Chapter 35: Target Practice.
As previously discussed, I am planning to build a huge combat navy. That is where the Malinese gold mine came in. For the past 10 years or so, I have avoided spending any more money than I have to. This means that, at the start of this chapter, I have over 3000 ducats sitting in the treasury, waiting for the day when I will have Diplo Tech 25.
In the mean time, I fake a claim on Austria, and extend my global reach.
Case in fact: Hausa. This two-province minor is sitting on the West African coast, between me and a Portugese colony. They will have to go.
Before I can do that, however, I unlock Naval Drill. This Quality Idea gives me 5% bonus on Navy Morale Recovery. Lacking naval ideas, this will come in very handy, I think.
The war against Hausa started on 20th of September, 1720. It was not so much a war, actually, as it was a training mission for new recruits. No allies, a tiny army, 2 provinces. Easy pickings.
In the meantime, Scandinavia is making another pass at Poland, along with Russia. This time, Poland gets help from Portugal, Austria, and a bunch of HRE princes, Lüneburg among them. I can’t help but wonder as I write this, how high the Scandinavian AE is. These guys don’t let up.
I grab another African colony, thereby connecting Ivory Coast with Whydah.
Crete declares its independence from the Ottomans. They must really have been weakened in our war to let that happen.
More importantly, I finally get Diplomatic Tech 25. I waste no time starting a massive shipbuilding program. Have I mentioned before what great fun it is to have such a long coastline? When they are done, I will have a grand total of 61 Heavy Ships, most of them modern Threedeckers. Even Great Britain doesn’t have that many heavy Ships.
Of course, the price for these shipsis just as huge. My monthly income will drop to a mere 11 or ducats. Will they be worth it? I like to think so.
The rest of the money is used to build a Glorious Monument, an Admiralty and a Royal Palace.
Hausa is annexed in Oktober, 1721, giving me the freedom to move my troops around with relative ease.
While I wait for my cores to finish, the ships are done. Combined with the light ships, I can now field a huge navy. Then I realise that, for all intents and purposes, I have little experience in effectively waging war on a global level in EU 4.
I really should find a practice target.
Vijayanagar should do nicely as a first test.
My last Twodeckers (11 of them) are still good enough to escort the transports from Ceylon. The initial landing is unopposed. They have only 8 regiments in the Southern half of the country, completely seperated from the rest by Hindustan, who obligingly give me military access.
Spain leaves the coalition against me at last.
As you can see, Vijayanagar is not really equipped to deal with European aggression. They are only Tech level 20 and they don’t seem to have that much Manpower to spare. The army in the picture is full infantry. Maybe money is the issue, as well. Whatever the case, the war is a walkover.
Lithuania gives up Grodno to Russia when it peaces out of the war and Hungary breaks free from Ottoman oppression. It won’t last: by the end of this chapter, the Ottos will have restored “order” and annexed both Serbia and Hungary again. Still, it is perhaps a sign of things to come. Are they turning into the Sick Man of Europe? One can only hope.
The massive troop deployment of Scandinavia and Russia is truly a sight to behold. The fact that they are plowing through Austria, is only the icing on the cake.
You may notice that there are Austrians sitting in Tirol. That is normal. Tirol is still a HRE province, after all and the emperor can freely enter all HRE lands when at war with an outsider.
A nice little victory, and the South Indian Trade Company becomes more than a bit richer.
But they were not really what I had in mind as target practice. In preparation, I move 36 regiments to South America, and bring the total forces in Africa up to over 30 as well.
This takes a lot longer than expected, but with these sailing vessels, you cannot expect them to cross the Atlantic in a couple of weeks, like you can in Hearts Of Iron.
What I wouldn’t give for Béarn, Dunkerque and a couple of destroyers right now. I could probably sink the entire Royal Navy with just those 2 ships.
Sweet dreams…
Then, in June, 1727, I am ready for a real test. Time to declare war.
As usual, the French army outclasses the Portugese defenders. I smash them around a couple of times at home and start carpet sieging the place.
At the same time, I invade Portugese Brazil and launch an attack on their African colonies. The Asian holdings will have to wait until I can move the fleet there to protect my landings.
Aah, sweet, sweet revenge for all those times someone with an actual navy sank my trade fleets. Now I dominate at sea, as well as on land.
There was very little opposition. I think that I got most of their troops in Europe itself. Portugese Brazil tried to put up a fight, but in the end, they too fell short, and were fully occupied.
I failed to take any screenshots of the war, for which I do apologize. In my defense, I was too focused on what my fleet was doing.
But, in short, after running clear across the Portugese in Brazil and Africa, I send my now huge navy (I like the sound of that) to the other side of the world. They pick up the troops in India and launch an invasion of the Phillipines. Then, picking them up, I put in a secondary landing in Brunei, who are Portugal’s Malayan ally.
I didn’t have to make the effort. With only a Warscore of 82 or so, Portugal begs for mercy, and I grab a couple of colonies all over the world and give Algiers their land back. It’s an expensive peace deal, but well worth it. The global French holdings gow, and I fullfill my mission to get a foothold in the Spice Islands. I could have taken more, but I don’t want to push my AE and OE to the breaking point.
So there you have it. A war unlike any I ever fought before. Now, to be honest, I was surprised to find Portugal’s naval response so lackluster. Brunei had, according to the ledger, 23 heavy ships of their own. Ten again, when faced with 62 heavies, what can you do? The same thing I always did: park them in your ports and wait out the storm.
If I ever get into a major war against, say, the British, I cannot expect them to cave so easily.
In all, I am quite happy with the performance of my navy and I hope this marks the end of British undisputed leadership in the world’s oceans.
Then comes the pain of it all: finding my troops again, and making sure they are all collected and accounted for.
While I am still working on that, I get a random event. I decide to go for the 2.5 Mercantilism. The alternatives were 10 Prestige and legitimacy (not really an issue right now) or lose 2.5 Mercantilism while winning 190 ducats.
In March, 1733, I get a new Mitary Tech, and, with it, new infantry and cavalry. I opt for the Blue Coat Infantry (a nicely balanced unit) and Reformed Latin Hussars for cavalry.
Social Reforms. Who knows? Maybe the peasants will love me enough not to revolt. The money is more than a little welcome. I am losing almost 14 ducats per month now. Such is the price of war, I guess. Well, until I get done coring my new holdings, I don’t plan on going to war anyway. I can safely reduce my military spending.
The French empire in May, 1733.
A random event gives me a claim on Trier. A nice little bonus to keep in mind.
Well, that was unexpected. Four years of Regency follow. I do hope the AI doesn’t decide now is the time to strike.
Algiers loves me so much, after giving them all that land back, that they ask for an alliance, which I accept, with some reserve. They have had a falling out with the Ottomans, and I think I could use that to my advantage.
In march, 1735, I get this little gem. No more slavery in France. All colonies previously “fabricating” slaves, will now produce something else. One of my African colonies even turns up an old gold mine. What is the real gem, though, is the bonus on technology and stability.
The last thing I did, was to unlock Diplo Tech 26, which increases colonial growth by +25. Not very helpful, since most potential colonies are taken or out of my reach, but it is nice to have.
Well, that is all for today. Next time, we will sit out the regency, and, who knows? Maybe Austria after that? See you then!