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Hi blsteen , thanks for your feedback.

I am concerned myself that Castille may end up being too strong. But there some other points to be considered.
- If I leave the war, my minions will keep on fighting. Critically Aquileia will keep on being at war, putting off my diplo-annexation.
- Venice and Castille have different spheres of influence. I think the Mediterranean sea is big enough for both of us.
- Venice can't take on Castille either way. At least not in this century.
- I do want Castille to be strong. What would be the point of having it as an ally otherwise?
- The war isn't decisively won yet. Also, Tripol and Morocco may join in.
- I don't think Castille is getting that much out of this war either. Just look at the war score.
- Even if they do grab some provinces, that would be a mixed blessing. And anyway, it is Venice that has two province in Africa, while Spain has just one as of now.
- There is a strategy with Portugal which implies being allied with Castille for the whole game. If it works for Portugal, why can't it work for Venice ?

But of course, history will tell. I don't claim to be the strongest EU player around.

War score as of 1 January 1415
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Diplomatic Map
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you do NOT want Castille to be strong... a strong Castille would simply rampage through North Africa and/or Ottomans and eventually colonize the steppes - and she would do that with a fleet bigger that of England and an economy stronger that of France.

trust me, I know what I am speaking about :)

instead *you* should be the one with the strongest fleet in the Mediterranean and that has to be enough to enforce the will of the Doge upon all the heathens!
 
you do NOT want Castille to be strong... a strong Castille would simply rampage through North Africa and/or Ottomans and eventually colonize the steppes - and she would do that with a fleet bigger that of England and an economy stronger that of France.

trust me, I know what I am speaking about :)

instead *you* should be the one with the strongest fleet in the Mediterranean and that has to be enough to enforce the will of the Doge upon all the heathens!

Thanks for the tip, vasziljevic, I'll see what I can do about that with my limited skills :) Anyway, I am not playing for world domination, I have a self-imposed limit on infamy.
But but but... aren't they my allies :blink: ?
 
1415 - Castille's crusade continues...

While a vicious war is being fought in the Mediterranean, it is worth noting that Bohemia has the electors' support

bohe_1.jpg


Since I am not playing like a "blobber" I think joining the HRE and getting the emperor off my back is a good idea. My relations aren't good enough, but I am working on it.
Meanwhile Moscowy has been critically weakened by the Golden Horde, and Novgorod has blobbed.


horde_1.jpg


I keep on helping Castillia in Algeria. At least I am getting some prestige

hum_1.jpg


And some other, along with naval tradition. Who said I am not getting anything out of this war ? :)

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On March the siege of Bosnia is won. Castilla assaults Kozani after I decide to move my doge near the stack in Edirne which is getting bigger. What, do the Castillians want to be my neighbors ?

bosnia_1.jpg


They manage to conquer Kozani with an assault. So Castille, aren't you tired of war yet ?
I discover naval Technology 4 while there is some shuffling in the Balkans.

balka_1.jpg


After some shuffling we engage the Ottomans in Nis. The Turks retreat.

turk_1.jpg


We send a gift to Bohemia. We won the Battle of Edirne while the first Golden Horde pops up in Silistria.

horde_2.jpg


A desperate Turkish army is routed in Edirne.

edirne_1.jpg
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Larissa falls on 27 July 1415. 11 August Kabylia falls. That forces the Algerian fleet into The Barbary Coast where they are engaged by a coalition fleet.

fleet_1.jpg

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I cancel military access to France and England (Spain's natural rivals). Hum falls on the 16th September. Macedonia falls on 10th October. The elections comes up, and I choose a Diplomat Candidate
But I immediatley regret it....

chiogga_1.jpg


On 14 November Nis falls.
The year ends. The war is not over yet.

alg_1.jpg

bal_1.jpg


But the stupid Mameluks won't give me even 25 ducats....

mame_1.jpg
 
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Thanks for the tip, vasziljevic, I'll see what I can do about that with my limited skills :) Anyway, I am not playing for world domination, I have a self-imposed limit on infamy.
But but but... aren't they my allies :blink: ?

...for the time being :D

don't get me wrong - it's not about you. it's about the (Castilian) AI that *hungers* for conquering. anywhere. anyhow. the others have truth in what they said - Castille won't hesitate to take Kozani and then DoW the Turks again and again since they are going to have problems with the GH.
once I saw France taking Smyrna from the Turks during the latter's struggle against the Timurids - and once the French got a border with the horde... the result was France stretching from Constantinople to India (including large parts of the former GH too).

OK that's enough for scaring today :D I am *very* cautious and defensive when it comes to strategic games... maybe even paranoid a bit :)
 
I guess you're right: I think I'll white peace and let Castille and allies sort it out.
 
An artist at the doge's service painted an impression of the Battle of the Sea of Marmara, during which the Ottoman fleet was destroyed

800px-Battle_of_Lepanto_1571.jpg
 
It's true that an AI Castille is a very random expansionist. While it may seem that there's plenty of room for both of you, they most likely will come into your backyard for no apparent reason. Here's hoping that it doesn't happen this early and not as close as Kozani, but it is a bit worrying...
 
It's true that an AI Castille is a very random expansionist. While it may seem that there's plenty of room for both of you, they most likely will come into your backyard for no apparent reason. Here's hoping that it doesn't happen this early and not as close as Kozani, but it is a bit worrying...

Hmm thank for your feedback...I'll react accordingly
 
1416 : Peace with the Mameluks. The Ottomans are in trouble.

The Doge Chioggia was not happy. While it is true that he wasn't nearly as skilled as his predecessor Lomellini, he couldn't understand why Venice was fighting in a war that wasn't, after all, his war.
So he met with some elders, who had more experience in ruling a country, and they convinced him that helping Castilla become too strong may backfire.
While it was important answering to their call to arms (although it would have been better
if Venice had declared war independently, but that cannot be undone) it was necessary not to overdo it.
The Doge Chioggia so decided to conclude a White Peace with the Mameluks first thing in the year 1416.

peace_1.jpg


And peace it was. The Venetian troops immediately started retreating from the Balkans and Algeria. While that didn't change the situation in Algeria, where Spain was winning, it completely changed the situation in the Balkans,
as soon as the blockade in the Sea of Marmara was lifted. The Ottoman main army would be able to cross the straits and engage the Spanish troops there. Regrettably, our minions Naxos, Corfu and Aquileia would be involved too, because they were still in the war.

alge_1.jpg

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Chioggia was happy to be at peace. He went through Venice's balance sheet together with his advisor and didn't like what he saw. He resolved to pay the loans while waiting for the war to finish and for a chance to diplo annex Aquileia.

bala_1.jpg



The doge decided to build a constable in Venice. He was a little worried about inflation (at 3%)
but his master mint told him that it wasn't too bad, but not very good either.


consta_1.jpg


On the 8 January, he was approached by the bishop in Venice. He reminded him that the Pope is still calling for a Crusade in Morocco, and he suggested that
this could be a good time to attack Morocco, considering how beaten up the Ottoman Empire was.

But the doge wasn't sure. He wanted to see first how the Castillians would fare in the war without Venice's participitation, and was hoping Aquiliea would opt out of the war, so that he could annex it at last.
And on the 20 January, spies reported that the Ottoman army had engaged the Castillian army in Edirne.

otto_1.jpg


The scouts reported that the Castille's army, outnumbered, was beaten back by the Ottomans that could so regain control of their capital.
Panic spread among the Castillians as they found out that Ottoman army was bigger than they thought and was bent on removing Castille's presence from the Balkans.
Interestingly, nobody blamed Venice for this reversal of fortune, and the relation score between Castille and Venice kept on being skyhigh.

casti_1.jpg


In March, the Ottomans were slowly but surely regaining control of the Balkans.
balka_2.jpg


On March 10 1416, the doge received an alliance offer by Savoy. Not seeing any conflict with current alliances, he accepted. He then asked his clerks to draw a diplomatic map that he wanted to show the elders.

diplo_1.jpg


The Ottomans got also lucky, because Hungary was actively fighting the Golden Horde and critically, occupied Budjak, prompting the Golden Horde army in Silistria to retire.
News reached us that the Castillian army suffered another defeat in Macedonia and was retreating toward Kozami.

otto_2.jpg


On 11th April 1416, our scouts reported that Castillia's army had been routed in Kozani and the Ottomans were sieging Kozani. This last piece of news convinced the doge that he would rather stay at peace.

otto_3.jpg


On the 29 April, the doge was informed that Lienz was actually a core of Venice ! We gained a casus belly on Austria! Regrettably, Austria has many friends and even if weakened, can be pretty nasty.
In June, our scouts reported that Hungary and the Ottomans were having a hard time agains the Horde. While Hungary seemed to be holding his own, the Turks had serious problems and in July the golden Horde occupied Bulgaria

But they didn't lift the siege on Kozami.

otto_4.jpg


Anyway, in August 1416, the doge was notified that Castille had made a separate peace with Algiers on very good terms indeed ! He couldn't help wonder what they would have gotten without Venice's intervention...


alge_2.jpg


On 6th September, Novgorod declared war on the Golden Horde. And on 21th September, something unexpected happened. Castille sent a relief force to Kozami that engaged the Ottomans. Critically, the Ottomans had just assaulted the town and had very low morale. Meanwhile, a huge Golden Horde stack was gathering in Nis.


otto_5.jpg


As expected, the Ottomans were defeated and retreated to Larissa, the Castillians after them. The battle had ended on the 15 October. Meanwhile, we were informed that Bohemia had started a war against Silesia.
Castillian and Ottoman troops reengaged in Larissa, while the Ottomans had still very low morale, although they had defender bonus.

otto_6.jpg


The Doge was notified that an ally was at war with Bohemia. It seemed that everybody and his cousin was protecting Silesia and declared war on Bohemia, while Bohemia's allies weren't joining the war.
The Doge decided to cancel military access to Bohemia.


bohe_1.jpg


As expected, the Ottoman army was defeated in Larissa, but not routed and retreated to Kozani. Instead of pursueing, the Castillian army decided to lay siege on Larissa.
In the meantime the Golden horde was sieging the Ottomans' capital, Edirne. Meanwhile, Switzerland joined Bohemia in their war. We canceled military access to Switzerland.
By the end of the year, the situation in the Balkans was confused, but the Ottomans seemed to be in trouble.

otto_7.jpg
 
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1417 - Castilla in trouble

As the elders had forwarned, the Castillian were very aggressively engaging the Ottomans. On 23th January 1417, another Castillian army landed in Smyrna, but they had low morale after the long sail.

cast_1.jpg


Meanwhile our Hungarian allies reported that some serious fighting was occurring in Bohemia's capital.

bohe_1.jpg


As our spies in the Ottoman Administration were discovered, the fog of war prevented us from seeing what was happening in the Ottoman empire. Meanwhile, a Trade Station was opened in Treviso.
Ottomans and Castilla engaged in Smyrna and reengaged in Bursa, the Castillian army being dangerously low on morale.

cast_2.jpg


Castillia lost the battle in Bursa, while Ottomans pursued. On the first of April, the Ottomans conceded defeat to Golden Horde.
Which meant that they could concentrate on fighting Castille.

cast_3.jpg


But on 6th of April 1417, Larissa surrendered to Castille. Foolishly, the overconfident Ejercito of Valencia set to march from Larissa to Kozami, where a bigger Ottoman army was entrenched. On 19th April, two battles between Castille and the Ottomans were taking place, in Edirne and in Kozani. The Serbs were also fighting Navarra in Macedonia.


cast_4.jpg


Meanwhile our Hungarian allies reported that they were soundly beating Bohemia.

bohe_2.jpg


The Ejercito of Toledo was defeated in Edirne, in Nis and routed in Macedonia. The Ejercito of Valencia was defeated in Kozami and retreated to Larissa while being pursed by the Army of Anatolia. The Castillian allies were devastated, but were too proud to admit that they couldn't beat the Ottomans without Venice's help.

cast_5.jpg


Our spies report that King Enrique III de Trastanara broke in tears when told that the Ejercito of Valencia was routed in Larissa. He couldn't believe his ears when they reported him that Castille had virtually no army while the Ottoman armies were growing stronger by the day. Also the doge wondered whether leaving Castille in this war was a mistake. The elders reassured him that it wasn't and Castille would recover.
As Austria was recovering, noticed the Doge as well.


armies_1.jpg


Meanwhile, Bohemia accepted peace with Hungary. Heralds told us that the Ottomans recovered the province of Kozami and Larissa was under siege.

cast_6.jpg


The Doge was discovered staring at a map of Aquileia, that he so dearly wished to annect. Aragon declared war on Navarra, that called Castille to arms. Normally, that would not worry Castille, but they were already fighting on several fronts.
The Doge was reassured that Castille did, in fact, have some troops left on the main land. Meanwhile we also heard that our ally Savoy had allied with Aragon, which was confusing.

cast_7.jpg


On 12 August 1417, Tirol's ruler was excommunicated. We checked what would entail going to war with Tirol and who would follow us, but the doge didn't consider wise to declare war on a country while our allies were having trouble.

tiro_1.jpg


In fact, Hungary, was having big problems with the Golden Horde.

horde_1.jpg


Bohemia made peace with Poland. Meanwhile the Ottomans were taking it easy in the Balkans, probably because, meanwhile,
they were at war with Qara Konyunlu. On September Corfu, Naxos and Navarra accepted a white peace with the Mameluks. In October, Venice paied back a loan and only had two left.
On 20th of October, France declared war on England. And on 21th of October, at last, the great news !

aqu_1.jpg


But before asking Aquileia for annexation, the doge studied a map of the empire. While Venice was not in the HRE, Aquileia was, and critically, the Emperor might consider the provinces of Görz and Krain unlawful, while Friuli would be cored, as scripted in the mission.

impe_1.jpg


That's why he decided to worsen relationships with the Emperor. Joining the HRE can wait, he thought. An insult wasn't necessary, he revoked military access and the relationship was brought to -14. Bad enough to make a province leave the HRE.

bohe_3.jpg


He then proceeded to demand that Aquileia be asorbed into Venice. But Aquileia rejected !

aqu_2.jpg
.

"Well, we'll ask them next year" , He thought. He didn't mind waiting, since he was about do discover Government Technology 6 and the stability hit would stop research. Meanwhile, the doge was notified that Aragon was at war with both Castille and England.
Castille had already made peace with several small players in the Mediterranean, but was still at war with the Ottomans, Serbia and the Mameluks. And because of their personal union with Muscowy, they were at war with the Golden Horde as well. Which meant Venice would not probably be able to drag them in some war any time soon.

cast_8.jpg


Venice's relations with Aquileia were back to 150, and Venice asked them for military access before donating. The doge wanted to wait till the end of the year before donating. And on 2 December 1417, Castille at last accepted peace with the Mamluks : white peace.
No relevant events till the end of the year.
 
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"But the stupid Mameluks won't give me even 25 ducats....''

Going a little back, from my experience usually the AI won't give in to peace unless their army or navy is destroyed or weakened, or they are facing too much enemies.
 
1418 : War with Aragon

First thing in year 1418, the doge sent Aquileia a gift, that took relations to 184. He thought this would be a good year, but regrettably, on the 3rd of January 1418, he got a call to arms from Castille.

ara_1.jpg
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Cries were heard from the doge's cabinet. "Can't they beat Aragon on their own?" he was heard saying. In effect, the Aragon mainland was overrun with Castillian and English troops.

ara_2.jpg
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But that would be no phony war, since Venice and Aragon did share some border, in Africa.

ara_3.jpg
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Regrettably, Venice's troops had low morale because of low maintenance. The doge ordered the troops' maintenance to be increased, but that would not be enough for the troops in Tangiers to be able to fight at full morale. So he sent the bulk of his fleet to retrieve the troops in Tangiers while a smaller fleet would retrieve the troops in Albania.
He assumed this war would not last long and he was planning to join the coalition's war instead of declaring war with the "Alliance" casus belli. He feared he might end up being at war alone with Aragon.
ara_4.jpg
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The doge became a general and joined the troops in Tangiers.
In February, Government technology 5 was discovered. The doge set priority research for trade and land. And he answered Castille's call to arms. The minions joined Venice in the war while the Papal State and Savoy didn't declare war on us, as expected, since they weren't at war with Castille either. Of course, war taxes were raised. On the 11th of February, Aragon troops engaged our troops in Tangiers. Meanwhile a smaller army was about to invade Sardinia.

ara_5.jpg
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The doge made a sigh of relief when he saw Venice's fleet in the straits of Gibraltar. At least there would be a way of retreat, if things turned out bad in Tangiers. Aragon offered a white peace. that was a good omen.



ara_6.jpg


The battle of Sardinia was won, so siege in Sardinia could start.

ara_7.jpg


The battle in Tangiers raged on till March and went well for Venice, and was decisively won on the 16th of March.

ara_8.jpg


Aragon's army retreted to Ceuta while the Doge pursued. Meanwhile the doge got wind that the electors were now supporting Austria for the next emperor.
In Ceuta, Aragon's army was routed and the siege of Ceuta could begin.

ara_9.jpg


On the 1st May, an horrible event hit us. Either lose 2 stability or gain 3 inflation! The doge opted for the stability hit.

eve_1.jpg


Meanhwile Hungary made peace with Golden Horde, conceding defeat. The doge took a loan to be able to invest more on stability and be able to pay at least one the upcoming loans in 1419.
The Baleares were invaded in June.

bale_1.jpg




As the walls were breached in Ceuta, the Doge ordered an assult. As expected, the battle of the Baleares was won.

bale_2.jpg


The assault on Ceuta in June failed, but the one in July succeeded. Corfu, Aquileia and England had sent troops as well.

ceuta_1.jpg


Aragon would pay tribute of 50 ducats to get peace, but the doge thought we could get more if Venice managed to take Sardinia as well. Therefore some troups were rerouted to Sardinia.
Aragon was ready to cede Ceuta for peace, but the Doge thought the 3. infamy hit would not be worth it. Meanwhile, unexpectedly, Bohemia got what it wanted from their war and vassalized Silesia.

We joined a naval battle between Castilla and Aragon which gave us some easy prestige.

nava_1.jpg


A revolt broke out in Ceuta that took us somewhat by surprise. Meanwhile, Castille was having serious rebel problems in Algeria.

rebe_1.jpg


Walls breached in Sardinia. Meanwhile the rebels in Ceuta were defeated, but not without losses.

rebe_2.jpg


And were defeated again in Tangiers. Luckily, they retreated to Toubkhal.

rebe_3.jpg


On the 21th december, Sardinia fell after an assault.
The Doge decided it was time to sue Aragon for peace. He made Aragon release Sardinia and pay 25 ducats.

ara_10.jpg

And so, a new nation was born, Sardinia ! Which by default was Venice's ally. The Doge immediately invited Sardinia to Venice's trade league.

sardi_2.jpg


Now the doge hoped that Aquileia would make peace soon with Aragon as well....
At the beginning of 1419, the stability of Venice increased to +2 while Austria declared war on Tirol. The Doge requested a diplomatic map.

diplo_1.jpg
 
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"But the stupid Mameluks won't give me even 25 ducats....''

Going a little back, from my experience usually the AI won't give in to peace unless their army or navy is destroyed or weakened, or they are facing too much enemies.

true. the AI doesn't care much about the War Score if their army and navy are still intact (compared to its force limits) and/or its War Exhaustion is low and/or its stability is at least positive.
a while ago I had a fully blockaded Scandinavia as the Netherlands with Denmark also occupied which actually meant some 65% War Score and the AI still refused to pay even 25 ducats...
:)


as for Venice: it seems that staying out of the war with the Ottomans actually turned out well - though to be honest I doubted that the Turks would be able to stand against Castille with the GH on their back.

and a nice move in Sardinia :) however the financial situation looks like a bit dire to me with the multiple loans...
 
as for Venice: it seems that staying out of the war with the Ottomans actually turned out well - though to be honest I doubted that the Turks would be able to stand against Castille with the GH on their back.

and a nice move in Sardinia :) however the financial situation looks like a bit dire to me with the multiple loans...

Hi vasziljevics, yes, the financial situation worries me too, I'll try and sort it out. Regrettably I got several stability hits.
 
1419-1421 : Aquileia annexed at last

After leaving the war the Doge concentrated on regaining stability and on the economy. He repaid a loan in February. Meanwhile Tirol was being overrun by Austrian troops, who called their Hungarian ally to arms as well. They were marching through Treviso as well. Ah yes, we had given them military access.

tirol_1.jpg


Meanwhile, news reached us that civil war had broken out in the Golden Horde.
Castilla wasn't able to solve his rebel problems in Algeria.

alg_1.jpg


In August Aragon made peace with Corfu and Navarra. In September, the stability of our reign increased.
And on 13th September 1419, Tirol lost his short-lived independence.
We couldn't repay a loan and had to extend it. A new election came up and Ludovico Barbarigo got elected. He turned out to be a very good doge

doge_1.jpg


The year 1419 ended.
In April 1420, we helped Sardinia crush some pretender rebels. And in May 1420, again, we lost stability, because the Military was divided. We gained an offensive point.
Aquileia occupied Ceuta. The Doge hoped they would make peace with Aragon at last, but they didn't. Instead, they laid siege to the Baleares.

aqu_1.jpg


In September 1420, Aragon made peace with Naxos. In December 1420, stability was back to 3.
The Doge realized he should have cancelled the alliance with Aquileia before going to war with Aragon, or declare war independently. He could not understand why Aquileia wouldn't leave the war.
In February 1421, a revolt broke out in Crete. The doge resolved to crush it while Aquileia, at last, made peace with Aragon.
The Doge demanded annexation. It was still "unlikely". And it was again rejected.
The revolt in Crete was crushed in May 1421.

crete_1.jpg


Luckily, gifts to Aquileia were cheap. A Trade station was founded in Tangiers in July 1421.

In July 1421 another request of annexation was made to Aquileia - and rejected. The Doge considered having Bishop Giovanni VI murdered.
On 30th July 1421, the ruler of Naples was excommunicated. The doge considered declaring war on him, but annecting aquileia was still his priority. He proceeded to cancel military access to Naples, though.
We took a loan to be able to gift Aquileia. And on 29 Semptember 1421, Castille made pace with Aragon,.

ara_1.jpg

On 1th November, our master of mint died. There was enough culture to create another advisor though (99%), but the doge wasn't sure what was most needed.
On the 1st of November 1421, an annexation request was made again. And at last, it was accepted !

aqu_4.jpg


The mission was accomplished and a core on Friuli was gained. The Doge chose to replace his master of mint.

adv_1.jpg


As his predecessor recommended, he made Görz and Krain abandon the Holy Roman Empire, which took the relationship with Bohemia to -200...
But it was worth it, since Görz and Krain were gold provinces.

gold_1.jpg


And on 4th November 1421, the Doge was given the new mission - conquer Verona !

verona_1.jpg


But the doge was keener on attacking Naples first, because the ruler was excommunicated. There were no diplomats left though - the annexation waltz had taken its toll.
The National focus was taken to Görz - foremost to reduce revolt risk. The doge was also considering sending settlers into the new provinces and turning them into Lombard, although that would mean more infamy.

goerz_1.jpg


Bohemia, as expected, left our Trade League Compact. The Doge noticed that the African provinces hadn't been converted yet, but considered conversion not worth the trouble.
Regrettably, we lost the opportunity to declare war on Naples on 4th december 1421. Maybe it was for the best.


nap_1.jpg


In December 1421, the Doce checked the balance sheet.

bala_1.jpg


And was pleased to be informed that Venice had one of the best incomes in the world, even with a decreased stability.


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On 3rd December 1421, Hungary called us to arms - against Wallachia.

hun_1.jpg


The doge didn't have a real stake in this war, but decided to join in January. He increased army maintenance and sent troops to Albania and Athens, so that they could invade Epirus easily.
He would help Hungary a little and then decrease maintenance. On the 1st of January 1422, he accepted Hungary's call to arms. A diplomatic map was requested.

diplo_1.jpg
 
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I reminded you just four days ago: the screenshot limit for an AAR update is 20. I'm not going to be as lenient this time, please fix your second to last post to adhere to this rule (for instance by moving the part with the last three or four screenshots to the latest update so that neither has over 20 images) and be more careful in the future.

The Ottoman-Castilian conflict ended quite well after all. Status quo is a decent enough result as it could have been way worse.

I'm guessing that the economy will take steps forward soon - those gold provinces will help big time. Of course, should you be able to take on Austria at some point, a third one (and a core too) wouldn't hurt. ;)
 
I reminded you just four days ago: the screenshot limit for an AAR update is 20. I'm not going to be as lenient this time, please fix your second to last post to adhere to this rule (for instance by moving the part with the last three or four screenshots to the latest update so that neither has over 20 images) and be more careful in the future.

I am sorry but I was assuming the forum would tell me automatically that I am about to post too many images. Ok, I' ll remove some screenshots.
 
The Doge Ludovico Barbarigo commissioned a painting to celebrate Aquileia's annexation.
That's how the painter Gentile da Fabriano depicted the mood in Friuli after they joined their brothers in Venice. Well, he's an artist.
800px-Gentile_da_Fabriano_064.jpg
 
1422-1423 : Allies in trouble

As the year began, we raised war taxes and decided to take on Epirus. We were planning to get out of the war as soon as possible.

epirus_1.jpg


Epirus army retreated to Corfu, so we split our navy. One fleet was sent to to the Gulf of Taranto to cover the straits to Corfu and the other one engaged the Byzantine fleet in the Aegean sea. An Army of ours could then cross the straits from Janina to Corfu and engage Epirus army. Sieges in Janina, Acheae and Morea began.

fleets_1.jpg


Meanwhile, England was at war with France and Burgundy. In Corfu Epirus' army was defeated and taken prisoner, since they had no way to retreat (our fleet was blocking the straits)
As the Doge didn't see risks of engagement in this war, he lowered army maintenaince level a little. The "Flotta di Venezia" captured two ships from the Byzantines.

byza_1.jpg


The Byzantines fleet escaped into the Ionian sea, where our other fleet, the "Flotta di Sardegna" tried to intercept them. They didn't manage to do it, but the Epirus fleet was lured out from the port and engaged in the Gulf of Taranto. But that meant our "Armata of Albania" was stuck in Corfu. Epirus lost its whole navy.


tara_1.jpg

The Castillians were dealing with the Algerian rebels at last.
alg_1.jpg


While the Hungarians had invaded Wallachia, The Golden Horde was being beaten back by Castillia, Poland and rebels. In May, Zaporozhe declared independence.
horde_2.jpg


The "Land Tradition Scorned" event happened - We had naval/land +3 and this was bound to happen. The Doge opted to lose 5% army tradition. A general might have been created before that, but there were already too many loans.
Wallachia was occuped by Hungary. And on the 29th of May, peace was accepted and Oltenia was ceded to Hungary. We were at peace.
olte_1.jpg


In July, stability was back to 3. More money was minted to pay back the upcoming loan in 1423. The Doge was informed that at maxed stability, Venice had the third highest income in the world !

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He wanted also to know how our merchants were faring. He was annoyed that Liguria was so hard for us and wondered why Novgorod was embargoing us.

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We rearranged troops to be able to react to threats quickly. Venice's mighty ally, Castille, was still fighting the Horde, and therefore starting a war was not wise. There was a lot to do in peacetime as well.
A rebel army was defeated in Krain.
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They were defeated again in Görz and routed at last in Krain in March 1423.
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Bohemia declared war on Poland. In May 1423, we could pay back a loan. Two to go !
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Slowly we prepared for the war against Milan, but Castille would not follow us. They were still at war with the Golden Horde. But they would follow us in a crusade against Morocco. We reckoned the other allies would be enough. Considering Milan and Genua were at war with Naples and Provence and Bohemia was at war with Poland.
In August 1423 the likelyhood of Castilla joining us in a war against Milan increased.
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Meanwhile, Tripol became a vassal of the Mameluks.
Ludovico Barbarigo was reelected into office.
The eldermen told the Doge that a war with Milan was necessary and now the opportunity was there. Castille wasn't really needed in this war. It was necessary to expand into Italy as soon as possible, before other countries became interested.
In November 1423, army maintainance was raised. The doge wanted also to be able to pay the loan in the following year, which meant that more minting was necessary. He was planning to start the war in 1424. He would attack Milan from two fronts. Troops where sent to support the Armata di Nizza from Savoy, while Venice's main army would attack Milan from the east and conquer Verona. Venice's fleets would be in the Ligurian sea at the start of the conflict. Meanwhile, Hungary would keep Bohemia busy - not that we were really afraid of the emperor.
To give us a way to retreat in Savoy, military access to Provence and France was requested and accepted. We noticed Siena, which belonged to Genoa, was occupied by Naples.
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While Apulia being occupied by Naples meant Genua's army, which numbered 12k soldiers, was in southern Italy.
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But meanwhile, Bohemia made peace with Poland, getting Poznan. The Doge had to change his plans. Hungary was at war with the Golden Horde and might not be able to take on the emperor. The elders reminded the Doge that the emperor had military access throughout the empire and Bohemian troops might invade Italy.
Schockingly, Bohemia had more troops than Castille.

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The Doge had to put off the war plans, after being told of the size of Bohemia's army and aware of their huge land forcelimit. Army maintainance was lowered. He concentrated on sorting out the economy.
But what shocked the Doge most was learning that Hungary had no army. The Doge blamed the Golden Horde for that.
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In fact, the fog of war meant our allies might have found their death there. Even if there were three provinces still occupied by Castille.
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The doge regretted having cut his bridges with Austria. This was not the greatest time to start a war with Milan, he thought. So he set his eyes on Morocco.
Morocco had no worthy allies, the pope had called a crusade against them and there was also a good target : Sus, bordering on Ifni, which already belonged to us. There was gold in there.
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The Doge started positioning Venice's troops in preparation for a crusade against Morocco. The year 1423 ended.
 
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