After Action Report – Ottoman Empire in the Grand Campaign
This is my first attempt at an after action report so you will have to bear with me. It was also 1514 before I decided to write the report so this first mail covers the years 1492 – 1514 from memory. I will try and record more accurately in future.
The early years Jan 1492-Feb 1514
Turkey begins surrounded by enemies. To the east is the Persian Empire, with their vast territory and their twisted version of the True Faith. South lies the Mamelukes, camel-riding sand warriors with delusions of grandeur. To the immediate west is Venice, land of money grabbing merchants, and further west is Spain, land of gold grabbing conquistadors. North-west are the Austrians, Hungarians and Bohemians, a trio of trouble-makers, while the huge empire of Poland – Lithuania is positioned ominously to the North.
My strategic plan at the start of the game was to take out one or more enemies as soon as possible to avoid a series of multi-front wars. Before any alliances could begin to form, I wanted to launch a strike against a single country. As the Venetian provinces of Illyria and Ragusa were aimed like a dagger at the heartland of the Empire, I decided Venice would be the first target. I made use of the large 50+ army based on my north-west frontier to immediately launch an assault on both provinces. Both proved tough nuts but eventually they fell to my victorious troops. The hapless Venetians, too stupid to know when they are outclassed, refused my generous offer to stop knocking the stuffing out of them if they let me keep the land I already occupied. After deciding to give them a damn good hiding, I marched my army up the Adriatic coast and occupied the remaining three mainland Venetian provinces while the Turkish Marines stormed ashore and took Cyprus. Unfortunately, the rather annoying Venetian fleet was thwarting my efforts to force a complete annexation so I offered peace once again. The no doubt relieved Venetians handed over Illyria, Ragusa and Cyprus. Meanwhile, the Persians fought a short war with the Mamelukes and gained Syria. The Christian Empires were fighting amongst themselves and I was happy to leave them to it.
Buoyed by my uninterrupted smashing of the Venetians and my new alliance with Crimea, I cast my eyes around for any small, weak and friendless minor powers which might make a tasty morsel. Georgia almost leapt out of the map so I built up an army in Trabzon, declared war and marched in confidently expecting another rout. As expected, the first of the two Georgian provinces fell easily but then events took a turn for the worse. Hungary, Austria and Bohemia declared war on me, quickly followed by Poland – Lithuania. I quickly agreed a peace with Georgia, taking the province of Georgia (Georgian capital is in Sochi) and turned to face my new enemies. No sooner had I sent my armies to meet this invasion of my sovereign territories when the despicable Persians attacked in the East. Without sufficient resources to meet both enemies, I left the Persians to do their worst while I mowed down veritable hordes of Hungarians. The Poles went after my loyal ally Crimea, which managed to tie them down and keep them out of Turkey.
Eventually my diplomatic efforts, combined with stubborn Crimean resistance, bore fruit and Poland withdrew from the war without loss of territory on either side. Persia was marching into my undefended eastern territories so I sued for peace and handed over the province of Georgia. In the west, the triparte alliance of Hungary, Austria and Bohemia finally ran out of men. I counterattacked and took two Hungarian provinces before I too ran short of resources. Peace was declared in late 1493 and I gained Serbia. Considering I was attacked on all sides, I was happy to escape relatively evenly.
After a short period of peace while I got my stability up to three and rebuilt my armies, I looked around for new conquests and in 1494, declared war on the Mamelukes with the intention of a quick war in which I would grab a couple of middle eastern provinces. Some early victories raised my hopes but the Mamelukes proved impossibly stubborn about giving up territory. After initially pushing on with the hope of forcing a favourable peace, I realized the Mamelukes were crumbling fast. The war aims changed. My conquering armies marched all the way to Egypt and despite frantic Mameluke appeals for peace at any price, all opposition was ruthlessly crushed. All Mameluke territory was annexed in 1496.
Another quiet period followed in which I added Astrakhan, Kazan and the Golden Horde to my alliance. In 1498, my enemies attacked me again. Poland was first to attack, swiftly followed by Austria and its minions, Hungary and Bohemia. This time Persia sat out the war while Poland was kept busy by Kazan, Crimea and the Golden Horde. I took my chance and advanced aggressively against Hungary, taking several provinces including the capital. Peace quickly followed and I gained Croatia and Banat. I turned my attention to Poland, assisting my gallant allies, and Bessarabia was soon added to my European domain. Once again, peace broke out for a while but only as long as the peace treaties were in force. By this stage I was beginning to feel picked on, although I hoped the bullies would have learned their lesson by now.
In 1504, the largest war to date broke out. Venice, still smarting from her humiliation in 1492 launched an unprovoked attack on Illyria and was soon supported by both Poland and Spain. The cowardly Golden Horde promptly dishonoured the alliance. Only days later the punch drunk Hungarians declared their wish for another kicking. Much to my delight, and Hungary’s disbelief, the Austrians and Bohemians decided to lick their wounds and stay out of it. Next to join the “Lets get Turkey” alliance was Moldavia, trying to attack while I was unable to swat the impudent little country like a fly. Nevertheless, I was feeling confident enough to hold Poland and Spain while I went after Venice and Hungary. Unfortunately, Persia chose that moment to launch a massive attack in the East. I really hate the Persians!
I decided to hold in the West, except for my hobby of Hungarian bashing, and try to do major damage to the Persians, hopefully shortening my border and reducing any further threat. Venice soon realised the futility of trying to force my strong border defences and, after a few inconclusive naval engagements, went back to counting her money. Spain pulled out without even fighting a battle. The Hungarian capital fell to my troops again and she sued for peace, handing over the province of Pest. Poland had some success against Kazan but once my armies threatened to attack from Bessarabia, she also asked for peace and the situation in the North returned to the status quo. Moldavia, suddenly alone in the west, couldn’t sign the peace treaty fast enough. Which left those damned Persians.
The war went well in the East, with forces from Turkey, Crimea and Astrakhan capturing a number of Persian provinces. I wanted Syria and Kars, so I could split the Persians and guard against the bulk of the Persian Empire with an army in a single province. The Persians were not being very cooperative, offering my anything but the provinces I wanted. Eventually all provinces west of Tabriz were occupied and still the Persians would not concede. Knowing I had peace treaties with my western opponents, I decided to go for it and try to take out Persia once and for all. All my economy geared up to support my brave troops following in Alexander’s footsteps. Contingents of Astrakahni and Crimean troops contributed to the advance. After several years of hard slog across inhospitable terrain, the last Persian province surrended and I gleefully annexed the entire Persian Empire in early 1510.
Unfortunately, the real problems were only just beginning. Up until the point the Persian Empire fell, my religious tolerance was focused primarily on Sunni, but with Orthodox and Catholic being acceptable, if misguided alternative. Suddenly, a major part of my domain was Shiite and I was forced to accommodate four different religions. With the smallest number of provinces, the Catholics suffered the most and the Balkans exploded into rebellious flames. For some unfathomable reason, the Shiites objected to my benevolent and newly tolerant rule and several rebellions sprang up in Persia, including seventy thousand rebels in Isfahan. To add to my difficulties, everyone and his dog decided to attack me all at once. As well as the usual suspects, Poland, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Venice, I also received declarations of war from England, Portugal, Moldavia, Georgia, Tuscany, Parma, Genoa and even the Knights of Saint John. Probably realising her opportunity, Wallachia decided this would be a good time to renounce her vassal status and declare war. To cap it all, Astrakhan swapped sides and Kazan dishonoured the alliance. It would appear that annexing the Mamelukes and Persia did not improve my international popularity.
My defensive efforts could best be described as frantic. I had Venetians in Croatia, Hungarians in Pest, Poles in Bessarabia and even Spaniards on Cyprus plus rebels in at least four provinces. The only good thing was that the Rebels weren’t just fighting me but everyone that happened to pass by as well. My loyal and trusted ally Crimea also suffered greatly at the hands of Astrakhan and Poland but managed to hold on. Two things saved me from being overrun; I had fortified all my borders with level two forts, which allowed a stubborn defence with no thoughts of offensive action, and I had a good supply of diplomats. Fortunately, the Hungarians were just plain scared of me by now and signed a peace treaty as soon as I asked. After losing a lot of troops, Austria and Bohemia followed suit on December 29th 1510. Poland got into a war with Russia and Denmark in 1511 and so was happy to accept my offer of a white peace in June. As Poland was the alliance leader, that also removed Portugal and England from the war. The very next day, the alliance of Parma, Genoa, Tuscany and the Knights agreed to a cease-fire. After both being driven out of Crimea by the Turkish expeditionary force, Astrakhan accepted peace in January 1512 and Georgia in April.
I would have liked to have taught the upstart Moldavians and Wallachians a lesson but I was battered and needed time for recovery so I offered a return to the status quo. They accepted in July 1512. Spain was thrown out of Cyprus but refused to end the war. Fortunately her attention was mainly concentrated on the new world and her participation thereafter consisted of a few naval battles and a pitiful attempt at invading Illyria. Venice still stood defiant so I launched a major attack on Istria with the view of gaining the province and achieving some benefit from this drawn out defensive war. Unfortunately, heavy casualties on both sides resulted from a series of inconclusive battles and in August 1512, peace was declared without any territorial changes. In an attempt to regain the initiative against Spain, I launched a seaborne invasion of Malta but it bogged down and as of February 1514, the siege of Malta continues.
Several rebellions in Persia, the Balkans and Lebanon were put down in the years from 1510 – 1513. In an attempt to avoid further trouble, the provinces of Banat in the West and Armenia and Georgia in the East were converted to Sunni Muslim. New trouble flared in December 1513 with a rebellions in Illyria and previously quiet Serbia. Troops are on their way to crush the treason. The final event of the early years was a declaration of war on Turkey by the Papal States and Savoy in January 1514. I can only guess the Pope has a death wish.
This is my first attempt at an after action report so you will have to bear with me. It was also 1514 before I decided to write the report so this first mail covers the years 1492 – 1514 from memory. I will try and record more accurately in future.
The early years Jan 1492-Feb 1514
Turkey begins surrounded by enemies. To the east is the Persian Empire, with their vast territory and their twisted version of the True Faith. South lies the Mamelukes, camel-riding sand warriors with delusions of grandeur. To the immediate west is Venice, land of money grabbing merchants, and further west is Spain, land of gold grabbing conquistadors. North-west are the Austrians, Hungarians and Bohemians, a trio of trouble-makers, while the huge empire of Poland – Lithuania is positioned ominously to the North.
My strategic plan at the start of the game was to take out one or more enemies as soon as possible to avoid a series of multi-front wars. Before any alliances could begin to form, I wanted to launch a strike against a single country. As the Venetian provinces of Illyria and Ragusa were aimed like a dagger at the heartland of the Empire, I decided Venice would be the first target. I made use of the large 50+ army based on my north-west frontier to immediately launch an assault on both provinces. Both proved tough nuts but eventually they fell to my victorious troops. The hapless Venetians, too stupid to know when they are outclassed, refused my generous offer to stop knocking the stuffing out of them if they let me keep the land I already occupied. After deciding to give them a damn good hiding, I marched my army up the Adriatic coast and occupied the remaining three mainland Venetian provinces while the Turkish Marines stormed ashore and took Cyprus. Unfortunately, the rather annoying Venetian fleet was thwarting my efforts to force a complete annexation so I offered peace once again. The no doubt relieved Venetians handed over Illyria, Ragusa and Cyprus. Meanwhile, the Persians fought a short war with the Mamelukes and gained Syria. The Christian Empires were fighting amongst themselves and I was happy to leave them to it.
Buoyed by my uninterrupted smashing of the Venetians and my new alliance with Crimea, I cast my eyes around for any small, weak and friendless minor powers which might make a tasty morsel. Georgia almost leapt out of the map so I built up an army in Trabzon, declared war and marched in confidently expecting another rout. As expected, the first of the two Georgian provinces fell easily but then events took a turn for the worse. Hungary, Austria and Bohemia declared war on me, quickly followed by Poland – Lithuania. I quickly agreed a peace with Georgia, taking the province of Georgia (Georgian capital is in Sochi) and turned to face my new enemies. No sooner had I sent my armies to meet this invasion of my sovereign territories when the despicable Persians attacked in the East. Without sufficient resources to meet both enemies, I left the Persians to do their worst while I mowed down veritable hordes of Hungarians. The Poles went after my loyal ally Crimea, which managed to tie them down and keep them out of Turkey.
Eventually my diplomatic efforts, combined with stubborn Crimean resistance, bore fruit and Poland withdrew from the war without loss of territory on either side. Persia was marching into my undefended eastern territories so I sued for peace and handed over the province of Georgia. In the west, the triparte alliance of Hungary, Austria and Bohemia finally ran out of men. I counterattacked and took two Hungarian provinces before I too ran short of resources. Peace was declared in late 1493 and I gained Serbia. Considering I was attacked on all sides, I was happy to escape relatively evenly.
After a short period of peace while I got my stability up to three and rebuilt my armies, I looked around for new conquests and in 1494, declared war on the Mamelukes with the intention of a quick war in which I would grab a couple of middle eastern provinces. Some early victories raised my hopes but the Mamelukes proved impossibly stubborn about giving up territory. After initially pushing on with the hope of forcing a favourable peace, I realized the Mamelukes were crumbling fast. The war aims changed. My conquering armies marched all the way to Egypt and despite frantic Mameluke appeals for peace at any price, all opposition was ruthlessly crushed. All Mameluke territory was annexed in 1496.
Another quiet period followed in which I added Astrakhan, Kazan and the Golden Horde to my alliance. In 1498, my enemies attacked me again. Poland was first to attack, swiftly followed by Austria and its minions, Hungary and Bohemia. This time Persia sat out the war while Poland was kept busy by Kazan, Crimea and the Golden Horde. I took my chance and advanced aggressively against Hungary, taking several provinces including the capital. Peace quickly followed and I gained Croatia and Banat. I turned my attention to Poland, assisting my gallant allies, and Bessarabia was soon added to my European domain. Once again, peace broke out for a while but only as long as the peace treaties were in force. By this stage I was beginning to feel picked on, although I hoped the bullies would have learned their lesson by now.
In 1504, the largest war to date broke out. Venice, still smarting from her humiliation in 1492 launched an unprovoked attack on Illyria and was soon supported by both Poland and Spain. The cowardly Golden Horde promptly dishonoured the alliance. Only days later the punch drunk Hungarians declared their wish for another kicking. Much to my delight, and Hungary’s disbelief, the Austrians and Bohemians decided to lick their wounds and stay out of it. Next to join the “Lets get Turkey” alliance was Moldavia, trying to attack while I was unable to swat the impudent little country like a fly. Nevertheless, I was feeling confident enough to hold Poland and Spain while I went after Venice and Hungary. Unfortunately, Persia chose that moment to launch a massive attack in the East. I really hate the Persians!
I decided to hold in the West, except for my hobby of Hungarian bashing, and try to do major damage to the Persians, hopefully shortening my border and reducing any further threat. Venice soon realised the futility of trying to force my strong border defences and, after a few inconclusive naval engagements, went back to counting her money. Spain pulled out without even fighting a battle. The Hungarian capital fell to my troops again and she sued for peace, handing over the province of Pest. Poland had some success against Kazan but once my armies threatened to attack from Bessarabia, she also asked for peace and the situation in the North returned to the status quo. Moldavia, suddenly alone in the west, couldn’t sign the peace treaty fast enough. Which left those damned Persians.
The war went well in the East, with forces from Turkey, Crimea and Astrakhan capturing a number of Persian provinces. I wanted Syria and Kars, so I could split the Persians and guard against the bulk of the Persian Empire with an army in a single province. The Persians were not being very cooperative, offering my anything but the provinces I wanted. Eventually all provinces west of Tabriz were occupied and still the Persians would not concede. Knowing I had peace treaties with my western opponents, I decided to go for it and try to take out Persia once and for all. All my economy geared up to support my brave troops following in Alexander’s footsteps. Contingents of Astrakahni and Crimean troops contributed to the advance. After several years of hard slog across inhospitable terrain, the last Persian province surrended and I gleefully annexed the entire Persian Empire in early 1510.
Unfortunately, the real problems were only just beginning. Up until the point the Persian Empire fell, my religious tolerance was focused primarily on Sunni, but with Orthodox and Catholic being acceptable, if misguided alternative. Suddenly, a major part of my domain was Shiite and I was forced to accommodate four different religions. With the smallest number of provinces, the Catholics suffered the most and the Balkans exploded into rebellious flames. For some unfathomable reason, the Shiites objected to my benevolent and newly tolerant rule and several rebellions sprang up in Persia, including seventy thousand rebels in Isfahan. To add to my difficulties, everyone and his dog decided to attack me all at once. As well as the usual suspects, Poland, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Venice, I also received declarations of war from England, Portugal, Moldavia, Georgia, Tuscany, Parma, Genoa and even the Knights of Saint John. Probably realising her opportunity, Wallachia decided this would be a good time to renounce her vassal status and declare war. To cap it all, Astrakhan swapped sides and Kazan dishonoured the alliance. It would appear that annexing the Mamelukes and Persia did not improve my international popularity.
My defensive efforts could best be described as frantic. I had Venetians in Croatia, Hungarians in Pest, Poles in Bessarabia and even Spaniards on Cyprus plus rebels in at least four provinces. The only good thing was that the Rebels weren’t just fighting me but everyone that happened to pass by as well. My loyal and trusted ally Crimea also suffered greatly at the hands of Astrakhan and Poland but managed to hold on. Two things saved me from being overrun; I had fortified all my borders with level two forts, which allowed a stubborn defence with no thoughts of offensive action, and I had a good supply of diplomats. Fortunately, the Hungarians were just plain scared of me by now and signed a peace treaty as soon as I asked. After losing a lot of troops, Austria and Bohemia followed suit on December 29th 1510. Poland got into a war with Russia and Denmark in 1511 and so was happy to accept my offer of a white peace in June. As Poland was the alliance leader, that also removed Portugal and England from the war. The very next day, the alliance of Parma, Genoa, Tuscany and the Knights agreed to a cease-fire. After both being driven out of Crimea by the Turkish expeditionary force, Astrakhan accepted peace in January 1512 and Georgia in April.
I would have liked to have taught the upstart Moldavians and Wallachians a lesson but I was battered and needed time for recovery so I offered a return to the status quo. They accepted in July 1512. Spain was thrown out of Cyprus but refused to end the war. Fortunately her attention was mainly concentrated on the new world and her participation thereafter consisted of a few naval battles and a pitiful attempt at invading Illyria. Venice still stood defiant so I launched a major attack on Istria with the view of gaining the province and achieving some benefit from this drawn out defensive war. Unfortunately, heavy casualties on both sides resulted from a series of inconclusive battles and in August 1512, peace was declared without any territorial changes. In an attempt to regain the initiative against Spain, I launched a seaborne invasion of Malta but it bogged down and as of February 1514, the siege of Malta continues.
Several rebellions in Persia, the Balkans and Lebanon were put down in the years from 1510 – 1513. In an attempt to avoid further trouble, the provinces of Banat in the West and Armenia and Georgia in the East were converted to Sunni Muslim. New trouble flared in December 1513 with a rebellions in Illyria and previously quiet Serbia. Troops are on their way to crush the treason. The final event of the early years was a declaration of war on Turkey by the Papal States and Savoy in January 1514. I can only guess the Pope has a death wish.
keep it going. did you see my A sultan rides forth aar? Austria and Hungary can be a piece of cake to annex sometimes, but those Persians are something else entirely 