Chapter 1: The east Asian blitz and becoming a Great Power
January 1, 1836: Belgium signs an alliance with the UK. There goes that plan... I order six clipper transports to move my troops to Johore, which will give me some nice excess capacity for future conquests.
January 16, 1836: After the requisite two weeks, it's time to adjust the budget. I increase taxes on the poor to 80%, cut the national stockpile to 25%, and bump education and administration to 100%. This will start bringing enough cash to bankroll my war effort. Of course, before I actually declare war, I'll readjust the national stockpile.
February 7, 1836: Busted. 7.7 infamy incurred to take out Johore. I anticipated this, but would have liked a little better luck.
February 19, 1836: On cue, Prussia attacks Denmark. Those sneaky French decide to develop their own CB on a perfectly innocent little country you all know and will grow to love (if you don't already). As predicted, it's for Dutch Guyana. At worst, I'll hand it over to France without too much heartache, but I do intend to fight as long as I can (depending on who honors, of course).
March 1, 1836: Brazil offers an alliance. I gladly accept; this will help redress my manpower shortages in Latin America.
June 6, 1836: One of the nice things about France in 1836 is that they have no naval bases in the Pacific, so I can continue my original plan of declaring war on Johore. I won't right away -- I need to let my stockpile build back up -- but the threat of impending doom doesn't give me pause. To keep myself in the green, I increase tariffs to 60%.
July 5, 1836: War is declared on Johore. For some of these wars, there won't be much detail, because it isn't terribly interesting. I do hope you'll forgive me.
July 20, 1836: The brilliant Johoran army decides to invade my island of Tanjungpinang. My navy blockades the island, ensuring I can occupy in peace.
September 24, 1836: Gold Rush in Sumbawa.
October 15, 1836: Ah, Age of Liberalism. How I loathe you.
October 28, 1836: I bump tariffs up just a bit higher to keep the cash coming; this will only last until Johore is conquered.
December 17, 1836: With the war in Johore well in hand (I've already taken two provinces), it's time to go after the next guy on the menu.
January 1, 1837: And I'm caught already. 9.1 infamy. Looks like Bali is off the table.
February 9, 1837: France makes its move.
The British and Brazilians both bail on me; disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. At least Prussia stood strong; I'll need their help. If Prussia had dishonored too, I might have just surrendered.
March 8, 1837: Prussia seals a peace with Denmark, acquiring Schleswig-Holstein and Ghana.
April 29, 1837: The first French incursion is, predictably, in Dutch Guyana. Occupy all you want, France. I won't stop you.
May 4, 1837: Johore is annexed.
May 28, 1837: I declare war on Brunei.
June 29, 1837: The French take half of Dutch Guyana. How's the war in Europe going, you ask?
Dear Prussia,
You're doing it wrong.
The Netherlands
I also switch to the Nationalist party at this point; incredibly, I've got enough cash to industrialize (or at least industrializing) at this point. I build a Cement Factory in Holland and a Glass Factory in Gelderland.
July 12, 1837: Typhoid Fever in Holland.
July 15, 1837: The French invade my SE Asian possessions, incredibly. I had no idea they would even bother. They go after Sumatra; they're welcome to occupy as much as they like, because without serious reinforcements, I'll just take it back. To be on the safe side, I do put my fleet out of harm's way while I take down Brunei.
July 29, 1837: Gold Rush in Ipoh.
August 15, 1837: I am just absurdly profitable right now, thanks to the gold. I cancel my tariffs and still make over £200 a day.
September 14, 1837: France has the 2% warscore to take Guyana, but since Prussia is war leader, I couldn't surrender even if I wanted to, and I actually don't right now.
September 29, 1837: Jacobin uprising in Middelburg. I never realized how irritating this could be until just now. I rarely play tiny countries in Vicky 2; it gives me a new appreciation for countries like Prussia.
October 30, 1837: I eliminate Brunei's army. I've yet to engage French troops at this point.
November 8, 1837: At this point, France has taken all of Guyana and taken a province in Sumatra.
November 20, 1837: Jacobin uprising in Roti.
December 18, 1837: Ottomans declare war on Egypt. What took so long?
December 29, 1837: The first battle between French and Dutch forces begins. I'm outnumbered, but neither of us has a commander and I've got a terrain advantage.
January 11, 1838: The war in Europe continues, with Prussia having a somewhat difficult time. The French are going straight for Prussia, while ignoring little ol' me. Excellent.
February 14, 1838: Amsterdam gets the joy of Jacobins.
February 23, 1838: I'm surprisingly holding my own against the French. Part of me wishes I could jump Belgium now, but Prussia would almost certainly decline.
March 21, 1838: I "lose" my first battle against France.
The French have poured so many soldiers into Prussia that this little stack is now ripe for a counterattack.
April 10, 1838: The French in Maastricht are routed.
April 25, 1838: A second French invasion hits Eindhoven; they are eliminated a few days later. They aren't attacking with more than two or three brigades at a time; I think very briefly about rushing for Paris, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work, and there's nothing I want from this war other than to be left alone. Sardinia-Piedmont attacks Switzerland. I have no idea why.
May 30, 1838: These rebels are a bigger threat than the French.
Over 60,000 troops, all of them in the Netherlands; it's a good thing they're just rebels, or I might be in a world of hurt.
June 8, 1838: Another huge victory -- of a stack of 10,506 French soldiers, 256 are left. I took only 765 casualties. Please, France, keep attacking me! It's going so well for you!
June 15, 1838: I really, really want Nationalism and Imperialism as soon as possible. I briefly consider Functionalism, to keep up literacy gain, but instead I go for Ideological Thought. I do not want to get locked out of Africa.
July 14, 1838: A pretty typical battle at this point.
July 20, 1838: Brunei is annexed.
August 1, 1838: Another Jacobin Uprising event. Can these please stop? Like, right now?
August 14, 1838: USA fires Manifest Destiny. Could they actually beat Mexico this time?
September 10, 1838: Oh, sorry. Texas is first. My mistake.
September 26, 1838: Another victory at Maastricht. At this point, my only "loss" is the first battle, in which I inflicted huge amounts of casualties.
October 10, 1838: I call this a huge win; Prussia's record was much more mixed against France than mine.
Hopefully this doesn't just inspire France to try again in five years.
December 31, 1838: The economy takes a huge drop, which surprises me. I'm not at war any more, shouldn't my economy be doing better? In any case, I stop buying Clipper Convoys; to keep moving in SE Asia, I don't need the best navy in the world.
July 28, 1839: I really want to get Atjeh, and my infamy is low enough (14.51) to try.
August 16, 1839: Friesland gets a Winery.
September 23, 1839: Spain declares war on Portugal for Macronesia. Bad move Spain -- Portugal has a friend named the UK.
October 10, 1839: I take Roti, the last Jacobin provinces, back.
November 8, 1839: The "end of Liberal Agitation" events start kicking in. Thank goodness!
November 30, 1839: The USA declares war on Mexico. I'm stunned!
December 1, 1839: This surprise was far bigger: I get the CB on Atjeh. How much infamy?
None.
Bali is now back on the table.
December 18, 1839: I declare war on Atjeh and start justifying war in Bali.
March 22, 1840: I get caught by Bali, but only 4 infamy; all things considered, a reasonable return. Atjeh's army is dead and gone, and it's time to occupy. I build three more brigades to deal with Bali, who amazingly has the largest army I've fought yet with four brigades. I am not excluding France, either.
June 28, 1840: A quick review of my factories shows that I really, really need more craftsmen. If/when I get a second NF point, that's where it's going.
October 2, 1840: I got blinded by Nationalism and Imperialism. I really, really should have jumped on Idealism and/or Functionalism at this point. I'll pick up Idealism when this tech is finished.
November 20, 1840: War with Bali begins.
November 24, 1840: Atjeh is annexed.
February 1, 1841: To help stimulate my capitalists, I revert to the Conservatives.
February 11, 1841: Spain gets Macronesia from Portugal but loses Ajdir to the UK; I'm pretty sure that's a bad trade.
March 16, 1841: I wipe out the Balinese army. I also get my first political reform!
What drove this was a movement for suffrage; I actually thought about outlawing slavery instead, but the movement for that was laughably small -- less than 1000 people.
May 12, 1841: France declares war on the UK. In retrospect, I should have jumped Belgium now, especially since it's one of the weird "Take Southwest England" goals that France pushes for all too frequently. I'm actually kicking myself (mentally, of course -- I'm not that flexible) for not doing it.
June 30, 1841: An unexpected surprise cools my anger.
Thanks, UK, for beating up Spain. That helped a lot! Then I take a look at Belgium. The UK is fighting Russia AND France? Yet I still leave Belgium alone? Granted, Belgium is also allied to Spain. I'm pretty confident I could take Spain.
July 14, 1841: We're officially a Prussian Constitutionalism, so it's time for elections.
July 29, 1841: At least I got Bali. Let's bask in the glow of a much cleaner southeast Asia, shall we?
It'll make me feel better. I almost jumped Spain, but I don't have enough infamy to take part of the Philippines. Then again, Belgium wouldn't have honored anyway.
November 14, 1841: France and Belgium sign a white peace. France is really getting their butts kicked (-25% warscore). Again, I kindly leave Belgium alone.
January 15, 1842: I love First Passed the Post; it makes elections so much more predictable. 100% of eligible voters go Conservative.
April 13, 1842: France and UK kiss and make up with a White Peace. There went THAT opportunity.
May 28, 1842: I'll close this update by showing you who I've been influencing.
Korea for Iron and Coal (until I get the necessary courage to jump Belgium), Egypt for the Suez Canal, and Belgium so no one else influences them; Belgium is interestingly in no one's sphere at present.
I'd call this first period a B+; I did everything in SE Asia I said I'd do, beat France relatively easily, but missed a golden opportunity to pick up Belgium. I've maxed out Defense Spending to build up my army for the eventual invasion. Perhaps my greatest flaw as an AHD player is my innate conservatism; my brain is still EU3 geared, where I keep thinking I'll have more opportunities to beat an opponent if I just wait. I'll play tomorrow and update against Tuesday or Wednesdays -- thank goodness for Thanksgiving break!
