Eire
I’ve finally got the game running again so we will continue with the saga of the green tide of Ireland. I don’t know if I stated all the rules that I play by since I’m too lazy to read what I’ve already written but I just wanted to note that:
1. I don’t declare war unless I have a CB.
2. I don’t propose peace treaties to anyone. The biggest problem with only accepting what is offered me is that it becomes dangerous to get into a war where you can’t put pressure on the enemy. This caused me some difficulty, as you will latter see.
Its now 1481 and I’m sitting here minding my own business when suddenly France declares war on England. Spain and Savoy join England while Scotland and Eire join France. I have around 20,000 troops, which I fan out and besiege and attack any English troops that I can find. England still hasn’t recovered from the last war so I don’t have a hard time of it. The war lasts until 1484 when having taken every province in England I receive Lancashire, Midlands and Wessex for peace. England has been effectively neutered, for its own good of course.
I’m thinking that I’ll just sit tight and wait for the occasional revolt that is sure to come when suddenly Scotland declares war on Mecklenburg. I join, as does France. Poland and Lithuania join Mecklenburg and so I reluctantly enter into another war. Mecklenburg has seven provinces in the game so I’m not going to even think of attacking them. I have 9 ships in my navy so I can move troops around but I have one severe problem. My manpower limit is six. It hasn’t changed with the additional English provinces that I have captured which I think is correct in game terms. This makes it very tough to take on a country with numerous troops. After a few years I buy off Poland and Lithuania which had tried to invade Eire but with so few troops that I easily defeat them. Finally in 1491 Scotland makes peace with Mecklenburg and I am once more at peace.
I enter a time of peace where a few forts are upgraded. I don’t build any tax collectors in the new provinces because of revolt concerns. Thumb twiddling is taking on new heights in popularity with the reinvention of the Olympics. There are many different venues for the amusement of the masses. There is the standard thumb twiddling but for the more adventuresome there is synchronize thumb twiddling as well and team thumb twiddling. Of course the most popular sport in the Olympic games is thumb wrestling. The betting and drinking at these matches is something you have to see to believe. The Scots have taken to the sport and promise to have their own team in the next Olympics. The French don’t seem to know what to make of it all.
1492 I tried to make Scotland a vassal but failed. Throughout the next several years I moved the slider toward centralization since I’m going to need to speed up my ability to improve my tech levels. I have the chance to hire a foreign drill instructor (+1 offense +1 quality) but I don’t because even thought I would like to increase my offense I can’t take the increase in quality. I have my manpower limited already and I want to increase my manpower pool not restrict it even more.
1497 My how time has flown. I get a border dispute with England, which gives me a CB against them. My fist offensive war starts with Scotland and France joining me while Spain joins England. England has 21,000 troops in Cornwall but I’m able to win the day and besiege the few remaining provinces they have. Spain lands 20,000 troops in Kent but runs into 25,000 Scottish troops and loses the battle. I should have paid attention to the strength of Spain but didn’t and it would cause problems latter.
By 1499 England has had enough and begs me to take Tassaret, Senegal, Nouakchott, Nouadibuh, Cornwall and Kent. I now have all of England except for Anglia and I have a colonial empire that I didn’t want. I intend to continue to focus on Europe for the time being.
Unfortunately the celebration is spoiled by the fact that I am still at war with Spain. I don’t receive any peace proposals from Spain so I go on the offensive. I capture the Azores, which was undefended and then I besiege Galicia in Spain. But after a year I have to abandon the siege and retreat back to Eire. I don’t have the manpower to take on Spain, which had an army of 55,000 marching toward me in Galicia when I prudently decided to retreat, so I wait in Eire/England. Over the next few years Spain launches several invasions which I defeat. My navy also does a good job of winning most of the battles they fight but still no peace proposals from Spain. Not a peep from them even with a 6% victory rating in my favor.
By 1507 my war fatigue is at 8% and I know that revolts are going to start happening. At this time France declares war against Lorraine. I join, as does Scotland. England and Spain join Lorraine. In 1508 Lorraine offers me a status quo peace and I accept. I know I could have captured Anglia and maybe annexed England but I think she had so more colonies by then and I need to get out of these wars!
1509 and Scotland declares war against Mecklenburg once again. Pommern and Novgorod join Mecklenburg. France joins Scotland but I don’t. I rejoin the alliance on the stupid hope that I won’t have to join in the war but of course I do. (I know the rules but I was hoping for a miracle) Then to my surprise a miracle occurred. My war fatigue fell to zero. I was still at war with Spain but for some reason because I withdrew from the alliance and rejoined it fell to zero. There is a GOD!
By 1511 I finally reach land tech 5 and can assault forts. . I’ve taken the hunker down approach to my war with Spain. I’m hopping that eventually we will reach a white peace if I don’t attack them.
1516 I move the slider toward inovativeness.
1517 A white peace with Spain!! I then notice that I’m still at war with Novgorod. I’m not about to sail to that frozen wasteland and watch my soldiers freeze to death. War fatigue is up to +6 and rising. I’m beginning to think that its time to go it alone.
