Baltic Lightning: a Grand Campaign AAR [EU4 Branch]

[Centurial]

Chapter 17: Vultures (1701-1708)



The Livonian armies traveled south to Bulgaria, defeating the merchant rebels on the way. Livonia’s manpower reserves were still decent, so ideally the highly-defensible terrain of Bulgaria would be enough to repel Bavaria’s giant army.

After taking a few months to replenish its forces, Livonia moved into Bulgaria. Bavaria had armies all over the northern border, so Livonia entered through the plains to the east, where they were met in the enormous Battle of Buzau. Over 200,000 soldiers were involved in the battle – ultimately, the constant stream of Bavarian reinforcements overwhelmed Livonia and they retreated, but Bavaria had still taken more casualties.

The Baltic Navy was sent all the way to Italy to help blockade Bavaria, which caught the country by surprise.

While Livonia’s armies were still fighting in the south, the newly-acquired territory was left unguarded. A massive rebellion broke out in Sweden, primarily in the lands taken directly from Halsingland. In addition, there was a weaker rebellion in Africa.

The Livonian armies returned to Bulgaria just in time to save its army from being destroyed, and the Bavarian reinforcements were counterattacked and defeated.

Almost two years into Bavaria’s southern campaign, Al-Turkis invaded Bulgaria from the south. The war against Bavaria was already difficult, but there was no possible way Livonia could defeat a dual-invasion. In addition, Al-Turkis was allied to Iraq, and Livonia had friendly relations with both those countries. Kurlemuse reluctantly decided to withdraw his forces from Bulgaria.

As the soldiers returned home, a Bavarian army attempted to chase them, believing them defeated. They followed Livonian armies all the way north before realizing they were outnumbered, so they moved south to besiege the border regions, which Bavaria had claims to. The siege was left alone for several months before being ambushed and defeated.

By February of 1704, all of Bulgaria had been occupied – mostly by Al-Turkis. No peace deal had been made yet, so the king feared that Bavaria might attempt a full invasion of Livonia to take the land they claimed along the border. However, the Bavarians must have realized this would be impossible, and agreed to a separate white peace in June.

Over the course of the war, Bavaria had lost nearly 200,000 men, ¼ of them to attrition alone. The strength of Livonia’s armies caught them by surprise after it had been so easily defeated 20 years ago.

The Scandinavian rebellions had spread like a wildfire while the soldiers were gone – it would take nearly 15 months to defeat and capture all of the rebels, including those in Africa.

There were still potential rebels in the rest of the country which were making demands as well – the loss of men and occupation of several border territories [including Warsaw] for the sake of overseas possessions was upsetting to the minority cultures on the country’s outskirts.

The country was in debt once more, although repaying this debt wasn’t nearly as difficult since the country wasn’t hampered by war reparations or financial mismanagement. Several rebellions continued to pop up, including a revolt of the nobility, Mordvinian separatists, and Muslims which hadn’t been deported or converted yet.

By the year 1707, the political dynamics of the New World were shifting – colonialism had boomed in the last century, but now unclaimed territory was becoming rare. The first independent countries on the continents had also been established – Zaya’s colonies had declared independence following the collapse of their overlord. The country of Al’ Arjantin was the first to be free, but they were currently being invaded by Ferrara, which was creating a colony of its own on the southern tip.

The united islands of Haiti had also become independent from Ferrara, during the Ferrarese Succession War.

The native nation of Cusco spanned most of the west coast of South America, not yet conquered by any Europeans. The colony of Bresil was growing quickly on the other side of the continent (despite currently being distracted by a war with Sicily).

North America’s coasts were mostly claimed, although the inland plains were contested. The Chinese colonies on the West Coast continued to grow, but it was starting to look like the Ming Dynasty was on its way out. Aquitaine attempted to regain control of Louisiana from the independent ex-Zaya colony, while the East Coast was dominated mainly by England’s massive colonies, along with several outposts of Isbania.

Livonia had successfully colonized the coasts of Greenland after reaching the limits of its other colony, although the population and resources of the island were quite miniscule.

Back in Europe, Bulgaria had been carved up after the dual invasion – Al-Turkis had conquered the most territory, but Bavaria had made gains as well. While the destruction of Bulgaria was obviously not a good thing for Livonia, it was advantageous that Al-Turkis had been the country to make the most gains. Even though Livonia had withdrawn from the war, their battles against Bavaria had delayed them from advancing.

In a move that enraged the Bulgarians, Kurlemuse formed an alliance with Al-Turkis. Both countries were rivals to Bavaria and the Uyunids, and Al-Turkis would make a far more powerful ally than Bulgaria ever was. Between Iraq, Al-Turkis, and Livonia, the three-way Eastern Alliance was certainly a powerful entity.

 

[stnylan]

A honourable peace

Actually overall a really good war. Proved yourself against Bavaria, allied Al-Turkis, and generally ready for the next showdown.

 

[Centurial]

A honourable peace

Actually overall a really good war. Proved yourself against Bavaria, allied Al-Turkis, and generally ready for the next showdown.

And what a showdown it will be. This kind of conflict isn't the kind that can be extinguished in just one war.

 

[Centurial]

Chapter 18: The Leftist Movements (1708-1731)



Despite losing their gains to Livonia, Brabant had grown to be larger than ever, after a dual-invasion of Brunswick with their Germanic ally. They had also annexed territories in Scandinavia, giving them a small but noteworthy foothold on the region.

As the new century continued, a wave of liberalism started to spread throughout Europe, including Livonia. People of Livonia were specifically requesting more influence over state affairs, especially those from the far reaches of the country, like Stockholm and Prussia.

The army reforms of Kurlemuse were completed in 1710 – the war had come earlier than expected, but the experience from it certainly helped to finish its modernization. Now, Livonia’s armies were generally of the same quality as their enemies, although the leadership was still lacking compared to the extensively-trained Brabantian officers.

The navy of Livonia had proven to be the dominant force in the north, but Brabant’s was still close in strength, especially after gaining more land. The effort to grow and maintain the Baltic Navy continued.

Even after the chaos of Livonia’s rebellions subsided, the cries for regional representation continued. The government gave no response, but it was beginning to become clear that in order to curtail all the factions in such a large country, changes might have to be made.

In 1710 after decades of famine, political scandals, and intrigue, the Ming Dynasty lost control over China. The country was fractured once again, as several local warlords fought to claim the title of Emperor.

Ming’s colonies were claimed by several of the warlords, but none of them had any ability to enforce their claims. As a result, the two colonial nations of Beixue and Jiazhou gained de facto independence, although at the time they promised to rejoin the Empire if it was reunited.

The nation of Zaya had lost almost all of their territory by this point – they still held many islands, much of the West African coast, and their colony in South Africa, but the country’s homeland was almost completely in enemy hands.

Most of Al’Arjantin had been annexed by Ferrara, which was trying to gain a powerful presence in the south.

Colombia was bitterly contested between Sicily and Haiti, who had rushed to grab as much land as possible. Aquitaine also had claims on the western Sicilian colony, but they were more focused on their other territories at the moment.

The tribal portions of Africa were mainly under the control of large, decentralized kingdoms. While there wasn’t much cooperation on a countrywide level between the chiefs, their confederation discouraged European invasion.

At home, trade continued to expand, especially now that the Scandinavian territories had been recaptured. Increased shipping of resources to and from the New World meant that any nation invested in trade could become very rich.

The country of Karenia had grown to be massive after several conquests in the Steppes and India. Persia had agreed to formerly protect Uyunid independence as well, although they stayed out of a formal alliance. The Livonian leadership was mostly content with this situation, as long as the Uyunids remained weak. Even if they managed to convince Karenia to invade Livonia, mobilizing armies over such a distance would give plenty of time to react, and the eastern forces were outdated.

Aquitaine’s weakness was turning into a full decline by this point. They’d lost valuable land to Brabant and Bavaria, and Isbania had even recently recaptured their territory, leaving Aquitaine with weak defense and disconnected territories.

Livonia spent lots of money during the 1710s improving military infrastructure, building several training camps and recruitment centers around the country. The fortifications along the west border were also improved, after proving to be useful during the last war. Brabant and Bavaria’s cooperation was a huge threat, especially given their bitterness.

The composition of Livonia’s armies was completely rearranged as well – now, the individual armies were larger in size, with more emphasis on extensive lines of infantry supported by field cannons and mortars.

The land Livonia had retaken from Brabant was now being subject to military crackdown – against both Scandinavian nationalists and Brabantian citizens who had immigrated during their rule – several were expelled from the country, and Catholic churches were demolished.

The income of Livonia, by the 1720’s, was far more balanced than it had been historically– trade was still the single largest source of income, but production and exports were also a significant part of the economy, even more so than direct taxation.

In 1728, the death of Kurlemuse III ignited a political crisis within the country. His previous heir had died a few years earlier, and the only other choice was his 1-year-old daughter. Immediately, mass protests erupted amongst the liberal agitators desiring a new, modern system – the most popular demand was an elective, non-dynastic monarchy. The Queen-Regent, 61 years old herself, had little control over the situation, so she was forced to compromise in order to prevent disaster.

The final decision was that as of 1729, Livonia would become a constitutional monarchy, in which a parliament would be elected from regions of the country to make legislative decisions that affected the whole country. Ideally, this would help appease some of the outer territories. Of the parliamentary seats, the majority were from Liivimaa, several more were from Prussia, and the remaining seats were given to the regions of Stockholm, Warsaw, Minsk, and Novgorod.

Similar systems had already been adopted in England and Isbania, but Livonia was the first eastern country to do so. The succession crisis meant that the Queen-Regent would oversee the council for the next 14 years, but in the end, the crisis had actually led to a system that would help hold the country together.

The social impact of the changes was widespread as well – Liberalism became more common amongst those who lived in seated regions, and rationalistic thinking became more common, fueled in part by the universities and backlash against the religious oppression of neighboring countries. The European Jews had always traditionally prided themselves on being more open-minded than the oppressive Christian and Muslim leaders, and such an emphasis on trade had also exposed the country to many different customs and ideas. The liberal movement hadn’t started in Livonia, but it had developed uniquely in the country after being influenced by both English-style government and western anti-Catholic liberalism.

Livonia had survived the crisis, and thus far the changes made seemed to be for the better. The younger generation’s new ideas were now steering the country, but there were still many old problems that needed to be dealt with.

 

[stnylan]

So let us see if this new generation has any more effective answers to these old questions

 

[Centurial]

Chapter 19: The Germanic War: Two Fronts (1731-1740)



By the mid-1730’s, the balance of power in Europe had mostly settled. Brabant and Bavaria dominated central Europe, protecting both Halsingland and Germany. In the west, Aquitaine was deteriorating, while both Isbania and England stayed out of European affairs. Livonia and its vassals held stable in the east, protected by Al-Turkis and Iraq and unthreatened by the Uyunids. It had been two decades since Livonia humbled Brabant after taking advantage of its weakened state, but now both the Germanic and Eastern allies were on equal footing. Large armies and war reserves were held by every one of the major powers, and the situation was tense while each one waited for a moment of weakness in the other.

However, the Livonian public had grown confident. After the new government was established, public opinion soared. The economy had been going strong for 20 years, and the military had already been transformed. Feeling emboldened, the Livonian parliament pushed for the Queen-Regent to declare war.

Preparing for a conflict, Livonia formed an alliance with Aquitaine. The country’s army was weak, but they were eager to take back their land, and an alliance with them would split the enemy into two fronts.

After extensive preparation and buildup of the army, war was finally declared against Brabant, Bavaria, and Halsingland in November of 1736, with the assistance of Al-Turkis and Aquitaine. This conflict, huge in both scale and importance, would come to be known in Livonia as the Germanic War.

When war was declared, the Eastern forces appeared to have a numerical advantage, as Bavaria was slow to mobilize and fully deploy its forces. Regardless, Brabant’s armies were perhaps the highest quality in the world, and Bavaria had masses of well-equipped troops at its disposal.

The first objective in Livonia’s plan was to quickly knock Halsingland out of the war. As soon as the declaration was sent, an army marched straight towards the capital, assisted by a full blockade of the Baltic Navy. Halsingland’s army was inferior in size, tactics, and technology - it stood no chance.

In the first month, the majority of enemy forces moved towards Aquitaine – the country’s armies were in a horrible state, and the northern half of the country was almost completely unfortified since their border had been pushed back so far in recent years. Brabant immediately moved to attack Aquitaine’s exclaves, which were the only territories actually fortified along the border.

The first official parliamentary decree was signed in December, ordering large amount of food to be sent directly to the armies.

The invasion of Sweden rushed along over the winter – the capital was being quickly besieged, thanks to masses of cannons and a full naval blockade.

Once again, Germany allowed Livonia to have military access through their country. After Halsingland, the plan was to force Bavaria’s surrender, which would be very difficult. Bavaria’s territory was massive and extensively fortified. While an invasion from the east via Kiev was the most straightforward approach, it would take years to push through that much territory. Instead, the leadership would attempt something bold – Bavaria’s capital wasn’t too far from the border with Germany, so the armies would be concentrated there, and attempt to quickly break through the surrounding defenses into the capital.

One month later, the capital of Halsingland had been seized, and the two countries agreed to cease hostilities, with the only demand being dissolution of the alliance. The invading army returned to Prussia, while the Baltic Navy moved to control the Danish Strait.

The push into Bavaria began unopposed – their armies were still moving into Aquitaine and were slow to react.

By June, the Livonian armies were approaching the outskirts of Munich when both of the Germanic countries withdrew their forces to counterattack. The Livonians were taken by surprise with two separate attacks on their split forces, and both were forced to retreat.

Meanwhile, two months after Halsingland’s peace with Livonia, the Uyunids invaded. Their army was already decimated, and there were no allies to protect them.

After retreating, the Livonian forces took two months to regroup, while also meeting up with the Scandinavian army. In August, another attack was attempted through Germany, this time with the full army. The Livonians reached the German province of Eger when they were intercepted by an army from Brabant. As the battle was fought, an enormous Bavarian force moved in to reinforce – the Livonians retreated again to avoid defeat.

The invasion plan had been ambitious, but it was flawed. Moving through Germany, there was little warning before enemy attack, especially given how quickly the enemies could divert entire armies from the Aquitanean front to attack. Instead, the commanders reached the unfortunate conclusion that Bavaria would have to be invaded from Kiev.

Al-Turkis had made some minor gains already along their border, and they had a powerful army ready to assist. The initial invasion began rather quickly, as the fortifications in Bavaria’s far east were minor – it wasn’t until the heavy Vienna Line that the defensive fortifications would become a true obstacle.

By September of 1738, nearly two years into the war, almost all of north Aquitaine had been occupied. There was little that could be done to assist them – originally, the Livonians planned to reinforce them after Bavaria’s capitulation, but now both countries were restricted to their own fronts.

The push in the east continued, but Bavaria’s main army was approaching. The Battle of Pest was Bavaria’s attempt to halt the eastern push – the fighting was mostly even, but the approaching reinforcements from Al-Turkis forced Bavaria to retreat.

The advance continued, as Aquitaine continued to lose land. During the Second Battle of Pest, the Bavarian reinforcements were cut off, and the Easterners won a huge victory. Two more battles were fought nearby with smaller Bavarian detachments, both of which had the same result.

The Livonians were forced to delay their advance briefly when Brabant moved through Germany and besieged Chelmno – the Livonians attacked from three different directions and forced them to fall back.

By August 1739, three years into war, Aquitaine was almost completely occupied, but bravely refused to capitulate. The push through Bavaria was going well, but it had approached the Vienna Line. From now on, the advance would be slow and costly.

By January 1740, as the Easterners continued to win battles against Bavaria, and now occupied much of their land, a separate peace was agreed According to the terms, Bavaria would (temporarily) break their alliance with Brabant, and immediately pay a large sum of war reparations to Livonia.

The payment would help fund the mercenaries that Livonia would need to attack Brabant, as the push through Bavaria had cost the country all of its manpower reserves. The upcoming invasion would be difficult, given Brabant’s excellent armies and heavy fortifications.

 

[Cossack_of_Hetmanschina]

What is culture in Kiev?

 

[stnylan]

This is a very difficult war, but so far so good. Of course, the Uyunids growing up north isn't so good.

 

[Centurial]

What is culture in Kiev?

It's quite multicultural, actually. It's about 40% Khazar descendants [from the state that existed in the area after the mongol collapse], 20% Russian [actually the only region in the world with Rus culture, as opposed to Mordvin which dominated most of Russia], 20% Mordvin, and then the last 20% is scattered between other minorities.

 

[Cossack_of_Hetmanschina]

It's quite multicultural, actually. It's about 40% Khazar descendants [from the state that existed in the area after the mongol collapse], 20% Russian [actually the only region in the world with Rus culture, as opposed to Mordvin which dominated most of Russia], 20% Mordvin, and then the last 20% is scattered between other minorities.

Which means that Russians here are Ukrainians,and Mordvins are Russians(in relation to OTL)?

 

[Centurial]

Which means that Russians here are Ukrainians,and Mordvins are Russians(in relation to OTL)?

More or less, yes. The culture of Kiev is a bit more diverse and disconnected, since their borders were created by Livonia rather than forming naturally. Mordvinia is more straightforward, it's essentially like OTL except the Mordvin tribes dominated the region instead of the Rus tribes (well, until the Uyunids came in and screwed everything up)

 

[Centurial]

Chapter 20: The Germanic War: Bold Moves (1740-1745)



At the time of the peace deal, Brabant had an army moving to encircle the Livonian advance. Their army was almost 50,000 strong, and after Bavaria’s capitulation (and the breaking of their alliance), Brabant’s forces were trapped. Every soldier in the army was rather killed or captured – a huge blow to Brabant.

In 1741, Aquitaine finally capitulated after five years of brave resistance. In the peace, they lost more land to Brabant, most notably the trade hub of Champagne. Their capitulation was something that the Livonians knew was inevitable, but Aquitaine had defiantly remained in the war for quite a long time. It was unfortunate that they couldn’t be helped, but their sacrifices had certainly not been in vain.

Now, Brabant was outnumbered and alone. Their army had been exhausted during the long invasion of Aquitaine, and only one month earlier they had lost an entire army in Livonia. The country was still rich enough to finance the war easily, but the army was running out of men.

After destroying the Brabantian army, Livonia’s forces moved to recapture the forts along its border. In the meantime, Brabant sent an army into Scandinavia while the Baltic Navy was busy blockading their home coast. After recapturing the forts, Al-Turkis and Livonia attempted to trap the invaders in Scandinavia. The Baltic Navy was moved into the strait, and the attack commenced.

Up until this point, the Baltic Navy had not actually seen combat in this war. Now, Brabant sent out their entire fleet to cover the army’s retreat into Denmark. In the ensuing battle, Brabant lost 6 capital ships to Livonia’s 8 before retreating to the port in Sjaelland. Livonia had far more ships in reserve, so it was a pyrrhic victory for Brabant, but the battle gave their army room to retreat.

The Livonians rushed forward into the port in order to draw the navy back out – in the resulting fight, another 4 capitals of Brabant were sunk, leaving them with only 1.

While this was happening, Brabant ordered an army of mercenaries to flank around and capture Livonia’s unmanned fortifications on the Uyunid border. Unbeknownst to them, most of the armies were still standing by in Prussia, and proceeded to neutralize yet another enemy force.

This turned out to only be a distraction – the enemy King sent the entire army back into Scandinavia during the fight. Seeing the opportunity, the Livonians transported their troops all the way to Stockholm, so the enemy wouldn’t know they were coming. After they all landed, they marched together and attacked. This time, there was no navy to cover a retreat, so after a fierce battle, a third Brabantian army was entirely defeated and captured.

The maneuvers of Brabant in this stage of the war were a disaster – their King, Conan Van Heinsburg, had constantly interfered with military plans to order overambitious and unrealistic attacks, and now he had paid the price by losing his entire standing army. At this point, there weren’t any cannons in reserve and Brabant didn’t have the manpower to create an entire new army, so the country would have to be defended by hired men and levies.

During the last war, the Livonians had learned how difficult it was to break through Brabant’s forts in Denmark; trying to invade the country from that direction would take years. Livonia was also running very low on manpower and equipment, so instead, they made a plan with Aquitaine. The lands of Holland were still owned by the country, which happened to be very close to Brabant’s capital. Their western border was weakly defended, since the threat of invasion by Aquitaine was almost nonexistent.

The Livonian Armies loaded onto the transports and landed in Holland, where they were attacked by the large but underequipped enemy army – they were unable to prevent the landing and were forced to retreat.

The year was now 1743, and Queen Agita was finally old enough to take the throne. This entire time, Livonia had been ruled by her mother and the parliament, neither of which had interfered with the military leadership. Even when Agita took power, she remained a hands-off ruler for the rest of her reign, hoping to avoid controversy. As a result, the military staff became very influential in Livonia.

All of the Livonian armies had landed, and they advanced slowly towards the capital. They were nearly stopped by a read ambush ay the Battle of Ghent, but they managed to hold off the enemy infantry.

In August of 1744, Brabant lost their capital. Despite weak fortifications, the invasion took nearly a year, as the armies were constantly harassed by guerrilla forces and resupplying over the ocean was slow. Regardless, Livonia now held the capital – this was the first time it had been occupied by an enemy in centuries.

The advance continued, with the soldiers moving to capture the valuable and unfortified heartland of Brabant. The attacks on Livonian soldiers continued relentlessly over the next year, but they pushed on. Livonia was completely committed to victory, given the huge costs in both manpower and currency of this war, and the importance of crushing Brabant so they could not threaten Livonia again.

Most of the unfortified land was captured in 1745, and finally, after 9 years of brutal fighting, a peace deal was signed. The surrender of Brabant was accepted under three conditions: First, their territory in Norway was annexed. The Livonians hadn’t particularly wanted this land, given the constant rebellions of Scandinavian nationalists, but it was important to remove Brabant from the region.

Champagne was returned to Aquitaine – the Livonians had wished to give back more, but the main priority was to permanently weaken Brabant, and Aquitaine was clearly incapable of defending their own territory, so giving them any more land would be pointless.

The third and most impactful condition was for Brabant to cede land for Livonia to create a new ethnically Danish state, led by a parliamentary assembly whose leaders were appointed by Livonia. The region of Denmark was extremely valuable: it was a huge trade hub which was very well developed, since historically this had been the heart of Brabant before they reconquered the Low Countries. This condition would give Livonia control of the Danish Strait (a dream of Livonia’s for centuries), and a very rich puppet state.

The regional perception of Livonia changed after this war – the country had proven it was able to tilt the balance of power, and now it remained unchallenged for the time being. Aquitaine’s government was upset with their net loss of territory after all they had contributed, but they could do nothing. The country’s government was a mess, and extremely unpopular. In addition, their colonies were angry with the heavy war taxes and tariffs imposed by Aquitaine to pay for the wars.

At home, the people of Livonia were exhausted. The war had starved the country of its men, and for the time being, Livonia would need to remain at peace and focus on its own people.

 

[stnylan]

What a war. Hopefully Bavaria and the Uyunids will give Livonia time to recover, because a war right now would be ... bad.

 

[Centurial]

What a war. Hopefully Bavaria and the Uyunids will give Livonia time to recover, because a war right now would be ... bad.

Well, the peace treaty with Bavaria still stands, although it will end much sooner than Brabant's.

 

[Centurial]

Chapter 21: Disarray (1745-1766)



Indonesia was now occupied almost entirely by locals, except for several smaller islands belonging to Indians. Oman’s small colonies had been captured, and Malacca’s power grew as it conquered the Philippines, as well as Taiwan, which it had captured from China during the Ming Dynasty’s collapse.

China was still in the middle of civil war during the 1730’s – in the meantime, its neighbors took advantage of the chaos to expand - especially Lan Na. The northern powers of India were collapsing as well after a huge invasion by Persia and Karenia.

Livonia’s only other colonial expansion had on the northern coasts of Canada near Greenland. The country had been too late to grab the more valuable land, and didn’t want to risk conflict with England or Aquitaine. On the other hand, smaller colonies were easier to retain, and could be directly administered by the Crown.

After the war had ended in 1745, Europe was calm for the next seven years as the countries recovered. Brabant and Bavaria re-established their alliance, but avoided confrontation. The Uyunids had successfully taken almost all of Finland, but they were still too weak to confront Livonia directly. Regardless, this was a clear provocation and would eventually need to be dealt with.

The situation in Aquitaine was constantly deteriorating. Nonstop rebellions and attempts by ambitious nobles to install a new King kept the country in a perpetual state of chaos. Livonia ended their alliance with Aquitaine, as it was clearly on the brink of disaster.

The Livonian peacetime army was populated by large numbers of mercenaries, which was a necessity after the wartime losses. This was a big drain on the country’s finances, but the government was afraid of rebellion in Norway and Danija, as well as a potential Uyunid conflict.

As it turned out, the Danish citizens were quite satisfied with their new country – the Danish had been secondary citizens in the empire of Brabant ever since their unification, and any trade profits were regularly drained from the region to supply the rest of the Brabant.

By the 50’s, the Chinese were still fighting, but powerful warlords were emerging in the country, absorbing several of the smaller factions.

Ferrara had invaded more and more of the native Cusco over the last 30 years, and now they controlled a huge and valuable pair of colonies in South America. Aquitaine’s colony of Colombie had been split in two by Sicilian conquest.

In 1752, Isbania attacked Aquitaine, just as Livonia had feared before ending the alliance. The Livonians were nervous about Aquitanean collapse, given the potential for Brabant and Bavaria to exploit it, but there was little they could do.

Only a year later, Aquitaine’s two richest colonies, Bresil and Mexique, declared independence. Aquitaine refused to recognize the two countries, but at the moment they were too distracted to do anything about it.

England continued to expand in North America, ignoring the conflicts of Europe. They had conquered Al’Zirid with Aquitaine before the Germanic War, and were now constantly fighting with Jiazhou to expand their frontier westwards.

Bavaria invaded Sicily during the chaos in the west, conquering almost the entire country. In the meantime, Haiti took advantage of the collapse of both Aquitaine and Sicily to invade their Colombian colonies.

By 1760, Isbania had conquered Catalonia, Aquitaine’s colonies had successfully rebelled with Brabantian support, and Aquitaine went bankrupt while almost the entire country was in rebellion. The government of Aquitaine was still a feudalistic monarchy, plagued by corruption, decadence, and infighting. Now, it was looking like their King’s life was near its end.

Livonia, in the meantime, was focusing on reforming the military leadership structure. The generals had gained a lot of influence over the country during the Germanic War, especially given how effectively some of them had performed, so they pushed for the leadership to receive more funding, training, and promotions.

In 1766, a massive left-wing movement spread throughout Aquitaine, causing mass revolts. The goal of this movement was to completely abolish the monarchy of Aquitaine and form a more democratic government free of corruption. The previous revolts over the last 8 years had been more disorganized and lacked a central goal; this one was different. It was well-organized, militant, and very radical.

At this point, Livonia was thriving, and the Danish state was doing extremely well. Their trade had been managed by Livonia after the war to help pay the mercenary fees, but in 1762 they assumed complete control over trade, and the region experienced an economic boom. They even had a large standing army of their own and a decently sized fleet.

That same year, Bavaria continued their efforts to expand their sphere of influence by invading Genoa, which is defended by Isbania and Al-Turkis.

Livonia’s armies were moved to the borders. Especially given the chaos in Aquitaine, Bavaria couldn’t be allowed to expand any more, or they might become unstoppable.

 

[stnylan]

Do I detect a pre-emptive strike?

The collapse of Aquitaine has been on the cards for at least 50 years. Maybe more.

 

[Centurial]

Chapter 22: Revolution, and the Second Germanic War (1766-1774)



In November of 1766, Livonia declared war on Bavaria, hoping to push them out of Eastern Europe and contain the empire before it was too late. Iraq agreed to help in the war this time, and Al-Turkis already was at war with Bavaria, defending Genoa. The Second Germanic War began, but this time the Bavarians were up against an even larger coalition.

In fact, other than Brabant, no country had good ties with Bavaria. They had been aggressively expanding in Central and Eastern Europe, but now that their key ally Brabant was weakened and they were up against even more enemies, they found themselves in a precarious position.

This time, the Livonian strategy was the inverse of how it was in the First Germanic War – Brabant would need to be knocked out before the country could focus on Bavaria. This strategy was very convenient on a tactical level, as Livonia’s fortifications on the Bavarian border were very powerful now, and the Bavarians would already be distracted on the fronts against Al-Turkis and Genoa (which contained most of Isbania’s army, preventing a quick victory)

The Livonian doctrine of war had evolved from the last war, and the newly-bolstered military leadership was full of new ideas. Their focus this time would be on maneuver and speed – the fortifications and slow advance in the last war took a significant attritional toll, and the most successful moves had been those of maneuver, rather than brute force.

One of the biggest changes in the army was the introduction of dedicated siege corps – rather than simply stationing men around the defenses and waiting out the enemy, these siege corps were equipped with several lines of cannons and mortars that would constantly blast the enemy fort until their morale or walls were completely destroyed.

The Livonians began by invading Brabant through Danija. The armies were transported along the coast to quickly capture both of the peninsula’s main forts before Brabant had time to redeploy its troops from Bavaria.

Meanwhile, the revolution in Aquitaine was spreading like wildfire. 5 months into the war, their King was captured and executed by rebels, along with any of the remaining leadership who hadn’t already fled. The revolutionaries began establishing a new government which they called the Great Republic of Aquitaine – made up of “a democratically elected parliament that defended the rights of every man”. More importantly to the outside world, the new revolutionaries were radical revanchists. The new leadership was elected from radical militarists who promised to “reclaim all of the territory the corrupt Kingdom had given away and to crush every country that had brought the people to ruin.”

News of the revolution was explosive to the monarchies of Europe. As foreign citizens learned of this new government, they showed great interest, and several began trying to organize similar movements in their own countries. In addition, the leaders of Brabant, Bavaria, and Isbania were understandably concerned about the prospect of a revolutionary invasion – especially given the ongoing war. Even the Livonian leadership was concerned that Aquitaine might want revenge against their country for abandoning them.

The warring states were still distracted by the war itself though, and as long as Aquitaine didn’t join, business must continue on as usual.

The Livonians advanced quickly through Brabant, winning multiple battles against the portion of its army that was stationed on this front. While the Livonians didn’t want to risk another invasion through Holland, the Genoese forces did. Assisted by British transports and mercenaries, they landed on the westernmost provinces of Brabant and began a push straight towards the capital.

On the Bavarian front, Iraq defended Livonia’s border with their immense army from an early Brabantian attack. Afterwards, they began invading the east with Al-Turkis and Livonia’s vassals.

Bavaria’s western border, surprisingly, was also shrinking. Isbania was leading a large advance along the border, helped by huge numbers of Aquitanean volunteers, as well as mass uprisings in the ethnically French provinces.

The Livonian push turned into a rapid advance, as Brabantian resistance collapsed after their forces were split to defend their capital on the western front. In order to stop the Livonians, Bavaria sent one of their main armies to defend the east, but the Livonians pushed them back after two huge battles.

6 months later, the Livonians and Genoese met, as the eastern advance reached Brabant’s already-occupied capital. The Livonian soldiers were jubilant and how quickly their advance had been, while the Genoese were even more so – the smaller country which Bavaria had assumed could be quickly annexed had played a major role in winning the war.

Three years into the war, Genoa accepted Brabant’s separate surrender, draining its treasury to pay for war reparations. More importantly, this left the Brabantian land wide open for Livonia to move in and reoccupy, which they did easily.

In the meantime, Aquitaine’s new government entrenched itself across the country, and their first revanchist move was to reclaim all of Colombie’s land from the Haitian invaders. This was a simpler war for the new government to exercise its strength, as the country’s population was still polarized by loyalists and pacifists. Besides, so many Aquitaneans were already “illegally” fighting the Bavarians anyways that the government didn’t need to intervene.

In April of 1770, the Livonians accepted separate peace with Brabant after taking the capital and fighting countless battles against their weakening army. The Livonian leadership hoped to build friendly ties with Aquitaine’s new radical government and appease the hatred some of them had towards Livonia, so they forced Brabant to return a large amount of important territory to the revolutionaries. Aside from the political motivations of this move, it would also weaken Brabant even further. The Revolutionary government was likely competent enough to hold their own territory, and they despised the Germanic countries. Having a strong Aquitaine was in Livonia’s interest, even if they weren’t allied.

Bavaria’s eastern front had already fallen back quite a bit thanks to Iraqi and Turk forces, and now the Livonians moved in. After a few months, Iraq withdrew their forces to deal with threats from Persia – The Livonian forces filled the void, but the fighting would be more even now.

The Livonians attacked from the northeast, moving towards Munich. Only one year after the surrender of Brabant, the capital of Bavaria was also in Livonian control.

Aquitaine had spent this time conquering the entirety of Colombie from Haiti. Immediately afterwards, the Livonians were surprised to receive an alliance request. This was likely a political move to convince the Livonians to return Bavarian territory, but they agreed regardless. Only a month after peace with Haiti, Aquitaine declared war on the breakaway colony of Mexico.

In 1772, Genoa and Bavaria ended their war. Genoa was given all of its claimed land in Italy, Al-Turkis made minor gains, and several Aquitanean provinces that had been seized by rebels were returned.

The return of Turkish and Genoese occupied territory to Bavaria made the Livonian advance much more difficult. They were looking for a big surrender, so they continued fighting, but it was costly. Bavarian forces were now funneled from three fronts to one, and the fighting took place in the country’s mountainous center. The massed counterattacks overwhelmed the Livonian forces, and they were forced to fall back several times.

Meanwhile, even isolationist England couldn’t escape the revolutionaries. Emboldened by the independence of Brazil and Mexico, the American colonies declared their independence from England in 1772. These three colonies together were able to raise a huge army, while England would have to rely on trans-Atlantic transport and supply in order to fight them.

The battle around Munich continued for another two years – Livonia managed to connect the eastern occupation front to Bavaria’s capital region, but the fighting around the capital itself was back-and-forth. The region of Munich changed hands 5 times over the last two years, and both sides took huge casualties. The Bavarians were putting up enormous resistance, while Livonian forces were becoming exhausted by the nonstop battles.

Despite the stalemate near the capital, Livonia had still managed to capture almost the entirety of eastern Bavaria, and the Bavarian population was devastated by the constant warfare and occupations. In February of 1774, the Bavarian government surrendered.

Under the terms, Bavaria was to cede huge amounts of land to Kiev and Kuyavia, pushing their border out of Eastern Europe, back to the Carpathian Mountains. In addition, the remaining land they had stolen from Aquitaine was returned, restoring the country’s border with Brabant “back to its natural location”. In reality, several ethnically German provinces had also been captured, but Livonia cared less about Aquitaine’s natural borders and more about crushing Bavaria.

 

[volksmarschall]

Poor England. Poor world. Both have no idea what is about to be unleashed!

 

[stnylan]

Well an alliance with Aquitaine could prove very interesting now.

It is good to see Brabant-Bavaria humbled. Surely the Uyunids must be pushed back?

 

[Centurial]

Poor England. Poor world. Both have no idea what is about to be unleashed!

Ha, well the ex-british colonies will turn out far differently... as for if they'll eventually spread freedom to the world in HOI4, we'll see XD

Well an alliance with Aquitaine could prove very interesting now.

It is good to see Brabant-Bavaria humbled. Surely the Uyunids must be pushed back?

That would certainly be ideal, although the situation in Europe is still volatile.