The Amsterdammer Way - A Mildly Interactive AAR

[crazyself00]

I'll too change my vote:

Issue 1: Religion
Option 4: Conquer a Holy City: Mecca (and Aden with other useful provinces, if they exist, in a war with Hejaz and Oman)

 

[crazyself00]

Does Ethiopia has problems with rebels?

 

[delpiero1234]

That's issue 1 option 4 right? I had no idea it'd be this easy/natural versus your current territory, so why not. It's like 5 mins of work.

Correct. Conquering Mecca is Issue 1 Option 4. Please update your original post. Makes tailing the votes easier later.

Does Ethiopia has problems with rebels?

Yea. They have been having problems with rebels for many years. Not sure why though.
Amsterdammer spies have fabricated claims on three of their provinces. The plan is to conquer those claimed provinces after the War of the Protestant League.

However, I want to point out that our religious unity keeps dropping with every heathen and heretic province that we conquer. That is why I believe that we need to have as many missionaries as possible with our low conversion strength.

 

[Baron Tanks]

Correct. Conquering Mecca is Issue 1 Option 4. Please update your original post. Makes tailing the votes easier later.

Done and updated.

 

[CorwinusJ]

Issue 1: Option 4 - it would be best if you could snag some kind of a CB though.

Issue 2: Option 1

Issue 3: Option 1 - Another march, another region to conquer for it.

Issue 4: Option 1 - You know you can send Muscovy some money, right? It's not like a thousand or two ducats would be sorely missed. The help of such an ally is good at least for posturing.(Mind you, if they do get bankrupt or wrecked by rebels then cancel alliance immediately.)

 

[ThePatriotOfDreumel]

Are you going to immediatly attack the league?

 

[delpiero1234]

Are you going to immediatly attack the league?

Yes. Initially, the plan was to hit Castile first but @londoner247 pointed out that it might be better to hit the Catholic League before declaring other wars.
So after I tallied the votes we will begin to prepare for war.

 

[ThePatriotOfDreumel]

So I can actually start drawing ahead of time?

YES.

 

[ThePatriotOfDreumel]

 

[delpiero1234]

Assembly of the Raad of Amsterdam; 31 January, 1578 (Part II)​

Raadpensionaris von Schack tallies the votes and announces the result.

Gentleman,
The votes are tallied.
The Raad has decided with a small majority that the Grand Republic shall conquer the Holy City of Mecca within the next fifteen years. This conquest will please the Church of Amsterdam without a doubt and increase our conversion power thanks to an extra missionary.

A decision has also been made regarding the title of Defender of the Protestant Faith: Amsterdam shall claim that title because the cost is quite low and the extra missionary will undoubtedly help combating our dangerously low religious unity.

Savoy will be established as a march after the War of the Protestant League is fought. Once the war is won, Savoy will be turned into a march. May Savoy help us increase our influence in Italy.

The Raad is divided on wheter Amsterdam shall cancel her alliance with the Muscovites or not. For the first time in history, the vote is a tie. As Raadpensionaris, I am forced to cast a tie-breaker. I favor the dissolution of the alliance and believe that Amsterdam is better off without Muscovy as ally. Therefore, once the royal marriage with them expires, we will annul the treaty.

That is all from my part for today. Commandant van der Oije has convinced me that attacking the Protestant League should be our priority. This means we won't declare a war on Castile but instead prepare to hit the Catholics. May God be with us!
​

 

[delpiero1234]

Chapter XX - War of the Protestant League (Part I)​

Commandant David van der Oije and Raadpensionaris von Schack meet after the assembly in von Schack's villa. They discuss the planned invasion of Castile and come to realize that it might be better to start the league war instead.
Envoys are sent to the 17 fellow members of the Protestant League to inform them that the war will begin on 1 March, 1578.

The Grand Republic is ready. Commandant van der Oije has instructed all Amsterdam generals and conquistadors in Europe to engage the enemy at first sight. The War of the Protestant League has begun.
Initially, the Protestant League commands over about 490.000 soldiers; the defending army is much smaller and counts ca. with 320.000 men around 170.000 less than the Protestant League.
The Navy of the Protestant League also outnumbers the Catholic fleet.
Surprisingly, the Amsterdammer vassal Savoy, sided with the enemy! Unbelievable! Any plans to establish a march in Italy can be trashed. von Schack is worrying that the Raad is upset that he failed to establish Savoy as march but it is not really his fault says van der Oije in a private conversation to him.

Amsterdam's troops begin to fight France before focusing on other targets. 15.000 regulars are sent to occupy Champagne, Nemours and the new French capital Bourges in the province of Berry. Those provinces fall without resistance which gives General Nassau the opportunity to continue to besiege French territory.
Reports reach the capital, that the Protestant League lost the first battle of the war. At Heidelberg, 27.000 Trierian soldiers defeated the forces of the Palatinate.

The Habsburgs were attacked by an Ottoman army in Bihar. The Habsburgs with their funny accents and skilled generals had the upper hand. Scouts say that the Ottomans cowardly fled the battlefield! Oh no!
Aragon has advanced from Sicily to the Neapolitan province of Calabria. The goal of Aragon is to crush the enemy in Italy before concentrating on Castile which is already being besieged by Leon.
The siege of the French capital lasts for only 97 days. General Nassau moves on to Clemont in the province of Auvergne.

In Northern Italy, the Catholic League wins some battles and Venetian provinces fall under Habsburgian occupation. Especially the loss at the Battle of Venezia is tragic as it allows Tuscan forces to lay siege on the Venetian capital. Shortly after the siege of Venezia commences, the walls are breached. The Tuscan siege engineers are skilled. Credit to whom credit deserves.

Thankfully, no hostile forces have invaded the Low Countries yet. The war is taking place elsewhere. Six months into the war, and the total war score is at +5%.
Raadpensionaris von Schack is delighted when he hears from Commandant van der Oije that the has enforced a military draft throughout the Grand Republic. This was a consequence of the fact that there weren't enough volunteers to reinforce the army.

Mercenaries that were stationed in India arrive in late November, 1578, in Gibraltar, Leon. From there they march on the neighboring Castilian fortified province of Granada. The fort of Granada is said to be one of the largest in Iberia but General van Bergh is confident that the garrison will eventually give in due to starvation.
Explorer von Leibrechtskirchen, the Amsterdammer captain that circumnavigated the globe, reports that there are no more exploration missions available. Amsterdam has mapped every single spot in the Oceans on a map. Magnificent!

von Leibrechtskirchen retired on 4 May, 1579, given that there was nothing left to explore. His leadership position is given to a young general instead. The first task of the young general is to fight a rebellion in Africa. Konrad von Löwenstein is eager to demonstrate his skills as general on the battlefield.

While the war in Europe was still going on, Raadpensionaris von Schack travels to India to lead an army. The East India Trade Company is pressuring to conquer more of India's coast. The target is Andhara and her ally Orissa.
War is declared in mid-May. Surprisingly, Orissa betrays her ally. This will make this overseas conquest even easier.

The citizens of Granada are starving to death thanks to an excellent siege by mercenaries under General van Bergh. After 189 days, they garrison surrenders. Faster than anticipated.
In Italy, Aragon is advancing in the South. In the Terra Ferma, the Catholic League is dominating Venice. Meanwhile, Amsterdammer forces have occupied Bayonne and are besieging Avignon and Cuneo. Nice, capital of Amsterdam's former vassal Savoy, is also occupied but it is not possible to make a separate peace with them. Only good knows why.

Good news arrive from India from Raadpensionaris von Schack on 1 April, 1580. He has successfully negotiated a treaty of full-annexation with Andhra. Their territory now belongs to the East India Trade Company.
To support Venice's fight in Northern Italy, forces of Amsterdam, the Palatinate, Ansbach, Burgundy, Provence, Pomerania and Saxe Lauenburg march on Tuscany. Their destination are Parma and Firenze. In Southern Italy, Naples stands no chance against Aragon's mighty forces.

The leading military thanks the Raad of Amsterdam for having chosen quantity ideas as fourth idea group. Manpower issues are far less common thanks to them.
A first separate peace treaty is signed with Castile in Gibraltar. The Castilians cede their two colonies in North America, the Canarias, and her coastal provinces in Iberia. The Iberian provinces go to Leon. Castile is now a landlocked nation! The war score with Austria is at +10% on 1 September, 1580.

At the battle of Lothringen, an army led by Moldavia, attacked forces of the Protestant League. The battle lasted for a few weeks and initially it looked like Amsterdam was going to lose it but then reinforcements from Venice and Leon secured a victory.
A second separate peace secured the annexation of the Free Imperial City of Aachen on which Amsterdam has a claim.
Lorraine is forced to convert to Protestantism in the third separate peace of the war.

Raadpensionaris von Schack stayed in India while the war in Europe is costing hundred and thousands of lives. His army launches a quick war on Kochin, a one province minor in India but after the province is occupied, the annexation gets postponed because it would otherwise cause overextension issues.
Amsterdam and her allies lose important battles at various places in Italy. Most notable are the defeats at Mantua and Siena. On top of that, broke a peasants war in France out.

By December, 1581, the War of the Protestant League has been going on for about three and a half years, overextension was reduced to a point that allowed Amsterdam to annex Kochin.
The Grand Republic's war exhaustion is slowly going towards 4/20. This forces the Raadpensionaris to claim the title Defender of the Protestant Faith. Claiming this title reduces monthly war exhaustion by -0.03. Crucial in this war. Fortunately, the treasury is full and the price of 500 ducats is paid without taking any loans.

In March, 1582, Amsterdam continues her colonial expansion in India by declaring war on Venad, another one-province-minor in the Ceylon trade node.
A number of Catholic princes are being force-converted to Protestantism through separate peaces including Mainz and Hesse.
Amsterdam reaches an agreement with France on 10 July, 1582, after very long negotiations. Reims becomes a province of the Grand Republic and Charlefort is ceded to Nieuw Antwerp. Furthermore, Orleans, Bourbonnais and Auverne are all released as sovereign one-province-minors.
Reims is an important center of trade in the Champagne trade node points the Handelsgilde out. This will increase their share in Champagne which in return increases Amsterdam's trade income given that trade is steered from Champagne to the Channel.

Charrua becomes the target of a colonial conquest war in September, 1582. They only control one province: Montevideo. Amsterdam is planing to establish a colonial nation in Colonial La Plata. Montevideo becomes a part of Amsterdam a couple of months after the declaration of war.
In November, Tuscany agrees to a separate peace in which they cede Siena to the Grand Republic. Spies begin to forge documents for a claim on Rome immediately after.
The war of the Protestant League is in its fifth year when Amsterdammer forces supported by Leon, Provence and Aragon build a camp just outside of Vienna as a base to besiege the Habsburger capital.

The Amsterdammer conquests during the War of the Protestant League have not gone unnoted by neutral powers. Most are angered by Amsterdam's conquests in this war. Milan, Genoa, Luxembourg and Alsace have formed a coalition against the Grand Republic. Raadpensionaris von Schack is worried about this development. He is still in India where he recently annexed Venad.
The Habsburger capital falls after 118 days. The siege engineers did an outstanding job at breaching the walls which eventually lead to the occupation of the city! This bumps the total war score against Austria to 41%.

Venice is the second member of the Protestant League, after Norway, that gets defeated by the Catholics. Norway accepted to pay monetary reparations to Austria and so did Venice.
Raadpensionaris von Schack sent a letter from India to the Handelsgilde inAmsterdam. It took many weeks to arrive. He informed the merchants of his success in India. The charter of the East India Trade Company in Cyelon has become the dominate trade power. The letter also stated that he declared war on Vijayanagar to found a charter in the Goa trade node. Vijayanagar is supported by her allies Mewar and Gondwana.

[

When the Handelsgilde received the latter in October, 1583, it was indeed happy with the progress of the East India Trade Company.
The War of the Protestant League is also going well. Austria is at 19.53 war exhaustion. Savoy at 20.00 and many of the other defenders have accumulated more than 5 war exhalation, too. On the attacking side, the only country with war exhaustion problems is Muscovy. Sweden is slowly but steadily occupying all of Muscovy. That explains why the war score has dropped to a mere 35%.

War Score continued to decrease when Austria and her allies defeated an army of the Protestant League at the Battle of Kärnten.
To improve the strength of the military, the Maurician Infantry becomes the preferred infantry unit of Amsterdam after Commandant van der Oije met with leading generals of the Grand Republic. von Schack is still away in India. More and more influential members of the republic are questioning his long absence.

Muscovy accepts a separate peace offer from the Habsburgs in May, 1584, in which the Muscovites cede four provinces to Sweden. Quite a disaster for Muscovy to lose territory to their fierce rival!
A month later, another member of the Protestant League, Pomerania, accepted a peace offer from the Habsburgs.

When things could not get any worse, Austria managed with the help of the Teutons to reconquer Vienna! The war has been going on for more than six years and no peace in sight.
In India von Schack could not complain about any setbacks. His campaign against Vijayanagar is in full place and the first provinces are already occupied and then in January of the following year, Brandenburg accepted a white peace offer from the Habsburgs. Why?! War Score drops to 30%.

Author's comments
The War of the Protestant League has started well and we scored some initially victories and managed to take lands from Castile and France. What is very annoying is that it costs a lot of DIP power to take land in separate peaces and it creates a ton of AE. This makes separate peaces less desirable but in my opinion separate peaces are still worth it at this stage of the campaign because we are strong enough to cope with the AE.

I was very surprised that our vassal Savoy was allowed to break free from us by fighting for the Catholic League. I feel this is non-sensical. We took some AE to vassalize them and now they are free again. Very unfortunate. This is also means that the Raad's decision to establish Savoy as a march is postponed indefinitely.

After our initial victories, things went south and the Catholic League recovered and even forced some of the members of the Protestant League out of the war. Muscovy has become a very useless ally at this point. Not only are they in debt, on top of that they lost so much land to the Sweds that they are now also weak. Looking forward to cancel this alliance.

I'm especially disappointed in Amsterdam's allies in this war. We outnumber the enemy and yet our allies fail to protect our occupied provinces. Why does the Ottoman Empire have to march to Poland? Much smarter would have been to protect the occupied Habsburgian capital. Now the Teutons liberated it from our occupation it. I have a feeling that this war will last for some more years, especially if we want 90%-100% War Score. At 100% War Score, we can establish Protestantism as the official faith of the HRE; humiliate Austria (gives lots of Power Projection) and demand monthly. monterary reparations.

 

[delpiero1234]

Chapter XXI - War of the Protestant League (Part II)​

Commandant van der Oije is shocked that the Catholic League is making a comeback in this war. With Vienna back under Habsburger control, the Habsburgs are ready to continue to fight.
Meanwhile in India, the capital of Vijayanagar falls in spring, 1585 and with that the Indians accept peace in exchange for 99% overextension worth provinces. All but one of Vijayanagar's coastal provinces are ceded to the East India Trade Company as well as a few inland provinces.
The coalition which had formed against Amsterdam some years ago is disbanded by April, 1585. At last, no more threat from a punitive coalition!

van der Oije believes in his regiments and is confident that they will be victorious in the end. He is right: Amsterdammer forces occupy first Kärnten and in February, 1586, they reoccupy Vienna but the War Score is still far from sufficient to make an acceptable peace. The plan now is to achieve 100% War Score by occupying every single Austrian province. Commandant van der Oije is unsure if that will work in this religious war though.
In the Americas there have been some changes, too. By March, enough colonies in Colonial La Plata have become self-sustaining that Amsterdam forms a colonial nation there which is simply named Kolonie.

The following month, Sweden accepts a white peace offer from Amsterdam. A major power of the Catholic League has been forced out of the war. The first step to peace? Commandant van der Oije wasn't sure.
The war is bad for business claimed the Handelsgilde. The merchants report that they are facing stiffening resistance to to trying to peddle their wares. The administration tried to alleviate them to cope with this minor trade crisis. von Schack has travelled back from India to Amsterdam. His presence in the capital is deeply needed.

At the Battle of Ereskujvar, Poland, another major is fought between members of both leagues. This round goes to the Protestants.
The Poles see no hoping in continuing fighting this war and agree to pay a large chunk of gold to Amsterdam in exchange for peace. Their population is most war-weary already. War Score is now at 51% and the War of the Protestant League is in its eighth year already.
The Church of Amsterdam complains that religious unity keeps dropping and dropping. It is now only at 64%. A worrying number. Conversions simply take too long.

Occupying every single Austrian province granted the Grand Republic 100% War Score - Take that, Habsburgs! But it is not time for peace just yet.
von Schack wants the province of Köln and he gets it. Cologne agrees in a separate peace to cede Cologne to Amsterdam on top of converting to Protestantism. Köln is an important center of trade. Controlling it, increases the Handelsgilde's influence in the Rheinland trade node in which Amsterdam has become the strongest trade power.

The reputable General Nassau dies on his way to Nice. The city had been occupied by Amsterdam long ago but Peasants had taken over the occupation. Order in Nice is restored after the uprising is over.
In January, 1587, Holstein converts to Protestantism. The Protestant faith grows stronger with every Holy Roman Empire prince that converts to the true faith.
Delegates from the Habsburgs arrive in Amsterdam. The high war exhaustion is troubling the Austrians and they are beginning for peace. von Schack informs them of his conditions which are quite simple: 1. Protestantism becomes the official Faith of the Holy Roman Empire, 2. Austria pays monthly war reparation to Amsterdam, and 3. the Habsburgs get humiliated publicly.

The Habsburgian delegation is skeptical of those terms. This would mean an end of their reign over the Holy Roman Empire. They wonder why Amsterdam gets involved in Imperial business anyways but they are smart. They understand that there is no point in negotiating this any further. The terms are accepted and delivered to the recency council for Matthias III. Matthias III is only 3 years old. The Austrian regent signs the peace treaty on 19 January, 1587, and after almost nine years the War of the Protestant League ends in a crushing victory!
The Habsburgs resign from the Imperial throne with immediate effect and the prince-electors have to vote for a Protestant Emperor. Their choice is Albrecht IV of Saxony. A good choice, even though von Schack would have preferred that his ally Brandenburg would gain the imperial throne.

Author's comments
Victory at last! Protestantism has triumphed. The Grand Republic has lost lots of men in this war but they died for a good cause.
This was an intense war and after the Teutons had reconquered Vienna and forced Muscovy to cede territory to the Sweds (end of Chapter XX) I was worried that this war could end in a white peace. I am glad it did not come to that.
By conquering Aachen, the Empire lost another Free Imperial City. I highly doubt that the Empire will manage to pass even just one reform by the end of the campaign. This is good for us since we are no longer a member of the Empire. It is tempting to dismantle the HRE as some sort of end goal in this campaign.
This concludes the War of the Protestant League. The last two chapters were together only nine years in-game time. It might appear longer due to all the screenshots I took but I decided to cover the war more in detail given its importance. This also means that we won't have an assembly of the Raad of Amsterdam today because having another voting session so short after the previous one makes not much sense given that there is not much to vote on really. The next assembly will take place either after Chapter XXII or by the latest after Chapter XXIII.

 

[ThePatriotOfDreumel]

I say that you can use the 'vassalize SAV' cheat since Savoy joining the Catholic league sounds like a bug.

 

[Baron Tanks]

I say that you can use the 'vassalize SAV' cheat since Savoy joining the Catholic league sounds like a bug.

I kind of assumed all this time that Savoy was already in the league before Amsterdam vassalised it. Maybe @delpiero1234 can shine a light on this.

As always, tons of progress. Too bad you can't from client states yet and have a clientele India and Africa deal with the religious unity. I think you'll struggle to get close to as much as 90% at the rate you're conquering. And that is taking the Mecca missionary into account, which you should probably double down on. Perhaps our next idea group should be Humanist or Religious? There's good reasons to go for Influence or a military idea to boost your efficency per man (Offensive or Quality come to mind, Defensive would be nice with its morale and AT), but you seem to be permanently stuck at 70ish religious unity.

 

[delpiero1234]

I say that you can use the 'vassalize SAV' cheat since Savoy joining the Catholic league sounds like a bug.

I don't know if it is a bug to be honest. I read somewhere that subjects can join a religious league on the opposite side of their overlord. If it i a bug then I have no objections to use the vassalize Savoy bug but I don't think it is..

I kind of assumed all this time that Savoy was already in the league before Amsterdam vassalised it. Maybe @delpiero1234 can shine a light on this.

I don't remember if by the time I forced them into vassalge they were already a member of the Catholic League. It could very well be.

As always, tons of progress. Too bad you can't from client states yet and have a clientele India and Africa deal with the religious unity. I think you'll struggle to get close to as much as 90% at the rate you're conquering. And that is taking the Mecca missionary into account, which you should probably double down on. Perhaps our next idea group should be Humanist or Religious? There's good reasons to go for Influence or a military idea to boost your efficency per man (Offensive or Quality come to mind, Defensive would be nice with its morale and AT), but you seem to be permanently stuck at 70ish religious unity.

The EU4Wiki says that client States can only be created in provinces that have a direct land connection to your capital so no client states in Africa or India for us.
I hope that by the end of the next chapter, we will have a third missionary by having conquered Mecca. Maybe with 3 missionaries we can combat the low religious unity more efficitcly. Otherwise we also have to take Roma.
In case you guys wondered why Amsterdam took Siena in the War of the Protestant League. The answer is quite simple: To fabricate a claim on Rome which means we can conquer that Holy City without having to start a non-CB war.
In the next assembly of the Raad of Amsterdam, we will vote on what we shall do with our province Siena. We can either keep it, make a vassal out of it or use the province to establish a march in Italy. The question that comes to mind is whether Sienese ideas are as useful as Savoyard ideas. Might be better to emphasize our efforts to diplo-vassalize Savoy which could be possible if we get relations to 190 with them.

Edit: fixed typo​

 

[Baron Tanks]

Hmm, interesting. I'm assuming the missionary won't be yours if Rome is held by a vassal, so you will probably have to take that one for yourself.

 

[delpiero1234]

Hmm, interesting. I'm assuming the missionary won't be yours if Rome is held by a vassal, so you will probably have to take that one for yourself.

The trigger condition say we have to directly control Roma. So if at the next assembly of the Raad a majority votes for establishing a march in Italy then we would have to keep Roma if we manage to conquer it.

 

[delpiero1234]

Folks, the chapter is ready but imgur does not show me the embed codes anymore when I upload more than 1 screenshot at once. Will post the chapter once I figured out of how embed the images..

 

[ThePatriotOfDreumel]

Folks, the chapter is ready but imgur does not show me the embed codes anymore when I upload more than 1 screenshot at once. Will post the chapter once I figured out of how embed the images..

Upload them one by one?

 

[delpiero1234]

Upload them one by one?

We are talking about 30-35 images usually per chapter. If I don't figure it out then I will upload them one by one but that's not a good solution since that is more time intensive. It's probably just me missing where the embed code is.