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A Tale of Two City-States: A Venetian-Novgorodan AAR

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Hey everyone, I'll be out ona trip with my wife the next day and a half, so no new updates until after then, but I'll be back to it by Sunday night.

RGB Yep, although there are still a few powers Italy can't beat (we'll see one in the next Italy update), it seems to be getting to a point where noone can defeat Italy, either.

Pro Yeah, played ahead a bit and it's getting really close t the end of the line. :wacko:

Malurous Thanks, it feels good to get back to writing these. The Navarrese game should get a lot more interesting soon.

Abraxas That's kind of my goal for them now. If they finish early, I'll have to take someone else on. France is an ally, so the only other major faction left holding what used to be Roman territory is Castille. :D
 
I have a question for everyone. This being the first time I've played a game so far, I have this strange urge to load up as England and have them release the U.S., just because I've never seen the country in game before.

Maybe I could even have all the American countries released as kind of a colonial mass rebellion thing. :p It would have very little bearing on the story, aside from some lost Italian colonies (that they don't really need to be rich anyway). What do you guys think?
 
I'd say go for it. I do that sometimes too just to see what happens. Just that I usually do it for my own colonies only but it might be nice if all of the new world is released and there's an entirely new dynamic region in the world
 
Sure. Could be fun...
 
Having the US actually revolt would be cool... I guess that's just not going to happen. Loading as England and releasing them is a workaround, but the problem is, what then? You play as neither the Brits, nor the US so it'll just be another country and another colour on the map.

Still, worth a try and just for fun :)
 
Hi everyone. I want to apologize for the lack of updates. I let mself get swamped with hotseats from another game until I finally forgot about this one. :wacko: I'm so close to the end that I really want to finish this. The next update will be up tonight. It might be a tad on the sparse side, as I catch up to where I last was in the game, but after that the aar will update as normally.
 
The 1770s and 1780s were tumultuous decades. In the first decade Italy came to conflict with England, presumably over her Colonies. More likely, the Italian president wanted to test the might of his nation against what was widely regarded as the mightiest empire ever known. A huge army was raised to invade England itself. Unfortunately this army was no more than evenly matched against England's defensive forces. Years of war went on, with neither side winning a truly decisive battle. In the end Italy had to call off the war with a white peace, and go back to fighting their traditional enemies the Mamluks.

The Russians pushed east in an attempt to break through to the Pacific Ocean but met an unexpected obstacle. England had colonized the Pacific coast of Asia. War raged between the two countries, but came to naught. England's vastly superior wealth and sea power was not enough against Russia's vast manpower reserves. They were never able to land enough troops in English Sweden to invade Russia proper, but Russia's poorly trained troops were not able to push the English armies back into the sea. Nearly a decade of war resulted in the status quo, as both sides were forced to admit they were at an impasse.

These wars were not what came to define these decades, however. Years of war between the major powers had it's effect on the colonies of the Americas. One by one, country after country rebelled.

First the colonies of North America revolted. In quick succession, Quebec, a nation calling themselves the United States, and Louisiana rebelled. A small separatist group also tried to start a nation of Canada, but were only able to come to power in a single province.









The event that would really shake up the major powers, however, was the formation of Mexico. Mexico was by far the largest and richest of the colonies to revolt, rivaling many major European powers. If they joined up with any of the other new nations, they might be able to challenge the remaining loyalists in North America for dominance of the continent.

Central America also saw rebellion, with Panama declaring indendence. Oddly, in South America only Colombia and Peru, built on the ashes of the old Incan Empire, rebelled. For now, Italy and Portugal had prevented rebellions in their territory, but there were murmurings among the colonists. Perhaps it was only a matter of time...





OOC Doh! Should have saved Italy's colonies for last. I was expecting at least Venezuela to be released. I think that Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and any other remaining South American countries can form after about 1800 or so.

This covers the two turns for which I didn't have any pics. So full updates from now on! :)
 
Yay indeed. And yay finally starting to complete a commitment I began half a year ago. I can't believe I let the aar slide only three decades from the end. :eek:o

spl said:
Yay! Independence!
Click to expand...
 
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Russia, turn very large number.

After the failure to take Pacific Coastal provinces from England, it seemed another an easier route to achieve Ivan VI's dream of an empire ranging from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific. In 1793, it was decided to bypass the English provinces altogether. Instead, a hole would be punched through Manchuria. Over the next year Russian forces shifted to the east in preparation, and in 1794 war was declared on Manchuria. Manchuria was a weak nation, allied only with Korea. Both had just fought a long, devastating war with Japan. An easy war was expected, and the neither the Manchurians nor the Koreans did anything to expel that expectation.





The Russian army, superior in numbers, training and equipment, won victory after victory over their enemies. Only a year after the war began, it ended with 6 Manchurian provinces ceded. Russia's borders now extended to less than a hundred miles from the coast.





King Ivan spent the rest of his life hunting down rebellions in his new territories, and trying to convert them to Christianity. He died in 1797, having failed to fulfill his dream. However, his son, Mikhail 1, would pick up where his father left off.

Although neither the military man nor the administrator his father was, Mikhail understood the hearts of men, and was a great diplomat. While stepping up attempts to convert his new provinces, he softened Russia's official stance on Eastern religions. His tolerance was met with increased support from his subjects in the eastern provinces, and fewer rebellions.



King Mikhail would have further diplomatic successes over the next few years, convincing Poland to become a vassal of Russia, and gaining military access from England despite their history of conflict.



Mikhail only mistake was made when attemting to fulfill his father's goals. In 1800, Mikhail declared war on Korea, knowing Manchuria would be dragged into it as their ally. What he did not know, was that Ming was also allied to Korea. What was expected to be a war against a duo of small nations turned into a war against one of the world's largest and richest nations.

Luckily for Russia Ming was weakened from years of war with Japan. It appeared the island nation had fought everyone in the west recently. Russian armies proved more competent than those of the eastern nations, and Russia finally gained their port on the Pacific along with three Manchurian provinces. A white peace was gained with ming a few months later.

June 23, 1800 would be proclaimed a national holiday, with military parades and a day off for workers across the nation. Russia had finally achieved the goal she had been driving for these past centuries. Their armies could march no further east. The nation was wealthy, with no enemies that could threaten it, and even the rampant inflation that had characterized so much of Russia's history had begun to slowly decrease. The only question was with all goals fulfilled and no dangerous enemies, what would now provide the impetus for unity so so vital to keeping the nation together?





OOC: There we go, my goal of a Russia extending to the Pacific is complete.
Italy's vassal and ally Yemen somehow managed to inherit the Mamluks, so they's another goal finished.

I have one last turn left for each nation. I just have to figure out what to do with the last couple decades. If anyone has any requests or suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them. :)
 
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Alright, I've taken a look at the save to see where things stand now for both countries.

There's roughly 1 ten year turn left to each country before the game ends, but my goals for them are fulfilled. :wacko:

I'd like to make it to the end of the game, while providing some sort of final note for the factions to go out on. I was thinking that since in my rush to reach the Pacific Russia had ended up stretching out a bit thinner than I'd planned, their last turn could be spent trying to conquer south into centra Asia. This will put them up against Ming, a nation roughly as large as they are.

For Italy it's tougher. They've grown far too powerful for most of their neighbors to be a threat. They're allied with France, who is busy stomping on Castille. Joining them in that endeavor would be a bit on the easy side, while trying to stop France in ten years would be futile, as they have a much higher land tech, twice the yearly income, and twice the manpower of Italy. :eek: I suppose I could go overseas to find an enemy... :p

What do you guys think? Anyone have a preference for how this ends?
 
As the eighteenth century came to a close Italy stood at a crossroads. Much of the nations previous centuries had been defined by wars against threatening nations. Even after Italy had become powerful enough to protect herself, there had always been their perennial enemies the Mamluks. Now what little had been left of the Mamluks had been absorbed by Italian vassal and ally Yemen. Italy had no more neighbors who could threaten her. Only France was as powerful, and Italy and France had an ancient pact dividing Europe into western and eastern spheres.

Lord Protector Paolo Vico was neither a great military man nor diplomat. His interests lied more in the day to day running of the nation. However, he had many wise men in his court, who warned him that the people, used to Italy's constant expansion, were growing restless. They told him of a rich land to the east called India, ruled by a nation called Vijayanagar.



Paolo Vico declared that the riches of this land should belong to Italy. A great fleet was commissioned from Italy's docks in the middle east, to transport armies to India. On December 30 of 1804, less than a week after Christmas, war was declared and an army of 32,000 men was landed at Dadra.





The only significant battle of the war would be the Battle of Ahmadnagar, just southeast of Italy's landing point. Over 6,000 Indians lost their lives in the battle, with minimal losses for the Italians. After that loss it seems they lost the will to fight. Although Italy never occupied a lot of their enemy's land, Vijayagnar quickly signed a treaty giving Dadra to Italy, and more importantly releasing several Indian nations, now allies of Italy.





A five year truce was signed between the two nations, but Lord Protector Paolo was not finished yet. The ink wasn't dry on the ceasefire treaty when he declared war on the Mughals, using the excuse of the war to move those of his troops still on Indian soil north to Mughal territory rather than to Italy's new territory on the west coast of the subcontinent.

The Mughal soldiers did not have the training and equipment of Italy's armies, and the battles fought in the war were incredibly onesided. Finally the Mughals were ready to sign almost any reasonable treaty, for fear of being destroyed. Lord Protector Paolo's advisors recommended he again not ask for too much land, but instead ask for the release of several more nations. In this way Italy would weaken another rival in the region and gain several new allies in future wars, without earning the ire of the world's other large nations by conquering large tracts of land quickly.





Lord Protector Paolo's last days would be marked by yet another war against the Indians. Several large battles occurred at the start of the war, but the decisive one was the battle of Katmandu, where an Indian force of almost 18,000 men was almost completely obliterated.



Lord Protector Paolo was not able to live to see the fruits of his latest war, however, dying of a tropical desease while overseeing the repair of a fortress taken in the war.

The new Lord Protector Lodovico del Carreto took off where his predecessor had left off, finishing off the Indian armies and getting an advantageous peace, with two new provincs for Italy and two more nations released.





Lodovico decided his father's policy of alternating war between the two regional powers was wise. The Mughals had somehow gotten into a war with Russia and her allies, which had been dragging on for years. Sensing weakness, He declared war on the Mughal Empire.

Lodovico had been overconfident, however, and this war saw Italy's first major loss in many decades. The whole Italian fleet was destroyed.



Thankfully this loss at sea was not joined by losses in land battles, and the Mughals were quickly forced to surrender, giving up three territories and releasing two more nations.



In one short decade, Italy had shaken out of her malaise. She had become a regional power in India, with many allies. Most importantly, there were new enemies and vast, rich territories to conquer, fueling the nation' need to expand and grow more powerful. Perhaps someday Italy would even pass up rivals England and France to become the world's most powerful nation.

 
While Italy prospered through warfare in the start of the nineteenth century, Russia found itself on the brink of falling apart. Years of warfare with the Mughals discontented the populace. While the tide of war had slowly turned in Russia's favor, the need to support large armies resulted in the confication of goods and food from the peasants. Russians everywhere were on the brink of starvation, and for a while it seemed all for naught, as no end of the war was in sight.

Finally, in 1811 the Mughals broke. Much of their land had been occupied by Russian armies, and after having lost a war with Italy some years back, they were in no mood to let themselves be destroyed by another. The Mughals would cede five territories, allowing Russia to expand further into Central Asia.





This was not enough to placate the peasants, however. Many whispered that all those lives lost in battle or starvation were traded for a handful of poor settlements, inhabited by Mongols rather than true Russians. Ironically, at the same time in Russia's steppe provinces grumbled at the discrimination they faced in the war, being the first troops to be pushed to the front of any battle. The one thing both groups agreed on was that Moscow did not have their best interests at heart.

Rebellions popped up in all parts of the country, from Novgorod to the nation's far eastern provinces. Russia's armies were overstretched, and King Fyodor spent over 5 years ruthlessly putting down the rebellions. He earned a reputation for butchery, but after much time and effort the rebellions ended.





As things settled down and Russia began to prosper economically again the populac slowly grew more content again. The prestige gained for Russia by the publishing of Boris Vishnevetski's famous book on government restored national pride to the Russian people.



King Fyodor begane to wonder if the Russian people were ready again for a war. Like most of the country's kings, he was obsessed with a need for his nation's borders to expand. He eventually settled on Ming, which was racked by rebellion from war exhaustion as his own country had been not so long ago.

The war was a relatively short one, as the King knew his people might not be ready for such an epic struggle as the one against the Mughals earlier that decade. As soon as Russia had occupied a decent chunk of land, he began sending peace offers to the Emperor of Ming. None was accepted for over a year, when King Fyodor sent an offer in jest, requesting no land but that Wu and Xia be released as free nations.



Shockingly, the Emperor accepted. Perhaps he thought a slight to King Fyodor to sign a peace offer which would give Russia no land, or perhaps those regions were already on the brink of rebellion and he saw no harm in recognizing their de facto independence. It was still shocking. Ming had given up much of it's best land and most of it's ports. In the next war they would be able to afford a fraction of the soldiers Russia could field, while Russia would find itself aided by new and powerful allies.



While displeased that his nation gained no land, King Fyodor contented himself in knowing the next war with Ming would end differently. In the meantime, Ming was not the only neighbor Russia could expand against. The truce with the Mughals was over and they were now fair game. The King ordered his armies to march to the borders of the Mughal empire and there they sit now. Everyone knows it is only a matter of time before Russia goes to war, and probably not much time at that.





OOC: The End. I can't believe I made it so far. Not only is this the longest AAR I've ever written for any game, but the first time I've ever played an EU3 game from 1453 all the way to 1822. :eek: It was a lot of fun, and I hope some of you enjoyed reading it. I've already got plans for my next AAR. :)
 
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Yes updates! :) Now, let me read them fully... ;)
 
Wow, an endscreen :) Never played that far! Pity the Italian navy was annihilated. But in the 1800s, galleys just don't field the punch necessary.

A wonderful and thoroughly pleasing aar, thank you very much Zimfan! I enjoyed each and every update. It's a shame it's over, but all's well that ends well! You accomplished your goals and even surpassed them. And, you've already started your next aar, so I still can get my Zimfan AAR Goodies! :)

A small request: How about you post a screenshot of each empire? That way we can see how far your countries have come over the years.
 
safferli Thanks. It was fun writing it. I think I saw an end game screen once when I started on the last possible day out of curiosity, but I've never played a game from 1453 all the way to the end like that. It was nice to reach my goals a full turn early. I guess Italy technically one (Yemen inhereted the Mamluks before Russia hit the Pacific Ocean) but looked at from the earlier goals I had to discard (reforming the Roman and Russian empires) Russia came a lot closer. :cool:

I badly neglected naval tech in the game, so I guess it shouldn't have surprised me. Good thing I didn't have any troops on the fleet.

I'll get those screenshots when I start up the game for my new aar today. I should warn you, it will take a lot of screens to cover both empires. :eek:

Trying something different with the new aar, we'll see how it goes. :)
 
It's really over! And you managed to beat up China!
 
t0m Finally indeed. I figured it was about time I did those last few turns. :) New aar is posted. Started it right after finishing this one.

RGB It wasn't quite as easy as my forgetting to take a lot of pics makes it out to be, but yep, Russia beat China. I tried repeatedly to get just a few provinces off of them, because my plan had been to have Russia expand into central Asia. I had no idea they'd take that release nation offer. They did have a hge war exhaustion level from a neverending war with Japan, so that might be why they were so eager. I think there were as many rebels in China as Russian soldiers. :D They'd have had no chance in another war. One of the released nations was as rich as what was left of Ming. :wacko:
 
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