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I wonder if the Gascon AI is smart enough to keep accruing a large debt because it knows its Belgian sugar daddy will keep bailing it out? Some kind of weird modern-day EU vibe happening there: “Brussels will fixit!” :D Will there be a Gaxit vote at some point? :p

The world has taken a strange shape - which is fun. And now the big Belgium-Mamluk war looms - should be interesting. Also to see if allies on either side start jumping in, creating a Great War.
Well my allies can't join. This is because Greece is the war-target, and the Mamluks have not made me a co-belligerent. This means I can't call in my allies. Only Greece's allies can join - and they are Austria and myself. As for The Mamluks allies - here the Mamluks "suffer" from their size. When you ask an ally to join a war in EU4 there are a number of plus and minus factors. One of the minus factors is distance - and Greece is just a long way from the Mamluks' allies because the Mamluk Empire is so big. Delhi also probably has some minuses because I believe they are in debt due to their wars with Bengal.

Note the equation differs if I attack the Mamluks. Allies are more likely to join in defensive wars.

Love that Reformed, of all things! Ottoman empire! :D
I know! I really ought to post it in the weird screenshots thread.
 
Just to be clear, you means it's good because Delhi is allied to the Mamluks, not Delhi.
Yes, that is exactly what I mean. I was thinking of a possible future offensive war against the Mamluks where they pull Delhi in as an ally. In that situation I want a weaker Delhi.
 
1788-1794
The War - First Steps

I was determined to try and manage this war better than my previous one. Firstly I made sure of the safety of my privateering fleet and sailed it safely to Caligari, where it met up with my home fleet. Again all my ships are involved, apart from my trade fleet. However I did not appoint an admiral - which was intentional to begin with but then I kept forgetting to later, which was not.

Then I researched Military Tech 30 and selected Drill Infantry, which seemed most appropriate for reasons or roleplay if nothing else. Truth be told I am never entirely sure what factors are best to consider from a strict gameplay perspective. Of note the Mamluks begin at only Tech 29 - which means my units should be considerably superior. I didn’t check however which idea group they selected at Admin 29, and to be honest I still haven’t checked as of writing. I probably should.

I then set my five armies to march down to Greece, but spaced them out about one a month. This was to avoid them travelling together in tandem and wasting lots of troops and drill to attrition - something that happened last time.

Once again this is a war of Greece, Austria, myself and my vassal marches against the Mamluks alone. Unlike before the Mamluks actually have some manpower - about 180k worth of it. My own manpower is about 240k (my max is 290k). The Mamluks still employ a large number of mercenaries, which I wish to avoid for rp reasons of keeping up my professionalism.

I am the banker for the war. At the start I have a fortune of fifty-five thousand ducats and a monthly balance in excess of 200 ducats. I start off my giving Austria four thousand ducats; Greece, Normandy and Nevers two thousand ducats; Bremen fifteen hundred ducats; and Novgorod a thousand ducats. I disperse extra funds at several points during the war (and pay off more Gascon debt by the by).

Finally I Infiltrate Administration, so I fight the war with knowledge of Mamluk troop movements.



The War - Ankara and Icel

The first battle of the war happens between Greece and the Mamluks in June, and ends up as a Mamluk victory as they outnumbered the Greek troops two to one. However they then split their army up a bit allowing me to catch a significant portion by itself

iKucVtO.jpg


This results in a very satisfactory stackwipe. The Mamluks defeat the Greeks besieging Ankara, but I manage to snag another Mamluk army in Tekke. Smaller, but another force send to oblivion.

bnZhNXi.jpg


This provokes a defensive battle in the same province where the Mamluks initially attack with a very artillery-heavy force. The victory is costly for us - but even more so for their artillery. I also begin a siege of Ankara myself. Note the Mamluks have a 6/6/3/3 general. This fellow will be the bane of my existence this war. Not that I have bad generals (and indeed, I end up firing one who only had 1 fire for one better balanced) but this chap really annoyed me.

e3UeTLs.jpg


Of course the Mamluks started to recruit wildly - more than once during this war I was confronted by a sight like this:

6Bx5epv.jpg


I have now moved my fleet - 40 heavies and 60 lights - to Crete in case any naval opportunities present themselves. On land we need to take Ankara and Icel to move forward. I should note that the fort at Sinop that was Level 2 in the last war has been brought up to level 8 by the Mamluks. In November 1788 the Mamluks force the Austrians to abandon their siege of Icel, but I move in and then allow me to begin a new siege. I research Offensive Idea 5 - Engineer Corps (+20%) siege ability - which will be very useful. My aim is to leave a “spare” 100 MIL points to use for depots or siege barrages, which I end up using somewhat frequently. I do not unlock another Idea during the war.

In January 1789 the Mamluks attack my force besieging Ankara, and though we turn them back it is a costly battle.

WfbevsK.jpg


The next month, whilst the Austrians defeat a Mamluk army in Konya the Mamluks attack Ankara again with a very artillery heavy force. We turn them back - but again at considerable cost. To be honest I had some really bad rolls during some of these battles. Thank you for my allies.

jQRsWgJ.jpg


As a reward, however, Ankara falls the next month. I also research Admin and Diplomacy Tech 30. My siege of Icel continues and a Norman force makes a move on Sinop. In general the fall of Ankara moves the war forward in central and eastern Anatolia - but the fight for Anatolia is far from over as the Mamluks are moving over two hundred troops into region.

4bwW9uP.jpg


A note on the above screenshot. The 130k Mamluk troops in Karaman look like they are marching into Konya, but they are actually marching into Aksaray. During this portion of the war these misleading marching directions gave me no end of headaches. That force in Tekke however is wiped out however. I spent a goodly portion of the war looking out for isolated Mamluk armies, and whilst I am sure there were opportunities I missed I achieved quite a few successes as well. Actually there were two Mamluk armies destroyed in Tekke because the AI let one army marching to reinforce to get movement locked. In short May saw me obliterated over eighty-thousand Mamluk troops.

Meanwhile a large battle was being fought in Kirshehir with troops from all over pouring in - I sent reinforcements too. Whilst it was going on I received a notification that Ming had attacked Bengal.

jrujR0B.jpg


The butcher’s bill for the battle was surprisingly even - but this felt at the time like a very significant victory.

zEggjqk.jpg


We were rewarded in June when Icel fell - the border was ours. The war could now move properly forward. The forts at Sinop and Sivas guarded the north and eastern extent of Anatolia, but with the fall of Icel we could now advance into Syria along the southern route. I also trapped and annihilated another Mamluk force in Karaman.

tKRQcP8.jpg




The War - Into Mesopotamia

Just as in the last war this war was defined by the forts. Mamluk territory in Anatolia, Caucasus, Levant, and Mesopotamia is generally very well fortified. Very few areas are now covered by a fort’s zone of control. In the last war though it felt like a lot of the battles happened on the forts themselves (Bolu being the glaring exception). This war though felt different, like a lot of battles happened all over. For reference here is a map of this next theatre of operations, with the forts highlighted.

enhZJj6.jpg


Sinop is mostly hidden so I have tried to indicate it. What is different in this area from the last war is that Trebizond exists again. On balance I think that helped us because it prevented the Mamluks from sending attacks on Sinop from the Black Sea coast. Everything was funnelled into the line between Sivas and Habab, but from Adana was could make spoiling attacks in Ayntab - which I was about to do here and successfully eliminated a 29 thousand force.

What can also be seen are columns of Mamluk troops that were trying to relieve the siege in Sinop, marching up through Sivas. In a very costly battle they are eventually caught at Kangari and turned back.

ScceGym.jpg


Before the year ends we get news from China - apparently Shun has broken away from Ming. A delayed Mingplosion? I think more aided by their war with Bengal as the mandate is nearly at 100 once more.

0tLheRa.jpg


And so we move into 1790. In two years of year - effectively eighteen months - my manpower has decreased by 100,000. The Mamluk manpower has fared worse being under forty-thousand from a peak of 188k. Of course they have also been recruiting mercenaries like crazy. We are besieging Sinop, Habab, and Sivas, and the Mamluks are attempting a second relief of Sinop. In this map you can see the retreating soldiers of their first attempt fleeing past Habab. You can also see one of my armies recuperating safely behind the duo of captured forts.

w3hr7Yx.jpg


That Mamluk army near Sinop is wiped out at Kastamanou, and turns out to be almost entirely cannon. Meanwhile a Mamluk attack on the forces outside Habah is seen off with losses. It is that 6/6 general again. The Normans have abandoned the siege of Sivas and we finally take Sinop in April 1790, and Habab follows days later. This makes Sivas the centre of attention. A small Mamluk stack (20k) is wiped out when one of my armies renews the siege of Sivas. My most impressive stackwipe follows a month later in Ayntab. Notice the battle due to be fought in Kayseri.

aMONpFT.jpg


Kayseri turns into an allied victory - though one I am not a part of. I wipe a smaller force in Ayntab (again - that province has a lot of battles, not all of which I’ve recorded). Meanwhile further north Novgorod wages a lonely war in the trans-Caucasion part of the Mamluk Empire. I don’t want to focus too much up there - I never take part - but Novgorod proves very distractible for the Mamluks who keep sending forces to chase them off, but plucky Novgorod always returns. It is just about the perfect “Peninsular-style” campaign I have seen waged by the AI in EU. Not planned, of course, but it was a constant thorn in the Mamluk side.

yekdkI8.jpg


Then in October Sivas falls. It is time for the next stage of the war.



The War - Three (and a half) Theatres

The fall of Sivas signals the final fall of Anatolia. The earlier fall of Habab had already thrust the door to Mesopotamia ajar - it is now blown open, as is Armenia. During the earlier stages of this war the “front” was only three or four provinces wide - it now expands and I tend to think of it breaking down into three distinct theatres, as pictured below.

0Czjbcw.jpg


So what are we looking at? From south to north.

In the Levant Front I have moved one army to the next fort in the Levant called Dimashq - which I have used a barrage to soften up. Seizure of this fort should stop the main route that Mamluk reinforcements have been moving into the fight in Arabia (marked with the red arrow) - though even now they have started to re-route through Arabia has allied forces have poured into Mesopotamia.

Talking of the Mesopotamian front there is a line of provinces, marked with blue squares, not affected by any forts zone of control. Allied forces have, as you can see, exploited this and in due course move on to take the series of forts to north-east of the rivers. I have three armies in this front, two of which are essentially in reserve able to support any of the other three “front-line” armies. One of my armies in about to start sieging one of those forts mentioned earlier.

Further north still we have the Armenian front, where I have my fifth and final army. The double forts of Erzurum and Oltü make any progress here slow going to say the least. The mountainous terrain make it a place I don’t really want to have to fight, but I can’t ignore it, because it is an avenue by which the Mamluks might flank the Mesopotamian forces.

Further north still we have the “and a half” front of the Trans-Caucasus. As can be made out the Mamluks at this snapshot have sent a significant force north to chase those 20k Novgorod troops. At no point, however, do I venture that far north.

Another note - at this point I now have only about 60k manpower remaining, and husbanding that precious resource becomes increasingly dominant in my thinking. Two final map notes - ignore the white circle. It was an error which I only notice after I had saved the map. The yellow circle is Al-Quds (Jerusalem) - call it my personal wargoal.

We move into 1791 and Dimashq falls. You can see from the below I have temporarily abandoned the Armenian front to concentrate on some battles in Mesopotamia. My army in the Levant moves south to the next fort. However this also now opens up an unfortified route along the cost to the Nile Delta, and to Cairo. I send an additional army into Egypt to make the most of this opportunity. From those battles we manage a stackwipe of a 50k army.

7SaNYgr.jpg


Meanwhile in the New World Skapaflo is victorious over Revolutionary France. They do not end the revolution, but they do take territory. That is at the end of May, and for reference my manpower now stands at 50k nearly exactly.

12O4a6C.jpg


In June we get my only naval action, and a defeat. I had tried to catch a Mamluk squadron of ships, but then forgot about my fleet, which in turn got caught by the superior Mamluk main fleet. I was lucky though in that I escaped with only eight heavy ships lost. The Battle of the Nile it was not.

H06S6yY.jpg


Cairo falls in August 1791 - there is another fort on the coast at Alexandria but the rest of the Nile valley, all the way down to Ethiopia is open for the taking, with no significant Mamluk forces. Myself and my allies start to exploit.

JDd4kgw.jpg


An altogether tougher fight takes place at the other end of the war, at Erzurum, where I reinforce an Austrian force besieging the fortress that had gotten attacked. A victory, but again at cost. Fighting in mountains is not nice. Also now the Mamluks have finally gotten to Tech 30, lessening our troop advantage.

h6go5Nz.jpg


As we move into 1792 we get news from the other side of Asia, where Japan concludes a war with Russia for most of what was left of the Russian Far East. Closer to home we have taken Alexandria, Erzurum, and several Mesopotamian forts, and our troops are advancing through Sudan and into Ethiopia, when a series of large revolutionary revolts break out through the Mamluk Empire. The Mamluks are hurting, and whilst they can still throw more mercenaries at us, I happen to realise their cash reserves (measured about 8k at the start of the war) are gone and that they appear to be in debt.

o8A4qLy.jpg


However, I am hurting too. After another costly battle (not screenshotted) I actually merged two of may armies together (which mostly meant merging the infantry). This left me with four armies (one of which was mostly dispersed carpet sieging the Nile valley) and an artillery siege train.

The truth is tried to restrict my fighting during the final year of the war. I wanted to protect what manpower I had left.

Oltü falls in October 1792 and that appears to be the final straw for the Mamluks, who agree to a peace in November 1792. Greece takes a string of provinces, but I get nothing. I must admit to being a bit disappointed there was no economic sanction in terms of war reps or fine. Three nations were released, a one province Aden and Qara Qoyunlu, and a four province Ajuuraan.

PHJBkfz.jpg


The “bill” though is possibly the most extensive I can remember in an EU game of mine. I usually avoid these sort of wars.

zF8tJGr.jpg


It does show though how hard-fought a contest this was. When peace arrived my manpower was down to seven thousand. It can seem like a string of victories, and an endless march forward, but I never felt to have mastered the Mamluks, in this war or the last.



The Start of the Peace

Now came the business of getting everything back home - which took quite a few months. I played the game through to January 1794. As a parting shot, as it were, I Sabotage Mamluk recruitment. The loss of territory reduces their lead on Ming, but does not end it. At long long as I get Offensive Idea 6 - Grand Army - and a 20% increase in my own force limit. My manpower situation stinks, and if I had remembered at the time I would have setup State manpower edicts. Something to do at the start of the next session. I also need to rebuild the regiments I lost. I am going to change my army format to 30/2/32. Then we shall see about getting a sixth army.

Two final world events. When I as going through I neglected to mention the conclusion of a war between Silesia and Bohemia which saw Silesia expand aggressively. They were forced by Austria to hand Praha back, but even so.

quQOGWB.jpg


Lastly Lithuania concludes a war with Gazikumukh, expandings its border to Khorasan. They have really become a resurgent power.

3ZMVfbb.jpg


The truce with the Mamluks runs out in 1805 - so I hope to have one last large war with them. This time I really want to be in the driving seat if at all possible.
 
The Mamluks certainly took a thrashing in that war. It's a testament to their own resilience that they still posed such a challenge even in the later stages of the war -- and seeing the full extent of their empire hints at the resources they could still call upon even after losing most of Anatolia and the Levant.

Also: Go go Silesia and Castilian Skapaflo! :D
 
The Mamluks certainly took a thrashing in that war. It's a testament to their own resilience that they still posed such a challenge even in the later stages of the war -- and seeing the full extent of their empire hints at the resources they could still call upon even after losing most of Anatolia and the Levant.

Also: Go go Silesia and Castilian Skapaflo! :D
It is true - but this war I think will have had a greater impact. The last war they remained nicely solvent the entire time, and the fighting never really broke much out of Anatolia/Syria/Armenia.

This time the war got everywhere - which means devastation everywhere. I got beyond their fort-line, and the devestation in those provinces will take a while to reduce. Now I don't know how many loans they took, only that they are in debt. It is perhaps not much, but it is an economic weakening of them. Were I in charge of the peace I would have gone for war reps and max monies almost ahead of territory. Perhaps I will get a crack at them in an attempt to do just that.

Incidentally, I realised a few posts ago that the grand independent CN is - phonetically speaking - the same as a certain famous anchorage in the Orkney Islands. It is such an obvious shared phonology I can't help but thing it is a deliberate inclusion in a potential namelist.
 
1794-1810
So the first thing I do is check out which Idea Group the Mamluks selected for their final slot. Quantity.

hp9UuNT.jpg


This is … not good. To put it mildly, and it drastically lowers the chance of me launching an offensive war. Their army often numbered in excess of 400,000 already, and their force limit was nearly 600. Now both will likely be … larger.

I develop Namen to 50, and then switch all my States to Promote Military recruitment, boosting their manpower contribution and, as a consequence, boosting how much manpower is recovered in absolute terms (in relative terms I believe the amount stays the same). During the course of this period I occasionally switch a State to encourage development when boosting a province, but otherwise everything remains like this.

I also have a general die and I get my first 6/6 general. I also then Slacken Recruitment - which drops my Professionalism by 5% in return for 65,000 manpower. I then use this manpower to restore my fifth army to its full strength.

As 1794 draws to an end Ming is forced by Bengal to end their overlordship of Gazikumukh, which I must admit I didn’t realise they had. Fast forward a year and I complete the seventh and final Offensive Idea - Esprit de Corps, which in practical terms is another 5% discipline.

Moving into 1796 I get a notification of gaining the Imperialism casus belli against a Gascon colonial nation - it appears that the Gascons are now in the New World.

ZCSumrt.jpg


I notice that Revolutionary France has become an Empire.

In 1797 I develop Keulen up to 50, and then in June I get a calls to arms from Ming. They are attacking Russia, trying to force them back into Tributary status. Russia are allied to Silesia. I immediately join in on the war, for I see this as an excellent way to earn favours. If I am to have any chance of attacking the Mamluks I will now definitely need Chinese troops.

I take an active part with two armies. One concentrates on Silesia, and the other marches over to Russia. I don’t participate in any significant battles the entire war though my allies get involved in a fight or two. Most of the battles are actually fought by Austria, most of the besieging is done by me - though Ming troops do put in an appearance at the end.

Whilst the war is being fought Khorasan concludes a victorious peace treaty with Chagatai.

xups106.jpg


By June 1798 Silesia is forced to become a Tributary state in a separate peace, and as December wanes Russia finally concedes. We earn 40 favours, which means I achieved exactly what I wanted to in this war and more. I should - if they are at peace - be able to guarantee Ming’s assistance in a future offensive war against the Mamluks. On a side note I myself took under twenty-thousand casualties during the war.

JQ6QIYB.jpg


By the by I spend about five thousand ducats, give or take, paying off Gascon debt during this game session. I also on one occasion send an army to Gascony to deal with some rebels.

I have to do that twice with Greece, as they get hit by the Internal Conflicts disaster. In one more memorable police action, as it were, I defeat three rebel armies, each with a different cause.

We are now in the new century. Switzerland had attacked Mantua and pulled Gascony into the war. Mantua is a two province state now, and in the eventual peace those provinces are split between the two allies. Mantua passes from the map once more. Shortly after this Gascony breaks the alliance with Switzerland - I smell a war between former friends.

gofqnLC.jpg


I boost Gelre to 50, and pass a Quartering the Troops debate, which reduces my attrition by 5%. Meanwhile I notice Khorasan and Russia are fighting again. I have added a total of twenty heavy ships to my fleet in the hope of inflicting significant damage to the Mamluk fleet in a future conflict, even if it turns into defeat. Of course I hope to have Aragon and its fleet as well. This puts my well over my naval force limit, but my finances can bear the additional expense.

In 1802 Nitra declares independence. This was an Ottoman enclave, a remnant of their previous conquests since cut off from the rump state. Personally I think it improves the appearance of the region.

OgChML1.jpg


In due course the war between Russia and Khorasan, which actually turned out to be between Khorasan and Perm, ends with Khorasan growing once more.

LDbrYlE.jpg


I develop Groningen to 50, and then take a look at the ledger. The Mamluks have now completed the Quantity Idea group and their force limit stands at 929, and they have nearly 700,000 troops under arms. Their manpower, though, is under thirty thousand. I will have to Sabotage Recruitment again as soon as my current spy network reaches 80, presuming the network is not compromised. Mamluks have four allies, Malinda and Malwa - who are not so significant; and Khorasan and Delhi - who are significant. The latter two add something like another 3-400,000 troops to the Mamluks. Against that, even with Ming help, I am dubious.

And Ming won’t help right now because of their own war.

We move into 1804 and I research Tech 31 in all categories. I also enact the Horse Artillery policy, which gives a +10% bonus to artillery combat ability. I also decide to create a sixth army, also 30/2/32 like my others now are. This puts me over my land force limit, but as I develop this has been increasing. I secure a new general too and start them drilling. It puts my monthly balance to +180 gold. Suffice to say I do not lack for funds.

Time passes. I do manage to Sabotage Mamluk Recruitment. Then in 1807 Ming concedes defeat to Bengal, again ceding overlordship of Gazikumukh (we have been here before) and a single province to Chagatai.

caIetNV.jpg


Whilst I might wish greater evidence of Ming competency what this does mean is Ming is at peace. I throw them a five thousand ducats as I think they have debt, and continue to wait.

Khorasan now attacks Gazikumukh. A couple of months later the Mamluks launch their own separate war. These two allies are now, in a sense, contests in the Caucasian realm. I wait and boost Oost-Friesland to 50. My Professionalism has now returned to 100%, and my manpower has recovered nicely.

Then in 1808 a peace treaty happens that, if not ripping up the equation, then certainly alters them.

huDrP1V.jpg


The one province Qara Qoyunlu is no more once again. More importantly the Mamluks took Gazikumukh as a vassal, whilst they were still at war with Khorasan. Which means the Mamluks are now at war with Khorasan too. The frightening alliance is split open, at least partly. Delhi still remains allied to the Mamluks, as do Malindi and Malwa, and all join in the war against Khorasan.

What this means for me is that the Mamluk armies will be marching away into high attrition lands. I immediately send some ducats Khorasan’s way. There is no way they can hope to hold off the attackers forever, I just hope they can do so long enough for me.

Aragon, alas, is involved in a war currently and won’t help. I don’t want to move without their assistance. I can only hope it finishes quickly. In August 1810 it does. I go and do the rounds of issuing Prepare for War notifications, and send my sixty heavies to join my sixty lights that have been privateering the Alexandria trade node. I don’t expect to get Gascony - that distant war modifier is simply too great. Which is correct, as it turns out. The rest all should say aye.

jx6BZky.jpg


I don’t actually pull the trigger just yet. That will be for next time.
 
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Of course the Mamluks would go with Quantity. As if they needed even larger armies... Ah well, it keeps things interesting.

Ming, Mamluks, Khorasan, Delhi, and mighty Belgium all in the same war (or two overlapping wars, technically...) -- "titanic" would be a good word for a struggle of that magnitude.
 
Of course the Mamluks would go with Quantity. As if they needed even larger armies... Ah well, it keeps things interesting.

Ming, Mamluks, Khorasan, Delhi, and mighty Belgium all in the same war (or two overlapping wars, technically...) -- "titanic" would be a good word for a struggle of that magnitude.
It will be the biggest war I have ever fought in EU4. Which probably says more about my generally laid-back playstyle as it does anything. Very much feels like a proper war to finish the era with.
 
I read you've entered the new MILLENNIUM, that went fast. :D
 
The strangeness of this reality is fascinating- Reformed Ottomans?! Those certainly sound like interesting story ideas, even if they don't see the light of day.

It'll be interesting to see how this next war goes.
 
The strangeness of this reality is fascinating- Reformed Ottomans?! Those certainly sound like interesting story ideas, even if they don't see the light of day.

It'll be interesting to see how this next war goes.
Yes. So many little things about this game have kept my interest in the wider world up, quite apart from my own amibitions.

As for the war, I have now fought it. It was ... big.
 
1810-1821
The War - Opening

So this is it. This war directly involved the top 5 great powers of the world, and indirectly involves the sixth.

8lD66Dm.jpg


There will be battles fought in Asia, in Africa, and in Europe. Nothing in the New World because none of us actually have anything to do with the New World, but even so this is the largest war of this entire run - and not just for me. Mind you, I think this is probably the largest EU war I have fought in my sixteen years of playing this series.

For all that this should be a winning war. I have assembled an alliance that is certainly capable of winning, and my troops are the very best in the world.

4OT7V7A.jpg


To make them even better I cancel the Desert Act policy and institute Modern Siege Weapons, which improves leader siege and my troops’ siege ability. There are a lot of Level 8 forts ahead of me, after all.

I started the war ambushing a Mamluk trade squadron, hoping to maul it before their main fleet could maul me. Fortunately I succeeded, and then I even caught a second squadron whilst the Mamluk fleet was engaging a Greek fleet.

y5xvNPh.jpg


However, it takes time for my armies to march across Europe. No “real” action would take place until 1811, though in this time I did my usual trick of distributing money everywhere I thought it needed. Not Aragon, I am delighted to say, but both Greece and Austria received hefty gifts. As my own troops crossed the Dardanelles the vast majority of the Mamluk army was concentrated north of the Caucuses.

y5xvNPh.jpg


The War - Anatolia

I began sieges of Icel and Sivas, as Greece already had Sinop covered. Those Mamluk armies had marched south though were heading to break the Greek siege.

2GbkBkj.jpg


We turned them back in Sinop (screenshot failure) but even more armies were marching down and they now marched on Sivas. One force arrived ahead of their comrades and was … dealt with. The others were turned back and their losses were heavy indeed - because now I was the one with the 6/6 general. The Mamluk general - their leader - was Craven (-5% morale iirc) but also was a 2 / 5 - great for the early game, but not so useful in the age of cannon.

waDbcG5.jpg


And still their armies poured in. A second large battle was fought at Sinop, where I couldn’t quite arrive in time to help the Greeks, but sent the Mamluk monarch running away again.

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Another smaller force was annihilated at Sivas. At this point Khorasan signed a peace treaty with the Mamluks ceding two provinces to Gazikumukh. Some of the ducats they gave the Mamluks were probably ones I had earlier given them, but clearly they spent some of them. I can’t honestly blame them, but if they had help out longer they might not have lost any land.

VS6HqXf.jpg


The next day we wiped out another Mamluk column at Sivas and Icel fell to us. However as can be seen, lots of Mamluk armies still present.

Mm4DzFM.jpg


Those armies converged on Sivas, and this time it was a proper fight. Indeed it was the largest battle of the war. I committed all six of my armies to it, abandoning the siege of Sinop, and I was joined by the Austrians and Greeks. Both sides committed over four hundred thousand troops each to the battle. It was brutal - over sixty thousand allied dead, and nearly three times that of the enemy.

92g6MRL.jpg


Sivas fell shortly thereafter, and while I needed to renew the siege of Sinop Mesopotamia and Syria were now open to me.

The War - Into the heartlands

At the beginning of 1812 I researched Military Tech 32, in particular boosting artillery fire even further. I also allowed my armies to recover a little from the battle of Sivas and began a new siege of Sinop. In February I laid a trap for the main Mamluk fleet. I saw the Aragonese fleet in the neighbourhood, and hoped that once I began the battle they would join in. They did. At the same time the focus of the fighting started to shift north of the Caucuses. Not for me - my armies remained south, but my allies and the Mamluks seemed very interesting in fighting up there. Also by this time I Ming had taken Delhi.

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At the conclusion of the naval battle over forty Mamluk heavy ships had been sunk, for the loss of only fifteen of our own. It was the start of the end of Mamluk naval supremacy. In July Sinop fell, Habab was nearly taken, and I began to move my armies forward more generally. I really wanted to take Habab because then I could move south and effectively delay the Mamluk mercenary spam that was streaming towards their armies.

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This actually happened through with the very rapid fall of Diyar al-Bakr and I moved my army up to besiege Mawil, right athwart the reinforcement route.

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About this time I noticed a Mamluk army had actually marched all the way through Russia and was about to invade Novgorod. Well, nothing I could do about that now, and to be honest if the Mamluks wanted fifty-thousand troops doing nothing useful half a continent away, I was happy to let them do so. Habab duly fell and the Mamluk reinforcements were forced to walk through Arabia.

Mawil fell quickly, as did Dimashq. Respectively this fully opened Mesopotamia, and also the coastward route to Cairo. I didn’t fight a single significant battle during this time - I think the largest opposing force I faced was 19 thousand. North of the Caucuses the Mamluks had forced the allies back, but again I was very happy for them to be fighting there rather than defending their heartlands.

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The War - Mamluk collapse

In 1813, thanks to the Ming, I was able to force both Delhi and Malwa to peace treaties, mostly war reps and ducats. Here the fact that the end of the game was rapidly approaching influenced my actions, as I didn’t break Delhi’s alliance with the Mamluks.

Cairo also fell, opening up the Nile Valley. Whilst my artillery went to besiege Alexandria small stacks carpet sieged their wary through Sudan and into Ethiopia. I also took the forts controlling access into Arabia along the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. On the Mesopotamian front I took Tabriz, and also fought my last major battle of the war, defeating a Mamluk attempt to relieve the Greek siege of Erzurum, that I then took over.

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Along the way I noticed an Austrian army in Tibet, and a Greek army chasing a Gazikumukh army around Ming Siberia. Oh and the Mamluk army about to take Novgorod. Aragon had occupied Malindi, and I now also forced them out of the war. It was the Mamluks now alone with their vassal, Gazikumukh, and peace offers started to come in. Not that I entertained them. I wanted to amass enough warscore for a truly punishing peace. This was now, though, really just an exercise in patience. I had local superiority everywhere I was operating, and was usually able to isolate Mamluk stacks and defeat them in detail.

After Novgorod fell the Mamluk army up there started to march westward, and ended up besieging Bremen. Bremen was a Level 8 fort. The army only had 2 regiments of cannon, and a 2 siege leader. The siege started off at -92%. I did send one of my armies back home at a forced march to deal with this, but the fact I did really reflects how comfortable I was with how things were going. The Muslim holy cities had fallen. The mighty Mamluk Empire was essentially now three disconnected and constricting portions: Ethiopia and Somalia, the Caucuses, and southern Arabia. The bulk of the remaining Mamluk fleet was also successfully mauled after forcing it to put to sea. The remnants fled to Cyprus, which I could not take (no transports). I had earlier set the island as an Aragonese objective, but they ended up fighting north of the Caucuses with everyone else and with a small army in Somalia.

1815 rolled around and the last two significant Mamluk armies were defeated. One of these was in the Caucuses, the other was in Bremen. That army had tried to run, but I caught them easily.

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It was time to make peace.

The Peace Treaty

Once again I constructed a peace knowing that the game was going to end in six years. That drastically informed what I did. Firstly I used war reps and loans to try and force the Mamluks into bankruptcy, which I manage with the peace itself. Seconds I took a swathe of territory for myself from Gaza to Syria - my very own Crusader State. I then gave Greece a single province to top it up to a 100-warscore peace.

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If this treaty were earlier I would have broken the alliance with Delhi, and probably released Gazikumukh as well. I would probably also have not pushed the Mamluks into immediate bankruptcy, but let them stagger on loaded down by debt and reparations.

My original intention with the new territory was to create a new Client State, but then I discovered that I couldn’t do that as this territory counted as being “overseas”. I realised though I could release Syria as a vassal, so I did that. Then I Enforced my religion, then fed Syria the provinces remaining. Again, I doubt I would have done this quite this war if the game wasn’t about to end. I might have even kept the territory directly.

After the War

My armies were all sent back home, though I now did scrap some of my ships and build a transport fleet. I figured it would be handy, and so it proved when my vassal Syria had some rebel issues.

I didn’t subtitle this section “The Peace” though for a reason - Ming attacked Russia again and asked us to join. I did join in but didn’t send any of my armies. My subjects assisted though most willingly, and in fairly short order Russia once again became a Tributary. They also were forced to cede their Black Sea enclave to the Ming, and a province to Novgorod.

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In the last couple of years I suffered my one and only hostile Espionage action of the entire game, with the Mamluks trying to Sow Dissent. How much impact did all my espionage actions have? I can’t know, ultimately.

On the home front I researched Tech 32 for Admin and Diplomatic, rounding out the Technologies. I could have developed another province to Level 50, but honestly just forgot to do so.

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I hope to do a final post with some follow-up for the conclusion of the game.
 
Leaving your greatest rival broken under its own weight -- that is what I call ending on a high note :)
It was nice to finally get done, to be sure.

Dismembering France was still more satisfying, but this is good too.
 
1821 Overview, Thoughts, and Future Ideas
1821 Overview

Let us start with the Great Power table.

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The Mamluks remain head of the list, though their margin has shrunk given I took away over two hundred development in the creation of Syria. Currently six of these eight powers are in competing alliance blocks. I would say that the Industrial Age of this timeline is due to suffer several more large and increasingly global wars. Bengal, being enemies with both Delhi and Ming is effectively frozen out of the alliances, and Skapaflo is just too far away to get involved.

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Looking at just countries, sorted by development, I retain my third place just ahead of Delhi. Castilian Oonla is now rebellious, and would presumably break away from the leftover part of Castile quite soon in this timeline. I never talked about it, but in the last years of the game Sweden became by far the dominant Scandinavian power, taking over a lot of Denmark.

My income remained second-highest, behind Ming. Somewhat surprisingly my maximum manpower was the greatest by 30k over the Mamluks. I am presuming this is because of me pumping MIL into development, having buildings up everywhere, and the State Edicts all set to Promote recruitment.

Out of twenty-nine provinces that I called my own, only six had below fifty development at the end, and those six all had at least forty development. I actually test it and I had enough monarch points left over to raise two more provinces to 50 at the end of the game.

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Looking at the map of Europe I was struck by how similar Poland looks to its interwar incarnation (Slovakia aside). The Reformed Ottoman State has not been entirely free of rebellion, but ceased to suffer the massive instability that once plagued it. I am slightly amused that Greece is the only other Reformed nation in the game. Brandenburg has risen to dominate the north and central portions of the HRE. Lubeck survives probably because I am the Protestant Defender of the Faith and for no other reason. Looking at this map though one can see how effective my web of allies and vassals is. And whilst I have had a rivalry with Great Britain (and earlier England) for centuries we haven’t gone to war for a very long time. I’ve assailed them with espionage at times, but they never returned the favour and by the end of the game I had stopped.

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Sub-Saharan Africa has largely survived the Europeans in this game. Mamluk expansion from the Horn further south became checked due to the three wars they fought with us.

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The story of Asia in the 18th century was the retreat of Russia, with Japan, Ming, Chagatai and Khorasan all profiting from its demise. I think we skirted with a Mingplosion, but it never eventually happened. I think it all comes down to the coalitions that eventually sunk the Ottomans. That effectively broke the Russian-Ottoman alliance that had dominated Eastern affairs for well over a hundred years.

By the by Russia suffers the indignity of being the only nation in Afro-Eurasia to have not adopted all the Institutions. The Enlightenment is still slowly spreading in their lands.

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The New World map is, alas, not terribly useful. A consequence of all the Castilan colonial nations sharing one colour. In the eastern half there is Skapaflo, New Asturias, and Hinenguru. I have tried to show the borders as best I can. As mentioned, Oonla is rebellious and has the support of Revolutionary France. Breaking away from Castile is probably just a matter of time. With Oonla and France allied Skapaflo may well find their dominance of the New World challenged, though they themselves have allied with the independent Portuguese colonial nation.

Circled in blue are the three nations who still have yet to adopt the institutions in this game. The two bordering each other have managed to adopt feudalism and global trade. The one slightly to itself however has not adopted a single institution. A little oddity I found worthy of comment.

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If anyone would like any info about anything else, please ask.


Thoughts on the Mamluk wars

These were the main “feature” of my game for the last fifty years, so I think worthy of a bit more comment.

The first war was undoubtedly the toughest of the lot. For most of the second war I had a tech advantage, and the third war I will get to in a moment. However, in both the first and the second war I got into some very tough and close fights and it was only due to the reinforcement of my allies and vassals that I won several notable victories. The second battle of Bolu in the first war was particularly close. In the second war, whilst I had a tech advantage, the Mamluks had a definite leadership advantage, especially in the first portion. In comparison although in Sivas there was an almighty battle in the third war, I never felt close to losing it.

I think it comes down to the Mamluks growing too large.

In the first war the Mamluks’ northern border was effectively Armenia. Their border didn’t even extend all the war to the Caucuses in places. This funnelled the war geographically into Anatolia. The AI concentrated its effort there, and that was a very real contest.

By the time of the second war the Mamluks had taken land up to, and slightly beyond, the Caucuses, and this showed in the campaign. I commented that whilst my allies remained largely focused on Anatolia, Novgorod waged a lonely war up there by itself, distracting at times large Mamluk forces.

In the third war the Mamluks now have overlordship of Gazikumukh has well. Their front stretches in the Steppe - and it massively ruined their sense of strategy. After Sivas I never fought a truly significant battle, and I would argue the battles the north - sometimes which involved over a hundred thousand men on both sides - just weren’t really significant. The Mamluks fought my allies - and won, but those victories mattered for nought because of what I was doing in Mesopotamia and Egypt.

I don’t doubt the difficulty of writing an AI able to handle such a complicated strategic situation as the one in the last war. Certainly in history many humans have failed to do the same.

Would they actually have been able to win that war if they had concentrated their forces more? I would like to think no, not with the alliance I had put together. But whereas the first war and second war were both challenging until late in the war - in the second war remember I was running out of manpower - the third war was more a matter of routine.

Did I succeed in ruining the Mamluks properly with my final peace? Well at the end of the game I tag-switched to them, and I believe the answer is yes. They are running a monthly deficit of over minus fifty and already have taken four more loans. Their manpower remains shot. They were seeking to integrate Gazikumukh, but in this case I can see that only making them more vulnerable.


Thoughts on the overall campaign

The restriction from conquest outside of the Low Countries region, which I later amended to be able to form Novgorod and Syria, was really the pillar that made this game so very different from what went before. It forced me to utilise vassals as something other than stepping points to diplo-annexation, and I am very happy with the experiment. All I can say is that I had a thoroughly enjoyable time playing “tall”.

Speaking of which I have encountered some chatter where people seem to be under the misapprehension that playing tall requires playing peacefully. I think this AAR will stand testament to the fact that is absolutely not the case. It forced me to be more aware of the greater diplomatic surroundings. After I annexed Gelre and established Bremen as a loyal march my goals shifted to ensure my safety from threats further way. Firstly there was the Ottomans and Russia, and then the Mamluks. In a sense though I had practice by then, in assembling a coalition to dismantle France. Dismantling France was, I must admit, quite fun.

The restriction of staying as a Duchy only had a practical impact towards the end of the game. In an “ordinary” game one I had 1000 development I would have become an Empire, and would have gotten an extra leader. That would have saved me a bunch of MIL points. I was saddened the League wars didn’t trigger - Brandenburg nearly succumbed to a Protestant revolt which might have caused it to happen, but they turned things around.

Whilst the Ottomans remain for me the “highlight” of the campaign, Odoyev was a close second. Then there was always Mantua. Really this game was chock-full of delights happening abroad.


Speaking of the Ottomans

I have so many story ideas regarding the Ottomans, which will not see the light of day. Consider the background though. In 1690 - just before their high-water mark - they looked like this:

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Allied to Russia they stand supreme. A child born in 1690 could have conceivably lived to 1766 which say them reduced to this:

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Eighty-five years - a human lifetime and (though rare) hardly unknown even in the 1700s. Think of all that happened - and the chaos in the Ottoman state for the next thirty years. I never could keep track of all the rebellions. There was Revolution in that time period. Did surviving dissidents flee to Russia, and then flee to France? There was the growth into Poland, Bohemia, and Italy, and then retreat. That is without talking about turning Reformed.

Paradox games excel in giving us material to make up such stories.


Of Lisan


Unfortunately I haven’t been able to write the piece I wanted to here. In a way it doesn’t matter - what I eventually intend can easily be transposed to another AAR. I am still desiring to try and continue the idea of a meta-plot between different AARs.


The Future

Which brings me to the future.

As is known I have been suffering from depression again. This AAR has been a way to fill the time. I know it has not been very organised, and the writing is full of errors. It has, however, been a honest and sincere work, and I am happy to have done it and even happier to have successfully brought it to its conclusion.

I don’t know what or when my next AAR will be. The when is the harder question of the two. That largely depends on my health and how my return to work - which I hope to be in the middle of next month - will go.

Depression impacts everything. With me it has also made me incredibly vulnerable to setbacks, even within computer games. I had two Stellaris games that I recently abandoned (one was past 2400) due to how things happened in them. That is not an ideal situation to be in when wanting to write an AAR. I wasn’t in this state when I started that project, but the reality of the NHS is that costs are kept down by rationing care, and I am still awaiting therapy.

A final “problem” on then when front is that several games are due fairly major reworks and I am hesitant to begin an AAR project in those games until they are done (CK2, HoI4, and Stellaris) - though I realise the simple response to that is to go to Victoria II.

As to what, of ideas I have no lack:

Stellaris:
(a) A Crisis AAR. Essentially play the game through to the crisis and tell that. A bit like what I did with The Great Trial.
(b) A UK-themed AAR. A human alt-history with Britain ruling the void. Working out the alt-history being part of the fun of this.
(c) A “Special Civic” campaign. By which I mean playing with one of the civics that drastically impact what you can do (ie, Fanatic Purifier, Devouring Swarm, Rogue Servitor, or Inward Perfection - not all need be violent).

Hearts of Iron IV:
(a) Many Paths of Germany. Play down the different German alt-history paths (and the historical one) and compare where things stand every [insert relevant time point here]. Minimum interval being one month.
(b) Do the same but for Japan, the UK, or USA (after Man the Guns for all three, an absolute requirement for the UK and USA given that is when they get their paths, but also I would wait for Japan given their naval focus).
(c) A British India AAR
(b) A British India Kaiserreich AAR

Europa Universalis IV:
(a) An England/GB run
(b) A Russian run.
(c) A new world native - never played one yet

Victoria II
Brazil or the USA, call it my second lesson in the game.

Crusader Kings II
(a) Do a megacampaign, probably starting in Britain or Denmark
(b) Play as a Muslim
(c) Do a random world in Holy Fury
(d) Do an After the End game

And that is just talking about PDS’ own games.

So ideas are plentiful. Whether any of these become something more, well, I hope to find out alongside you in due course.
 
A fitting retrospective on an excellent and enthralling AAR :) As you put it yourself, it makes for a superb showcase of how one need not play "wide" to become a world power, nor play "peaceful" to play "tall." Watching Belgium become a force to be reckoned with, and able to go toe-to-toe with other Great Powers and win, has been a genuine joy.

With regards to "The Future":

First, while I obviously can't fully understand the particulars of your situation, know that I sympathize, want to see you do well and be well, and wish you all the best. I won't claim to speak for anyone else, but I'm sure I'm not alone in this regard, either. Whenever you feel the darkness closing in, know that you are appreciated, that you are valued, that you are wanted -- that there are people in this world whose own personal crosses may have been made that little bit lighter by your own work or even just your presence. It may be but a small flame, but I hope it is bright enough to serve as a beacon on your path to joy and wellness.

As for future AAR plans specifically, I've gone ahead and edited the list to reflect my own preferences, given the options you've provided:

Stellaris:
(b) A UK-themed AAR. A human alt-history with Britain ruling the void. Working out the alt-history being part of the fun of this.
(c) A “Special Civic” campaign. By which I mean playing with one of the civics that drastically impact what you can do (ie, Fanatic Purifier, Devouring Swarm, Rogue Servitor, or Inward Perfection - not all need be violent).

Hearts of Iron IV:
(c) A British India AAR
(b) A British India Kaiserreich AAR

Europa Universalis IV: (Spec's note: Honestly all of these sound quite fun)
(a) An England/GB run
(b) A Russian run.
(c) A new world native - never played one yet

Victoria II
Brazil or the USA, call it my second lesson in the game.

Crusader Kings II (Spec's note: As above under the EU4 section, I'd greatly enjoy any of these)
(a) Do a megacampaign, probably starting in Britain or Denmark
(b) Play as a Muslim
(c) Do a random world in Holy Fury
(d) Do an After the End game

Naturally, of course, the decision is ultimately in your hands :)

-----

And with all that said and done, there is one more thing that I feel is long overdue:

@stnylan: For your tireless work and dedication in completing an excellent AAR, and in recognition of a long and (literally) storied trend of particular excellence from works past and as a guiding light of AARland generally, it is my honor and privilege to present you with a Red Special Cookie ●.

At your discretion, if you wish to display this award in your signature or anywhere else on these forums, you may copy and paste the string displayed below into the text:

Code:
[B][COLOR=#ff0000]Red Special Cookie [url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/a-game-for-lisan-belgium.1105729/page-9#post-24688949 ]●[/url][/COLOR][/B]
 
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You’ve been very busy of late! Am progressively catching up again - have just got through that Great War with the Mamluks: victory to be sure, but at what cost and benefit? I guess it’s part of gradually bringing them down, Punic War style, which can’t be done all at once.