I have just started a new Ottoman game, aiming at getting the "Definitely the Sultan of Rum" achievement.
After starting the game for 10 years, I found a unique opportunity that would allow me to step into the affairs of western Europe.
So I decided to attempt a world conquest.
It may fail miserably, but there will be much fun trying it.
By the way, this is my first AAR, so I will start with an easier style, which is to go game-play oriented.
This is 1456. War is raging on in Morocco. Here we go.
Campaign plan
When I started this game, I was not going for WC. Therefore, western Europe was not part of the plan.
At game start, I had 2 medium term goals.
The first goal was to unify southern Balkans and Anatolia, for a solid power base.
And the second goal was to annex the Mamluks, for the ability to fight in 2 fronts.
The reason for my choice is that I think playing defensive is a better approach with the 1.2 changes.
With the 1456 circumstances and WC as my new goal, my plan actually does not differ too much.
I just need to add a third goal: kill the colonizers.
It means annexing Portugal, British Isles, most of Castile, and the western half of France.
Taking so much land in Europe takes time, so I need to prioritize.
Portugal is definitely the first, and I will place Castile as second, England as third, and France as the last.
This arrangement is to minimize the risk of two or more of the early colonizers jumping on me, which I may not be able to overcome.
Central Europe, the Steppes and Persia have to wait, because my hands will be full with the early colonizers to handle.
I will only be able to open new fronts when I fully integrate Egypt and Syria.
New plans will be made when I achieve that.
Modified objectives after reaching 1653
WC seems to be beyond my reach by 1653. To keeps things interesting, I have modified the game objective from the simple world conquest to the following.
Primary objective: To minimize the number of provinces held by others. The target is tentatively set at 150.
Secondary objectives, with ascending order of difficulty:
1. The "Definitely the Sultan of Rum" achievement.
2. Dissolution of HRE.
3. The "Unify Islam" decision.
4. Ownership of every Muslim province.
5. Conquest of everything outside Europe.
6. Ownership of 1000 provinces.
7. Conquest of everything non-German.
Note: This campaign was played with version 1.2 and 1.3 (up to 1.3.2).
Edit: Since the game has been updated to 1.9 (and I am too lazy), the proposed strategy discussion (for the game played in version 1.5) is canceled. I apologize for that. Placed the announcement here to avoid necroing.
After starting the game for 10 years, I found a unique opportunity that would allow me to step into the affairs of western Europe.
So I decided to attempt a world conquest.
It may fail miserably, but there will be much fun trying it.
By the way, this is my first AAR, so I will start with an easier style, which is to go game-play oriented.
This is 1456. War is raging on in Morocco. Here we go.
Campaign plan
When I started this game, I was not going for WC. Therefore, western Europe was not part of the plan.
At game start, I had 2 medium term goals.
The first goal was to unify southern Balkans and Anatolia, for a solid power base.
And the second goal was to annex the Mamluks, for the ability to fight in 2 fronts.
The reason for my choice is that I think playing defensive is a better approach with the 1.2 changes.
With the 1456 circumstances and WC as my new goal, my plan actually does not differ too much.
I just need to add a third goal: kill the colonizers.
It means annexing Portugal, British Isles, most of Castile, and the western half of France.
Taking so much land in Europe takes time, so I need to prioritize.
Portugal is definitely the first, and I will place Castile as second, England as third, and France as the last.
This arrangement is to minimize the risk of two or more of the early colonizers jumping on me, which I may not be able to overcome.
Central Europe, the Steppes and Persia have to wait, because my hands will be full with the early colonizers to handle.
I will only be able to open new fronts when I fully integrate Egypt and Syria.
New plans will be made when I achieve that.
Modified objectives after reaching 1653
WC seems to be beyond my reach by 1653. To keeps things interesting, I have modified the game objective from the simple world conquest to the following.
Primary objective: To minimize the number of provinces held by others. The target is tentatively set at 150.
Secondary objectives, with ascending order of difficulty:
1. The "Definitely the Sultan of Rum" achievement.
2. Dissolution of HRE.
3. The "Unify Islam" decision.
4. Ownership of every Muslim province.
5. Conquest of everything outside Europe.
6. Ownership of 1000 provinces.
7. Conquest of everything non-German.
Table of content
Chapter 0: What happened before 1456 (1444-56)
Chapter 1: The Moroccan War (1456-59)
Chapter 2: Egypt, Iberia and Venice (1459-72)
Chapter 3: War for Syria, and the Second Iberian War (1472-79)
Chapter 4: Tying up the Loose Threads (1479-92)
Chapter 5: Crossroads (Strategy review, 1492-96)
Chapter 6: The Road to the East (1496-1502)
Chapter 7: A Throne, a Grand Alliance and a Coalition (1502-11)
Chapter 8: Grinding through the Routine (1511-23)
Chapter 9: Dawn of Colonialism, a Key to the North, and a Chaotic Regency (1523-36)
Chapter 10: A New Level of Intensity (1536-48)
Chapter 11: The Timurid War, and a Centennial Report (1548-52, Country report)
Chapter 12: A Round of Old Enemies, and the Collision of Two Worlds (Strategy update, 1552-58)
Chapter 13: The Muscovite War (1558-64)
Chapter 14: Internal Problems, Wars of Containment, and a Fresh Wave of Expansion (1564-81)
Chapter 15: A Modified Plan, and the Last Years of Ibrahim I (Strategy update, 1581-89)
Chapter 16: Following the Trail, and Blasting the Blob (1589-1602)
Chapter 17: The Ottoman Empire in 1602 (Country report)
Chapter 18: Westernization (1602-14)
Chapter 19: Marching towards a Golden Age (1614-27)
Chapter 20: A Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire (Part 1) (1627-40)
Chapter 21: A Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire (Part 2) (1640-53)
Chapter 22: The Ottoman Empire in 1653 (Country report)
Chapter 23: The Last Years of the Golden Age, and a Succession Crisis (1653-65)
Chapter 24: The Long Regency (1665-80)
Chapter 25: A Decade of Actions, and the Fall of an Empire (1680-92)
Chapter 26: Managing Operations (1692-1706)
Chapter 27: The Ottoman Empire in 1706 (Country report)
Chapter 28: The Operations in the 18th Century (Part 1) (RotW, 1706-1812, partial)
Chapter 29: The Operations in the 18th Century (Part 2) (RotW, 1706-1812, partial)
Chapter 30: The Schemes in Europe from 1706 to 1750 (Europe, 1706-50)
Chapter 31: The Ottoman Empire in 1750 (Country report)
Chapter 32: Scavenging the Borders (Europe, 1750-82)
Chapter 33: The Final Cleanup (Part 1) (1782-1812, partial)
Chapter 34: The Final Cleanup (Part 2) (1782-1812, partial)
Chapter 1: The Moroccan War (1456-59)
Chapter 2: Egypt, Iberia and Venice (1459-72)
Chapter 3: War for Syria, and the Second Iberian War (1472-79)
Chapter 4: Tying up the Loose Threads (1479-92)
Chapter 5: Crossroads (Strategy review, 1492-96)
Chapter 6: The Road to the East (1496-1502)
Chapter 7: A Throne, a Grand Alliance and a Coalition (1502-11)
Chapter 8: Grinding through the Routine (1511-23)
Chapter 9: Dawn of Colonialism, a Key to the North, and a Chaotic Regency (1523-36)
Chapter 10: A New Level of Intensity (1536-48)
Chapter 11: The Timurid War, and a Centennial Report (1548-52, Country report)
Chapter 12: A Round of Old Enemies, and the Collision of Two Worlds (Strategy update, 1552-58)
Chapter 13: The Muscovite War (1558-64)
Chapter 14: Internal Problems, Wars of Containment, and a Fresh Wave of Expansion (1564-81)
Chapter 15: A Modified Plan, and the Last Years of Ibrahim I (Strategy update, 1581-89)
Chapter 16: Following the Trail, and Blasting the Blob (1589-1602)
Chapter 17: The Ottoman Empire in 1602 (Country report)
Chapter 18: Westernization (1602-14)
Chapter 19: Marching towards a Golden Age (1614-27)
Chapter 20: A Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire (Part 1) (1627-40)
Chapter 21: A Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire (Part 2) (1640-53)
Chapter 22: The Ottoman Empire in 1653 (Country report)
Chapter 23: The Last Years of the Golden Age, and a Succession Crisis (1653-65)
Chapter 24: The Long Regency (1665-80)
Chapter 25: A Decade of Actions, and the Fall of an Empire (1680-92)
Chapter 26: Managing Operations (1692-1706)
Chapter 27: The Ottoman Empire in 1706 (Country report)
Chapter 28: The Operations in the 18th Century (Part 1) (RotW, 1706-1812, partial)
Chapter 29: The Operations in the 18th Century (Part 2) (RotW, 1706-1812, partial)
Chapter 30: The Schemes in Europe from 1706 to 1750 (Europe, 1706-50)
Chapter 31: The Ottoman Empire in 1750 (Country report)
Chapter 32: Scavenging the Borders (Europe, 1750-82)
Chapter 33: The Final Cleanup (Part 1) (1782-1812, partial)
Chapter 34: The Final Cleanup (Part 2) (1782-1812, partial)
Note: This campaign was played with version 1.2 and 1.3 (up to 1.3.2).
Edit: Since the game has been updated to 1.9 (and I am too lazy), the proposed strategy discussion (for the game played in version 1.5) is canceled. I apologize for that. Placed the announcement here to avoid necroing.
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