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The Lurid Livonians

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Cruising along...​

The bailiff in Gotland was promoted at once after getting the province. A couple of months after the war land technology level 5 was reached. This is around the same level of my neighbours. Finally it was possible to assault during sieges. Russia is at level 3 and Lithuania only know level 2. Some of the German minors have already reached level 10! I should avoid war against them at all costs. Sweden (level 4) is in an alliance with Brandenburg, Mecklenburg and Bremen, Fortunately, none of them have reached level 9 yet, but Bremen is close at level 8. By the way, Hungary joined our alliance. This has to be the strongest alliance in the whole world now!

In 1506 Austria declares war on Hungary. Hungary calls for our assistance, while Milan, Switzerland and Burgundy joins Austria. A real big war, in other words. The main fighting will be in Hungary and Austria, and I have no business to do down there, so I will sit on the fence and watch the fighting. Lithuania and Teutonic Order is still busy with Moldavia, so Hungary doesn't get any help from them either. Therefore is Hungary steamrolled by big armies from Austria and its allies. Already suffering from major revolts, Hungary accepts peace with Austria giving them Magyar and Croatia in 1507. So now there is no land connection between the two alliances, and no battles are occuring anymore. A separate peace is signed in 1510, where Burgundy payed 200(!) ducats to our alliance. Poland gave up some months later, giving 250 ducats to Austria. The money shift hands quick here! It also look like my alliance isn't the strongest after all...

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Some peace deals during the wars​

von Plettenberg without work is like a lumberjack without a forest. He must have something to do! Since Livonias BB have fallen below 5, a new offensive vs Sweden is planned. They have, as far as I know, only one ship! This will mean quick and easy sieges of most of their coastal provinces. von Plettenberg and 24k men are loaded onto the Livonian fleet on the first of January 1512. They set sail for Åland Sea, outside their capital Stockholm. War is decleared on Brandenburg the first of February 1512. Sweden joins, while I will fight alone. von Plettenberg is sent directly to Svealand (Stockholm).

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Perfect timing!​

To make things a bit worse, Hungary declares war on the Ottomans. :( Hope my alliance will be more successful in this war. Fortunately, a white peace is signed with Austria a year later, ending that war. The joy lasts short, since Bohemia declares war on Hungary. Damned Hungarians! What have they done to be this much hated - checking their BB, it is over 20, so that explains a lot. Ah well, Bohemia is without allies, so I guess they will get crushed by Poland. In Sweden, after some small skirmishes and big battles, von Plettenbergs army is in Småland.

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The Swedes lost 8k men, while von Plettenberg lost around 1k. von Plettenberg follows the retreating Swedes to Småland, to beat them again.​

The siege in Stockholm didn't make any progression at all, so it was a bit more fun to take on the smaller fortress in Småland. It was captured in april 1514. von Plettenberg is once again sent to Svealand, with the support of the fleet. The Swedes are consentrated in Finland, planning a counterattack. They sent their troops into Nyland, starting a siege there. However, when von Plettenberg reached Svealand, they quickly retreated to save their capital.

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von Plettenbergs army reinforced with 4000 infantry ​

The siege of Stockholm went much faster this time; the province fell within a year. The Swedes army, counting 30k men, didn't engage me at all. Hmm, I wonder why. They didn't even bother to liberate Stockholm when von Plettenberg was sent to Gästrikland. The AI sure have some flaws, hope it will be better in EU3!*

As for the other wars going around, the Ottomans were as usual to strong to handle for Lithuania. The Ottomans got Kaffa out from the peacedeal in 1515. With the Ottomans out of the picture, Crimea was left alone. Lithuania and Teutonic Order used this opportunity good, and they got some ducats out of the peace, and a province was ceded to Teutonic Order. However, bad news came right after the war: Teutonic Order was diploannexed by Lithuania! Damn, this will make it even harder to get Danzig in the future. :(

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Nein!​

Soaked in tears by the dreadful news von Plettenberg let out his aggresion on the poor Swedes. Gästrikland fell in September 1516. Fortunately, Sweden offered Småland, Gästrikland and 84 ducats by free will one month later. I accepted without hesitation.

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Ten years in continuous war had been a burden for the Livonian Order - stability was low and therefore also income. I'm still in a war vs Brandenburg, but we haven't met in battle yet, so I reckon peace will be signed soon. BB at the moment is at 10,4. No more offensive wars for a while in other words. But the aggression shown by the Livonian Order in the last hundred years have made big marks. Sweden is now severely weakened, with their Finnish provinces cut off. Småland will be a useful province vs the Danish, with access directly into Skåne.

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7>​
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* Is it? :)
 
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Great peace, strategically. Smaland gives you an avenue to Denmark, while Gastrikland opens up the north both on land and through new friendly waters. Just keep them well defended until its time to go to war again. :)
 
Another well fought and profitable war vs Sweden. Too bad your alliances aren't too helpful right now, but you don't appear to be suffering much from it.
 
Thrashing mad: Thanks! The future of the Livonian Order will be both bright and a bit dark. :)

Brian Roastbeef: Gastrikland gave me three good things in one: land and sea access as you mentioned, in addition to severely weakening Swedens army movements. As their navy is quite weak at the moment, they'll have a hard time defending both their eastern and western provinces at the same time. :)

coz1: Bringing in Poland and Lithuania might have been a good idea, as the war against Sweden could have been over in much shorter time. However, I wasn't alliance leader (IIRC), and therefore the war could have ended prematurely, which I absolutely didn't want. ;) Anyway, Sweden didn't get much help from their german allies, so I could siege most of the Swedish provinces uninterrupted.

Next update in a couple of minutes...
 
The Danes are out for revenge​

Even if no battles had been fought between the Livonian Order and Brandenburg, Brandenburg refused to sign a white peace. Sigh. Therefore, warexhaustion continued to mount. Fortunately, the empires* stability was at +1, so no revolts should occur. von Plettenberg is sent from Gästrikland to Småland as there are 23k Danish soldiers in Skåne. Wonder what they are up to. If they should declare war on me, I will send my fleet to The Sund, the sea west of Skåne. This way Danish soldiers can't cross over the strait, giving me several benefits. I don't know how big the Danish fleet is, but I think the Livonian fleet has a good chance beating them. In January 1516 Brandenbrug finally settled for a white peace. It was now time to rebuild the Empires new territory. The bailiffs in Gästrikland and Småland were promoted.

On the 30th of January 1518 a major event struck which will change the future plans for the Livonian Order drastically. Brandenburg, which had built many troops but never had the change to use them in their war against me, found a new target: Lithuania. Lithuania asked Poland to join the war, but they refused! Seeing this, I was a bit surprised - I thought Poland never would let Lithuania down. I decided to refuse Lithuanias offer to join too. There was two reasons for this. First of all, I had just finished the war with Brandenburg, and we had a truce. Joining Lithuanias side would have broken the truce, and the stability in the Empire would have plummeted. Second of all, warexhaustion was still high. Joining the war would for sure have spawned a lot of rebels, which is always very annoying. I refused the offer to join the war, and was therefore kicked out of the alliance, along with Poland. I still had good relations with Poland, so I asked them to join my alliance, and they accepted. I'm not so happy by leaving Lithuania, since they were a nice buffer vs Russia. However, I'm much better than Russia techwise, so I don't fear them as much as before.

Seeing the drastic changes in alliances around the Baltic Sea, Norway decided to take advantage of the situation. Their target was the most dishonourable nation in the area - the Livonian Order! Damn! Was perhaps a bit too much BB in the last war :(. They brought with them Denmark and Order of St. John. Since I was now alliance leader, I decided to bring Poland into the war. Fortunately, von Plettenberg was standing ready in Småland to be ready for Danish aggresion. As for the nortern Livonian Empire, it is completely undefended. Norway could cause some trouble up there. However the Order has another leader in backhand - Jesper Linde (2,3,3,0) waiting in Estland. He could be used to fight the Norwegians if it should be necessary. As feared, the Danish and Norwegians attack. The Danish are going after Småland. They send 23k men to fight von Plettenberg (in May 1518), and the Danish have one big benefit - firearms.

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Danish troops on their way to Småland, and Norwegian troops on their way to Kola. Notice the army from Cleves (allied to Brandenburg) going to Danzig​

von Plettenbergs men are quickly demoralized by this new Danish invention, so it is a big defeat. The Livonian army retreat onto the Livonian fleet and are sent back to Kurland. Fortunately, Norway doesn't have firearms yet, so fighting them should be much easier. They have currently 10k men in Kola, siegeing the fortress there. Gästrikland is also under siege, by a joint force from Norway and Denmark.

With Skåne almost undefended, von Plettenberg is sent to siege it. Even with firearms, the Danish in small numbers can't beat von Plettenberg with his large cavalry and infantry army. The Danes doesn't have superior techs at naval warfare yet, so the 26 galleys in the Livonian fleet still is superior in the Baltic Sea. The fleet is sent to The Sund while von Plettenberg is siegeing. While this happens, the "Protestant" event shows up (1519). I guess most of my provinces will convert to protestantism sooner or later.

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The siege of Skåne is over after only four months. Denmark surprisingly quickly offer 125 ducats in peaceoffer (December 1519). Knowing that the Danes soon will capture both Småland and Gästrikland, I accept. Risking that von Plettenbergs army would meet a big Danish army with lots of infantry wouldn't be so smart. I cannot afford to lose that man! Just like Brandenburg, Denmark wasn't happy with the results of the war against the Livonian Order. Bremen was the their next target. This would be a big mistake by the Danes, since they would be fighting Brandenburg and Cleves as well.

Lithuania had a hard time without the protection from Poland. Danzig was captured by Cleves, and they got it in a peacedeal! Now it will be even harder to get it. :( More nations wanted a piece of the cake, so the Ottomans DoW'ed Hungary (Lithuanias allied). I guess Lithuania will become a minor nation in the next few years. Same thing with Hungary. It was turbulent times indeed - Sweden decided in 1521 to declare war on Norway. All nations in the alliances joined - almost all of northern and eastern Europe was now at war. The only big nation which is missing is Russia (and Poland and Livonian Order). With the peaceful times within the Livonian Order, warexhaustion has finally disappeared.

Watching the wars in Europe is quite fun. The one-province minor Bremen managed to keep away the Danes, and went after Norway. They got Iceland and Narvik after a peacedeal! While watching the wars, the first Livonian provinces convert to protestantism - Kurland was first in 1523. Some other important thing happens in this year: Land tech level 9 is reached! This will give infantry fire-phases during combat, in addition to shock-phases. The Danes will now get a tougher fight if they attack the Order again. As for the Danes, here is the result after their war against Bremen and allies:

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The German alliance has crushed the Danes​

8 >​

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I always forget this: Do you write "empires" or "empire's"?
 
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Not so keen on Brandenburg gaining Skane. Picking on Lithuania yourself might be a good idea, especailly if you can gain Novgorod. Its an excellent idea to use von Plettenberg. The man just never quits.
 
You have some easy pickings after these other wars around you end, I should think. Especially now that war exhaustion is down.

And in the situation you used above, it would be "empire's" - the apostrophe in this situation is used to denote possession, the stability of the empire.
 
Taking it easy​

Having a BB close to ten, I will not be aggressive the next years. But if someone decides to declare war on me, I will use the opportunity to gain some provinces. Also, if I recieve a event which gives me a casus belli against either Denmark or Lithuania, I will most probably use it. Sweden is also a "good" target, if I gain a CB on them.

As time progresses, Lithuania is in a war with Russia. Russia goes quickly after Novgorod, so I will follow this closely. Lithuania seem to keep them at bay at the moment (1526). The same year both Austria and the Ottomans DoW'ed Hungary after Hungary broke the vassalization she had with Poland. In 1527 Ryazan declares independence from Poland. Of course Poland DoW's them, and they ask me to join the war. I accept. I don't think Poland will be able to reach Ryazan, since they don't have military access through Lithuania. This could be a good opportunity for the Livonian Order to get a vassal, so von Plettenberg is sent to Vorones (Ryazans province). von Plettenberg arrives in Vorones in October 1527, and annihilates the newly recruited army there.

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von Plettenberg: Cultural Learnings of Ryazan for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Livonian Order​

In addition to firearms, von Plettenberg brought a new invention, artillery. Sieges will now go even faster. However, not fast enough to capture the province before the winter, so the army retreated while waiting for the spring. In the winter the war between Lithuania and Russia ended, and no provinces switched hands. As for Hungary, they had to give three provinces to Austria, and they became vassals of the Ottomans.

A new try to capture Vorones is initiated in March 1528. The cannons in von Plettenbergs army show their "skill", so the province is captured within 6 months. Warscore is 100%, so Ryazan accepts our offer of vassalization, military access and 25 ducats. von Plettenberg is sent back to Kurland. When he arrived in Kurland, I adjusted the domestic slider. I finally reached the point where the armies and fleets get +1 fire value.

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A new source of income ​

More and more provinces in the Empire is converting to protestantism. Sweden converted already in 1531, with only three protestant provinces. I will do it too, but wait until I get more converted provinces. As for foreign affairs, Denmark got their revenge on Bremen, and annexed them in 1531. Russia wasn't idle either, they DoW'ed my vassal Ryazan. I didn't ask them to join my alliance, so they are on their own. The Russians really wanted that province: they assaulted it with 33k men. After they had successfully captured the province, they annexed Ryazan. Oh well, I couldn't expect to have them as vassals forever.

In 1535 the inevitable happened: von Plettenberg died. He proved himself as a most successful monarch and military leader, expanding the Orders borders all around the Baltic Sea. Fortunately, a new leader appeared: Johann von der Recke (2,4,4,0). Not much to do for him at the moment though.

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Nein!​

In 1536 I felt the time had come to convert to protestantism. It will give me 25 ducats for every province I own, but stability will drop. The official date for the conversion was the 1 July 1536. Stability dropped to -3, and the alliance with (the catholic) Poland was broken. However, I asked them to recreate our alliance, and they accepted. The treasury increased with almost 400 ducats!

Not to much happened the last decade with the Order, as you have seen. Therefore, the Order's reputation have got a bit better, currently BB rating is at 8. When it reach 5-6 I might consider attacking someone :). Here is the current situation in Europe - Austria and Spain are the biggest. Honorable mentions also to the Livonian Order :D.

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Ottoman Empire in Narvik!​

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Not much action in this update, but believe me, the next one will have a lot! :D
 
Yeah, it's the Ottomans in Narvik :) I guess Narvik was unfortified at the time, making it rather easy to capture it.

I strongly recommend playing as the Livonian Order! As you said, they get many good leaders in the start, and there's many strategic choices you have to take. As there are so many strong neighbours around, you'll have to plan ahead + chosing the right alliance. I was lucky in this game, as the alliance with Poland and Lithuania kept me relative safe. The only bad thing about the Order is a event triggered around 1560 IIRC: Either you will become Curland and lose all your povinces except Kurland, or you have to pay 500 ducats and convert back to catholic (I deleted the event in the AAR, btw).
 
A Grand War - Part 1​

In the 1540's Sweden wasn't longer the backwards country of northern Europe. They reached the same land tech level as Denmark, Norway and the Livonian Order. With Gästrikland out of their control, the Swedes was really in need for a landconnection between Sweden and Finland. To fulfil this wish, they declared war on Norway (1541). Sweden didn't have any allies, but Norway had Denmark on their side. Not much happened around the Livonian Order, so I focused at the war in Scandinavia. The Danes was clearly superior at the sea, since almost all of Swedens ports were under a blockade. Sweden had only three ships, based in the port in Stockholm. Even if Sweden had troubles with Denmark in the Baltic Sea, I thought Sweden would crush the Norwegian soldiers at land. However, this was not the case. In September 1544 Sweden gave Norway 200 ducats in a peace offer! Sweden must be seriously weakened if they lose against Norway :). Good news for me, as I intend to do more province-grabbing from Sweden. The war between Denmark and Sweden continued though.

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In January 1547 I reached trade level 3. I had been sending merchants to Danzig, so I was ready to get a monopoly there. Another important thing happened the same year - a Fine Arts Academy was built in Kurland. This will give me some much needed investments in stability - stability recovery times are pretty long at this moment.

I got a monopoly in Danzig in 1548. Looking after other "targets", I see that Center of Trade in Sjælland have many open slots. I sent three merchants there. Denmark was apparently not happy about this - they refused my merchants to compete in their CoT. This gave me a casus belli against them. Looks like there is time for a war again! Denmark is still in a war with Sweden, so they should be weakened by this. Hopefully their navy wouldn't cause too big problems. Since we both have reached naval tech level 10, warships get high fire values. As the Livonian navy doesn't have any warships, I could be in big trouble. If I'm lucky, I will be able to land soldiers in Sjælland and/or Jutland without any intervention from the Danish navy. I guess Denmark will ask for help from Norway, but I have no intention to ask Poland for help. They have no ships, so they can't help me in an offensive war.

von der Recke is loaded onto the Livonian fleet, while 10 new artillery is built in Gotland. This will give von der Reckes army over 20 artillery, which will give a bonus vs small fortifications. A warship is also built, to give some bonuses in the fire phases in naval engagements. With the Livonian fleet in place in The Sund in March 1548, war is declared on Denmark the first of January 1550. Norway joins Denmark as guessed. No stability loss for the Order, because of the CB and different religion (they are still catholic).

Seeing that Denmark has 92k soldiers (!) stationed in Sjælland, von der Recke is unloaded in Jutland. As long as the Livonian fleet blocks the straits between Sjælland and Jutland, the large Danish army can't cross the strait. I'm very unsure if this war could give me any provinces in a peacedeal, but some ducats should be very possible. My plan is to capture Jutland, send von der Recke back to Gotland, so the Danish army would move to liberate Jutland. Then I will send von der Recke to Sjælland. If I'm lucky, von der Recke would capture Sjælland before the Danes liberate Jutland. This will give me 100% warscore, so I plan to vassalize Denmark.

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Jutland under siege​

The plan is successful to begin with. von der Recke captured Jutland after 7 month of besieging, while the Livonian fleet wins quite easily the naval engagements against Danish and Norwegian ships. While this happened Sweden accepted peace with Denmark, giving them 79 ducats. von der Recke is sent back to Gotland, while 67k from the Danish army is sent to liberate Jutland. Just as von der Recke boarded the fleet, this happened (January 1551):

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63k Danish men assaulting Jutland, and a naval engagement outside Gotland vs Norway and Sweden ​

Just what I wanted :D! Cleves, Brandenburg and Hanover joined Swedens side, while I declined to ask for Polands help. Fortunately the Danish army (which was assaulting Jutland) didn't manage to liberate Jutland before Sweden DoW'ed me. This way it was easy to get some ducats from Denmark in a peace offer (got only 75 though). The war was ended right after the new war started (15. January 1551). As for the war against the Swedish alliance, I have big plans. Since it is a defensive war, I only get 1 BB for every captured province (in a peace deal). Sweden has some nice provinces I like, but Cleves has the Baltic "Jewel in the Crown": Danzig. This will be my priority for the war. I guess the German nations will have problems getting troops to attack me, so Sweden will be the most dangerous enemy. Brandeburg could also cause trouble, since they own Skåne. I think I will capture this province first.

von der Recke is transported from Gotland to Småland. The 12k soldiers from Brandenburg in Skåne are already on their way to besiege Småland, but fortunately von der Recke was there first. The first battle for von der Recke was a big success, the forces from Brandenburg retreated to Skåne. von der Recke followed them and annihilated them in a big battle some days later. Skåne was then besieged. Sweden was busy while this happened; they besieged both Gästrikland and Nyland. They sent as many as 40k to Gästrikland, only to lose 20k to attrition. Even if things seems to go well for the Livonian land forces, there are bigger problems in the Baltic Sea. The Swedes have an admiral which is inflicting some damage to the Livonian fleet. Naval engagements are therefore avoided from Livonian side.

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von der Recke on his way to Skåne​

Skåne is captured in the end of 1551. The next target for von der Recke is Danzig. Cleves have around 10k soldiers there, but that shouldn't be any trouble for the great Livonian leader. A few days after the victorious battle, some really good news came: Denmark declared war on Cleves. This will mean that Denmark could be considered on my side in the war. Quite strange, since we were in a bitter war 2 years earlier. Friesland joined Denmarks side. As a side note, Denmark converted to Protestantism in 1551. However, the "help" from Denmark was shortlived. I guess they captured Holstein (Cleves' possesion), so Brandenburg (alliance leader) offered them 67 ducats. Friesland, as the opposing alliance leader, accepted. So the Livonian Order is all alone again.

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Besieging Danzig​

This didn't mean the war was over at all: Danzig was captured in 1553! I offered Cleves to keep Danzig in a peace deal, but they refused.

What to do next? I guess Holstein would be a good alternative, since this is under control of Cleves. However, they have around 20k men there; could be tough to fight them. I also want Sweden out of the war so I have full control over the Baltic Sea, but not before I have captured some provinces from them.

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Current situation​

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I'm going away for the weekend; part 2 will be posted on Monday I guess.
 
It's been an exciting series of wars, and once more profitable. That was a stroke of luck to have Sweden DoW just at that time. Let's make them pay. They do seem to have some armies up north though. Good luck!
 
Aww, no fair, a cliffhanger! Don't know if I like that, but otherwise this AAR is great, and well worthy of my 100th post. :D

Maybe I will play Livonian Order after I'm done with my current game (Savoy). Good to have the heads up about that event though.

You've got Danzig, so Cleves can wait. If Venice is also at war with them and leaving dudes in there to defend it, then so much the better. I agree, you have to knock out Sweden though. Of all the allies fighting you, its their navies that could most damage you into taking a lesser peace than you want - and you gotta get Danzig out of this.
 
Sweden is the plum you want to pick and they DoWed you. Grab some provinces off them and then knock out Brandenburg minus a few provinces ceded to you and grab Iceland/Greenland off Cleves.

Onwards von Recke!
 
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Just read through. Good AAR you have going here. I think regards Russia you will have to bite the bullet at some point and finish them off without allies (and hopefully without Lithuania stabbing you in the back in the process).
 
coz1: I was also lucky that I got peace with Denmark so fast. :) Fighting them and the Swedish alliance at the same time would have been tough!

Brian Roastbeef: Thanks! Yeah, Danzig is the main prize I want. The only problem is that it costs so much to demand it in a peace offer, so I need to fight Cleves some more to get enough warscore.

Chief Ragusa: I love when nations having provinces I want DoW me (as long as they're weak, that is ;))

DoW:In fact the Swedes outnumbered me in the start of the war, but due to big attrition losses in Gastrikland, they lost loads of men, making it easier for me to get their provinces.

stnylan: Hey thanks! Russia is still a big threat to the Livonian Order. Sooner or later I have to face them in battle. Hopefully I won't be in other wars at that time!

I see that you had a go with a Livonian Order AAR yourself - when I get the time I will read it! It'll be interesting to see if we used the same strategies.
 
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