Part 1
Bit of a delay getting this part out, I’m away on business so I can’t update the web site yet, hopefully I’ll be back this week to post the screenshots.
Enjoy…
The Spanish have an enormous force in Hainault of around 70,000 men, and I order our Paris field army to intercept them before they can begin causing mischief. In Italy the sound of French guns roar for the first time in fifty years in Genoa. We take 21,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry against their 21,000 infantry, and although the battle is closer than I had hoped, we hold the field, and a few days later the siege force arrives. The Spanish Army of Hainault eludes my patrols, and disappears from sight as we lose contact with them. The last reports had them moving south. All my allies throw themselves at Helvetia, but that province is impregnable, thanks in part to our gifts.
On Christmas day we receive an unwanted present, the reports of 100,000 Germans heading for Milan. Although reinforcements are heading there, it will be a delicate question of timing to see who arrives first. Another Spanish army sieges Apulia, but the fortress there is impregnable. I leave them to rot, not having the resources to fight on another front. There are skirmishes between English and French colonial armies in Canada, but the tiny forces means that our technical edge is heightened and we see off all attacks.
On New Years Day 1604 the first encounters with the Iroquois occurs simultaneously in Adirondack and Niagra, we are victorious but have to wait until scattered detachments catch the main force, before pressing on the other English colonies. My invasion fleet reaches Dogger Bank, but as the troops are about to disembark an English fleet sends ours running back to the Channel. The Battle of Milan begins in small fashion, our 6,000 foot, 3,00 horse and 28 guns face the first Austrian force of 5,000 infantry, 19,000 cavalry and 96 guns. No one could have predicted what would happen to the city, or the armies there. In what can only be described as a Rennaisance Stalingrad, the battles rage for four months as a stream of French and German reinforcements continously arrive. The balance of the war hangs on Milan, as one of us is going to be without an army when it is finished.
In America, England makes a counter attack in Niagra. Fortunately for us, the English force is made up of the 2nd batalion of the 78 regiment of foot; The Royal Kamakaze Highlanders. Though their ranks have been thinned from training, the enemy siezes the opportunity to jump en mass into the falls, and we hold on to what will surely become a former English colony, if we can only get across the channel.
While the Austrian war depends on Milan, the English war depends on the ability of our navy to get troops into Kent before the English fleet arrives. On February 3rd the landing is complete, but I don’t have enough soldiers to cover the fortress and move to London, so I order the entire force to London, and hopefully to forage food from somewhere.
On April 10th the Milan conflict is over. We have held the city, and turned back an estimated 140,000 enemy troops from every nation arrayed against us. Unfortunately, our own army has suffered terribly, every reserve from the area was thrown into battle en mass, the enemy has been turned back from the gates, but the mighty French army has dropped to Cyranaican proportions. I have just enough men left alive to head to Tyrol, if we can storm the city before winter then there is a chance of ending the war quickly. The treasury is empty, and most of the money lies buried in mass graves outside the city of Milan. I should have retreated and let them try a siege, but some stubborn streak took a hold and threw men and horse into the city whether they we trained or not. However, if we are exhausted from the battle, then we must have destroyed the enemy completely.
Apparently, the enemy still has some strength left as they turn our siege force out of Tyrol, fortunately the Tuscans arrived and forced the German coalition to retreat. I send the siege force back as soon as they arrive in Milan, it’s a gamble as their moral is broken, but surely the enemy is worn down by this more than us. Again, I miscalculate, this time the Spaniards assault Gerona, and a combined Spanish and Austrian force sieges Modena. The Savoyans have no more men left, they all died a slow death in Helvetia so I send in the last two armies I have left to raise the sieges. We drive the Spanish back from Gerona and save the Savoyan city, but we are routed in Modena. Again, I don’t wait for the morale of that force to improve, and I send them straight back to Modena. With so many enemies against us, our only hope is to outspend them, so I have to ignore casualties and try and lift the siege before the city falls.
On June 26th Anglia falls again, and England makes an immediate offer of peace. The colony of Oshawa, and the colonial cities in Niagra and Detroit. I hurridly sign the peace, and send the fleet to England to pick up the starving remnants of the siege force. I want to get them to Hainault to prevent Spanish reinforcements being raised there. We raise the siege of Gerona on the third attempt, and though we see off a counter attack in Tyrol, we fail to storm the city, and winter approaches. I send a fresh batch of recruits from Milan to Tyrol and order an assault as soon as possible, I just hope those men train on the march.
By September 4th we have exhausted 2000 francs from the treasury, and I consider taking a loan. We have lost more men in this last year than in the previous 100, and even more bad news is that though backed with Tuscan reinforcements we assault and fail to capture Tyrol. The conservatives at council want to end the war now with a white peace, we have no leaders, our army is a shambles, our allies have no armies left in the field and we have an opportunity to accept Austria’s offer of a white peace. I leave the room to decide, but the greedy, reckless gambler in me wants to take Tyrol in case we ever go war again. A good fortress there will save us having to fight any field battles in Italy, and prevent our wealthiest province from being looted. I take the peace proposal and scribble “Nuts!” on it, and order it to be delivered to the Austrian attache. Unfortunately, my Bastogne reference results in 100 wieght of spiced chesnuts being delivered to my personal quarters along with the Austrian delegate whos asks if we wouldn’t kindly mind vacating Tyrol. I explain that my answer was not a demand, but a refusal so the war goes on, and I have some attendants deliver the “peace dividend” back to the Austrian consulate.
On November 14th the gods are smiling, as the gamble appears to have paid off, we capture Tyrol, and I send reinforcements to Austria to prepare for the siege of Salzburg. This war has become an obsession, we have lost 100,000 soldiers so far, and I intend to either collect on that human payment, or watch the French Empire break up trying. By January 24th we are in Saltzburg, and I order the army to siege, not assault. Another Spanish army arrive in Modena, so I send the remnants of what was three French field armies, but now totals only 18,000 men to try and lift the siege. On February 26th the Spanish are driven back into the sea, and the city is saved. Hopefully the citizens will show their gratitude by naming their first born children after me, because we gain absolutely no gratitude from the Tuscan government. When Hainault falls on March 12th I realize that finally, the meat grinder of battle and attrition has destroyed our enemies. They have no money, or men to fight. The first offer of peace arrives from Austria, they offer Tyrol, and my assistants gleefully prepare for another victory parade. It is then I realize that I have become more and more French, I say Non, and counter with a request for Tyrol and 500 francs. I know they can’t pay us 50 sous, but the principle is at stake. A humiliation of Austria before us will be warning for the rest of Europe to stay out of French and Italian affairs.
Bit of a delay getting this part out, I’m away on business so I can’t update the web site yet, hopefully I’ll be back this week to post the screenshots.
Enjoy…
The Spanish have an enormous force in Hainault of around 70,000 men, and I order our Paris field army to intercept them before they can begin causing mischief. In Italy the sound of French guns roar for the first time in fifty years in Genoa. We take 21,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry against their 21,000 infantry, and although the battle is closer than I had hoped, we hold the field, and a few days later the siege force arrives. The Spanish Army of Hainault eludes my patrols, and disappears from sight as we lose contact with them. The last reports had them moving south. All my allies throw themselves at Helvetia, but that province is impregnable, thanks in part to our gifts.
On Christmas day we receive an unwanted present, the reports of 100,000 Germans heading for Milan. Although reinforcements are heading there, it will be a delicate question of timing to see who arrives first. Another Spanish army sieges Apulia, but the fortress there is impregnable. I leave them to rot, not having the resources to fight on another front. There are skirmishes between English and French colonial armies in Canada, but the tiny forces means that our technical edge is heightened and we see off all attacks.
On New Years Day 1604 the first encounters with the Iroquois occurs simultaneously in Adirondack and Niagra, we are victorious but have to wait until scattered detachments catch the main force, before pressing on the other English colonies. My invasion fleet reaches Dogger Bank, but as the troops are about to disembark an English fleet sends ours running back to the Channel. The Battle of Milan begins in small fashion, our 6,000 foot, 3,00 horse and 28 guns face the first Austrian force of 5,000 infantry, 19,000 cavalry and 96 guns. No one could have predicted what would happen to the city, or the armies there. In what can only be described as a Rennaisance Stalingrad, the battles rage for four months as a stream of French and German reinforcements continously arrive. The balance of the war hangs on Milan, as one of us is going to be without an army when it is finished.
In America, England makes a counter attack in Niagra. Fortunately for us, the English force is made up of the 2nd batalion of the 78 regiment of foot; The Royal Kamakaze Highlanders. Though their ranks have been thinned from training, the enemy siezes the opportunity to jump en mass into the falls, and we hold on to what will surely become a former English colony, if we can only get across the channel.
While the Austrian war depends on Milan, the English war depends on the ability of our navy to get troops into Kent before the English fleet arrives. On February 3rd the landing is complete, but I don’t have enough soldiers to cover the fortress and move to London, so I order the entire force to London, and hopefully to forage food from somewhere.
On April 10th the Milan conflict is over. We have held the city, and turned back an estimated 140,000 enemy troops from every nation arrayed against us. Unfortunately, our own army has suffered terribly, every reserve from the area was thrown into battle en mass, the enemy has been turned back from the gates, but the mighty French army has dropped to Cyranaican proportions. I have just enough men left alive to head to Tyrol, if we can storm the city before winter then there is a chance of ending the war quickly. The treasury is empty, and most of the money lies buried in mass graves outside the city of Milan. I should have retreated and let them try a siege, but some stubborn streak took a hold and threw men and horse into the city whether they we trained or not. However, if we are exhausted from the battle, then we must have destroyed the enemy completely.
Apparently, the enemy still has some strength left as they turn our siege force out of Tyrol, fortunately the Tuscans arrived and forced the German coalition to retreat. I send the siege force back as soon as they arrive in Milan, it’s a gamble as their moral is broken, but surely the enemy is worn down by this more than us. Again, I miscalculate, this time the Spaniards assault Gerona, and a combined Spanish and Austrian force sieges Modena. The Savoyans have no more men left, they all died a slow death in Helvetia so I send in the last two armies I have left to raise the sieges. We drive the Spanish back from Gerona and save the Savoyan city, but we are routed in Modena. Again, I don’t wait for the morale of that force to improve, and I send them straight back to Modena. With so many enemies against us, our only hope is to outspend them, so I have to ignore casualties and try and lift the siege before the city falls.
On June 26th Anglia falls again, and England makes an immediate offer of peace. The colony of Oshawa, and the colonial cities in Niagra and Detroit. I hurridly sign the peace, and send the fleet to England to pick up the starving remnants of the siege force. I want to get them to Hainault to prevent Spanish reinforcements being raised there. We raise the siege of Gerona on the third attempt, and though we see off a counter attack in Tyrol, we fail to storm the city, and winter approaches. I send a fresh batch of recruits from Milan to Tyrol and order an assault as soon as possible, I just hope those men train on the march.
By September 4th we have exhausted 2000 francs from the treasury, and I consider taking a loan. We have lost more men in this last year than in the previous 100, and even more bad news is that though backed with Tuscan reinforcements we assault and fail to capture Tyrol. The conservatives at council want to end the war now with a white peace, we have no leaders, our army is a shambles, our allies have no armies left in the field and we have an opportunity to accept Austria’s offer of a white peace. I leave the room to decide, but the greedy, reckless gambler in me wants to take Tyrol in case we ever go war again. A good fortress there will save us having to fight any field battles in Italy, and prevent our wealthiest province from being looted. I take the peace proposal and scribble “Nuts!” on it, and order it to be delivered to the Austrian attache. Unfortunately, my Bastogne reference results in 100 wieght of spiced chesnuts being delivered to my personal quarters along with the Austrian delegate whos asks if we wouldn’t kindly mind vacating Tyrol. I explain that my answer was not a demand, but a refusal so the war goes on, and I have some attendants deliver the “peace dividend” back to the Austrian consulate.
On November 14th the gods are smiling, as the gamble appears to have paid off, we capture Tyrol, and I send reinforcements to Austria to prepare for the siege of Salzburg. This war has become an obsession, we have lost 100,000 soldiers so far, and I intend to either collect on that human payment, or watch the French Empire break up trying. By January 24th we are in Saltzburg, and I order the army to siege, not assault. Another Spanish army arrive in Modena, so I send the remnants of what was three French field armies, but now totals only 18,000 men to try and lift the siege. On February 26th the Spanish are driven back into the sea, and the city is saved. Hopefully the citizens will show their gratitude by naming their first born children after me, because we gain absolutely no gratitude from the Tuscan government. When Hainault falls on March 12th I realize that finally, the meat grinder of battle and attrition has destroyed our enemies. They have no money, or men to fight. The first offer of peace arrives from Austria, they offer Tyrol, and my assistants gleefully prepare for another victory parade. It is then I realize that I have become more and more French, I say Non, and counter with a request for Tyrol and 500 francs. I know they can’t pay us 50 sous, but the principle is at stake. A humiliation of Austria before us will be warning for the rest of Europe to stay out of French and Italian affairs.
And i was afraid that you have given up writing AARs already.
