Breaking the headlock (me vs Burgundy + the entire catholic world)

[unmerged(540854)]

While the battle itsself is not hopeless yet perse I am kinda stuck in my game. I posted a few times about my Granada game already but I need help.
After three years of peace where I managed to drop my WE froma whopping 16 to 6 (thank god for the even were the heir deposes the ruler for losing a war, -4 WE moron out, decent king in). Burgundy and myself once again went to war.

Burgundy is the HRE, the defender of the cath faith, has not lost a single war since game start, controls half of Sweden and Finland, has Switzerland, Savoi, Cologne, Hesse and Loraine as vassals and is allied with France and Holland. Holland leads a PU with Sweden. Basicly they rule the world. (as we know it in 1473)

While I am able to fight their forces to a standstill in the pyrinees and eventually start to grind my way forward (peaced out France witha sphere about a year in), my French provinces are under occupation raising my WE back to 8. Then the same thing happens that happened in the last 4-5 wars. Right about the time I can start to think about an advance the AI dogpiles me. (15 province Hansa and its 8 or 9 allies) + a lonesome Brittany. Hansa DoW a war of agression and the treacherous English having just won a war with Schotland honour the call despite giving me MA (and having a 13k army in the middle of their nation).

So as things stand, I will once again be forced to sue for peace (a couple of spheres) with burgundy or risk driving WE up into the double digits again. to then smack around the English who I cant hurt decently since they do not have a CB while at the same time fending of the Hansa. The only good thing that will come out of this is that Brittany will lose a few provinces. Thats provided I dont mess up and provided Burgundy will accept peace already.

So basicly how do I brake Burgundy? i can't go to war with anyone without them joining in, but I can't defeat them because everyone else joins in once the tide starts to turn (or sooner if I am unlucky). I was looking for a hard game when I started Granada but I am kinda at a loss for how to deal with this. I might still be the crusade target (can I see this somewhere?) I have vasslized the papal state in the hope that messes up papal relations with my enemies so a far away nation controls the pope and calls one someone else.

As things stand ill be done for in about 50 years. I can't westernize as my competent ruler died and a republic is not possible yet because morocco is stuck in a (un)lucky PU under me. (Can hope to insult them out of it but their ships are a major asset in all these wars).

 

[NoobRage]

Retreat to the Pyrenees before its too late. Smash the Burgundian army there somehow and retake your French provinces. ASAP.

 

[unmerged(540854)]

Retreat to the Pyrenees before its too late. Smash the Burgundian army there somehow and retake your French provinces. ASAP.

That has been the general tactic. With the exception of one war that I lost to being careless in Italy raking up WE there while the burgundian army was vanquished in France, I can't hold before the mountains. While I win in the mountains, the addition of additional enemies makes me unable to focus everything I have on the Burgys.

So my choises are basicly to let the burgundians escape for the 7th or 8th time while dealing as much damage to the dogpilers as possible and hoping they are unable to bother me in my 9th war with the burgundians, or rake up a lot of WE. More WE is less tech speed more revolts and a bigger chance of losing the 10th and or 11th war thouhg

If I could do this all over I would not have invaded Schotland/England already. My fear of them colonizing early has got me spread too thin. Needing to keep on army a field in 3 theaters. and risking my galleys on the ocean.

 

[unmerged(136582)]

Might I suggest that, once this war is over, release your French Provinces as vassals to act as buffer zones between you and Burgundy? They will soak up the WE from being occupied in the event of another conflict if it occurs before you are ready. Then you can bide your time to Westernize or wait until Burgundy is busy somewhere else.

 

[unmerged(540854)]

Might I suggest that, once this war is over, release your French Provinces as vassals to act as buffer zones between you and Burgundy? They will soak up the WE from being occupied in the event of another conflict if it occurs before you are ready. Then you can bide your time to Westernize or wait until Burgundy is busy somewhere else.

Now thats a great idea. ty

 

[Lynx190]

Yeah, in my Granada game (currently 1455), I stayed the hell out of France for a long time and worked on Italy and England. I crushed France when they were DotF with help from Burgundy and started balkanizing them (then had to fight another war to do it completely) but didn't take any territory until Languedoc recently. It's still quite annoying because Burgundy is permanently DotF now and never accepts white peace (so I eat -20 legitimacy every time I peace out to receive a new conquest mission), but I made sure to keep a buffer to force them to attack me by sea (only Champagne is allied to Burgundy out of the fragments of France). Sometimes it failed because Burgundy wound up at war with a buffer country so they could march through them to reach me, but generally I'd be conceding defeat before they could actually do anything.

However Burgundy is nowhere near as strong in my game as in yours, despite being lucky and doing an efficient job of completing their missions early (partly because they've been at war with me so much the past few decades they couldn't start their own wars). Not to mention they just recently annexed Trier and Hesse and wound up with +0.10 yearly infamy from unlawful territory so their expansion is at a complete halt. It's basically Burgundy and Bohemia as the only real powers other than me. I'll probably be calling it quits before long as I'm already the economic leader (just need more cores to expand my army), but I want to at least form Spain first though.

 

[unmerged(540854)]

Yeah. i messed up my priorities with England and France. Taking a border with Burgundy was the biggest mistake after deciding on France, but oh well. My goals for a WC have been ditched somewhere in the 4th or 5th war, just going for a european domination now.

In new developments I have ceded all my territory in England and Schotland, they can colonize for all I care. I can't afford to risk my fleet everytime i need to leave the med and it frees up another 12k army to support the homefront. The Mameluks who are doing very decently are my new ally. WE is back under 6 and (a Muslim) Toulouse is a 2PM vassal creating a non WE raising barrier in front of half of the pyrinees. As enemies can walk trough non allied vassals anyway I decided to ally them for good measure. Did not release the 6P Southern France nation as id like to keep control of the mountains myself and I can't remove cores yet. (No home cores for 15 years or so)

Bretagne is now a 2PM. 3 Provinces of mine isolated above Vendee, the rest is connected. The next war will be a do or die though. Burgundy just picked militairy drill so I have lost that advantage. (my sliders are still in quantity )