuvius could.

“I shall be no part of the removal of a Christian Prince from his throne!” said King Ferdinando, red-faced at the head of the table. “There shall be war, but never against a Christian people!” The King’s Minister of the Navy squirmed, looking rather like he wished he had not broached the topic.

“Sire, i-it was merely a suggestion,” stuttered the Minister. “You must admit that something must be done about the Piedmontese and their flirtation with this ‘nationalist’ element. The acquisition of Modena for the realm would give us a foot in the Piedmontese’s door, so to speak.”

“I shall deal with King Carlo Alberto and his foolish associations myself,” said the King, a firm finality in his voice. “You forget, we are related by marriage… Now, has anyone a different, more proper suggestion for a target of our proposed war.”

The Minister of War, Carlo Filangieri, motioned for attention. He held up his notebook, as if checking something he had written in it, and then spoke.

“Sire, I would suggest Morocco. The Sultan is presently embroiled in a conflict with Spain, which has demanded the cession of the Taza territory, from which tribesmen have long raided the Spanish settlement of Melilla. Now, then, would be an opportune time to strike, and we even have a reasonable pretext, since several of our merchant ships were ceased by pirates operating out of Tangier only a few months ago.”

“Tangier would be our objective, then?” asked the King.

“Yes, but more too, I think,” said Filangieri, once more leafing through his notebook momentarily. “I think we could demand the whole Rif region, known to the Sultan as Ajdir, which includes the port towns Tangier, Ajdir, and Tetouan. From there, we would be well positioned to either seize more of the Sultan’s territory in the future or perhaps launch colonial ventures in the Dark Continent.”

The Minister of the Navy stirred slightly, drawing the eyes of the rest of the table.

“Tangier is an excellent port, especially for trading ships, which would definitely aid any possible colonial ventures. In case of war with a major power, furthermore, it could serve as a base to prevent entry to the Mediterranean by said power, greatly reducing the possibility of invasion of the realm, sire.”

A less pugilistic and more pleased look came upon the countenance of the King.

“Gentlemen, I like this idea. Certainly the centuries of barbarous enslavement of Christians justify our actions, and the strategic reasons are compelling. Morocco, then, shall be the target of our legions.”

“As you wish, sire,” said the Ministers in unison.

carlo20filangieri.jpg

Carlo Filangieri, Sicilian Minister of War​

Filangieri’s notebooks, preserved by his daughter and biographer, provide details of the subsequent ministerial meetings, which took place over the course of a week, which finalized the plan for what would become known as the Sicilian Seizure of the Rif. The first order of business was to select a commander for the expedition from among the Two Sicilies’ growing officer corps.

Filangieri, at the direction of the King, had been recruiting the finest and fittest sons of the Sicilian nobility to enroll in a newly established military academy in Naples, which offered courses modeled on Prussian curriculums. Additionally, the King, as a way of increasing the ranks of the officer corps more rapidly, had reluctantly authorized the commissioning of officers from among enlisted men who had served for more than five years. Among the former category at the time of the preparations of the Seizure of the Rif were Generals Alessandro Scammacca and Giacomo Vernazza, while the officer chosen to command the expeditionary force, General Nicola Orsini, was in the latter group.

The plan that was ultimately drawn up called for the III. Corpo d’Armata, under Orsini, to depart for Casablanca at the same time as the diplomatic envoy who would deliver the formal declaration of war, ensuring that defensive preparation could not be made by the Sultan’s army prior to the army’s disembarking. From there, the III. Corpo would secure the port towns of Casablanca and Safi and then proceed north-east towards Fez. Thus, in early July the Reale Marine delle Due Sicilie left Naples with a cargo of 15,000 soldiers, arriving off Casablanca on July 20, 1837. A rowboat was dispatched to shore carrying the Sicilian Consul to Morocco in full diplomatic uniform and carrying his dread piece of paper. As soon as General Orsini spotted the Consul entering the town, he ordered that the troops begin disembarking and by nightfall the siege of Casablanca had begun.

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The July 20, 1837 Declaration of War on Morocco​

Although the town had but a small garrison of troops, the civilian population of Casablanca proved hardy and it was not until November 30 that the siege was won. From there, General Orsini sought to protect his southern flank and moved towards Safi, which he besieged in early December. Then, on February 23, 1838, just as the defenders of Safi seemed to be giving up hope, word a desperate cable arrived from Naples. The King and Minister Filangieri were ordering the III. Corpo to proceed immediately to Rabat, several dozen miles north of Casablanca, as the Sultan had just signed a peace treaty at Melilla with the Spanish, which had ceded not only Taza but also the region of Sawira, in which Safi and Casablanca were located. To avoid a diplomatic incident, the march had to be made posthaste. Thus, the lightning “February March” was undertaken and completed by the first week of March.

v225.png

Victory at Casablanca

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The Foreign Office cable reporting the Peace of Mellila

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The "February March" of the III. Corpo d'Armata​

By July 3, 1838, Rabat had fallen and the Sultan made an offer of peace based on the status quo antebellum, which was promptly rejected. General Orsini and the III. Corpo proceeded north to Tangier, where they encountered a force of 9,000 Rif Tribesmen headed by one of the Sultan’s generals, which they promptly and bloodily dispersed. With Tangier sure to fall, the Sultan finally offered to cede the Rif in return for peace on August 12, 1838, and offer that was accepted and resulted in the Treaty of Tangier signed by General Orsini and the Governor of Tangier, acting as representatives of their respective sovereigns.

v233.png

The Sultan's first offer of peace

v236.png

The terms offered by the Sultan for the Treaty of Tangier​

Within the month, the III. Corpo had returned to the Sicilian homeland, landing at Palermo. The ancient trading and cultural center was, as usual, lighted with a glorious, shining sun. With its hodgepodge of Arabesque, Classical, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture and polyglot population of merchants, craftsmen, peasants, nobles, clergy, etc. seemingly all out in force to greet the returning soldiers, some of the men remarked that they felt as if the whole world had assembled to congratulate them on their successful adventure across the sea. The III. Corpo processed in triumphal style to the Palazzo dei Normanni, the seat of the Medieval Kings of Siciliy, expecting to be handed the keys to the city by the Mayor. Instead, they found King Ferdinando himself there to greet them, his normally sullen, serious face aglow with pride.

palermocastlebjs3.jpg

The Palazzo dei Normanni​

“My soldiers, you have just returned from a venture that shall be marked down in our history as the start of a new era,” said the King, in his speech welcoming the men home. “For too long, our people have been distracted from their true greatness by the obtuse orations of malicious agitators. It is high time we focused our energies on making of our fertile soil and strategic position a great, glorious nation and it is you men of the III. Corpo who have begun the process. For that I thank you as your sovereign and fellow countryman.”

With his brief speech concluded, the men were presented to the King and General Orsini, before his men, was created by the King 1st Conte di Tangeri (Count of Tangier). As the III. Corpo basked in the glow of the King's affection, some could not help but whisper "He said we have 'begun the process,' does that mean we're going to war again soon?" Such whispers proved prophetic, as the King and his councilors were already planning another expedition.

Note: Part II of Chapter II will be added to this post at about 9:00 PM EST.
 
Congrats BAMman100, I enjoyed your AAR so much, I selected it as this week's Weekly AAR Showcase. Check out that thread. People will be directed here to read your work, and you will get to select next week's showcase. Again, congrats.

BTW Your AAR makes me want to see Burt Lancaster in The Leopard.
 
Hey everyone. Sorry I dropped off the faces of the earth for a while there. I'm going to restart this, as I still have all the screenshots. The next chapter will be up in 2-3 days.
 
Well folks, my game (and the screenshots) got accidentally deleted in spate f computer troubles I've had recently. So this is officially dead now. But I do want to do some more AARs, and hopefully actually finish them. So any requests?
 
Im sad to see this gone, as your writting style was very good. I dont think there are any AARs on Spain, so maybe you could try to reclaim their lost colonial Empire in the Americas?
 
King50000 said:
Im sad to see this gone, as your writting style was very good. I dont think there are any AARs on Spain, so maybe you could try to reclaim their lost colonial Empire in the Americas?
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I was thinking of a Spain game, actually. Not sure if I'd want to re-conquer the American colonies or build an African colonial empire (although the former is certainly something different).
 
BAMman100 said:
I was thinking of a Spain game, actually. Not sure if I'd want to re-conquer the American colonies or build an African colonial empire (although the former is certainly something different).
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I wouldnt be so sure about an African Colonial Empire, would just take too long to research the techs to get that far, while reclaiming the America's would be full of wars and other good stuff. And besides, you already start out with a stepping stone into the America's... Cuba.
 
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