Gesta Danorum - Deeds of the Danes

[Salik]

After all that the Austrians beat you? Show them the power of an angry viking horde! lol

Austria is a beast. A beast, I tell you. And combined with France, they are terrifying.

Damn, that's sad. You lost on the two important fronts, I didn't expect that. I hope you'll be able to catch either France or Austria one day without the other to support him.

Well, actually I only gave away a newly aquired wrong culture, non core province, two provinces of my vassals and a colony. And I will avenge myself.

At least the Russians are no longer a threat. If the armies in Finland are relocated to the south, perhaps you can avenge your defeat?

They were never really a threat . And I will need the army in Finland, as you will see soon enough

Why give up provinces when fighting invading armies is what makes the game challenging?

I reached the point were my manpower was decimated, so I decided that I would rather have Wurttemberg lose some provinces than see French and Austrian armies running around on the Baltic. I had enough of that in the 17th century

 

[blsteen]

Austria is a beast. A beast, I tell you. And combined with France, they are terrifying.

Beastly

Well, actually I only gave away a newly aquired wrong culture, non core province, two provinces of my vassals and a colony. And I will avenge myself.

Whooohooo, rack and ruin await for someone...hopefully not the Danes

They were never really a threat . And I will need the army in Finland, as you will see soon enough

Finnish troops sitting around doing nothing? They are the strategic reserve. That's why they can sit around and do nothing...for now.

I reached the point were my manpower was decimated, so I decided that I would rather have Wurttemberg lose some provinces than see French and Austrian armies running around on the Baltic. I had enough of that in the 17th century

indeed, better a small sacrifice far from home than facing the desperate struggle for survival that so entertains Enewald.

 

[Salik]

I'm at my parents' place for Christmas, and I don't have my notes, so no Christmas update for you.

I did however do this. Hope you like it. Originally it was supposed to contain all sorts of pictures and stuff, but it's big enough already.

Merry christmas from a snowy Copenhagen.

 

[Enewald]

And one kungen to rule them all

 

[KPJ]

I've been following this for quite a while and wanted to give my kudos on a well-done AAR. I'm not quite up to date yet, but thought I would let you know.

Edit: Okay, up to date now. One thing you might want to know is that 1690'ies is not proper English, but 1690s would be fine. I realize English may not be your first language but the writing is so great I thought you might want to correct this if you need to write in English for your business/studies/whatnot.

 

[Salik]

I've been following this for quite a while and wanted to give my kudos on a well-done AAR. I'm not quite up to date yet, but thought I would let you know.

Edit: Okay, up to date now. One thing you might want to know is that 1690'ies is not proper English, but 1690s would be fine. I realize English may not be your first language but the writing is so great I thought you might want to correct this if you need to write in English for your business/studies/whatnot.

Thank you, it is always nice to be able to learn from one's mistakes

Also, I would like to encourage everybody to head over to the AARland Choice Awards and vote for your favorite AAR's in 2010.

If you consider voting for this one, it is eligible in the History Book-category.

And an update should be up shortly (within the next few days, that is). It will concern the rekindling of an old enmity and possibly the formation of a new friendship

 

[blsteen]

And an update should be up shortly (within the next few days, that is). It will concern the rekindling of an old enmity and possibly the formation of a new friendship

Ah rekindling old enmities by burning them in the fire while new friends watch...should be interesting

 

[Salik]

Chapter XLV: Taking The Turk By The Beard

Coat of arms of the House of Gyldenstierne​

At the dawn of the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire stretched from Anatolia and almost to the Baltic. It had incorporated the Byzantine Empire, divided Hungary between itself and Austria and cleaved Poland. Though the presence of a large, Muslim empire in Eastern Europe and on the Balkans had been a fact for more than 300 years, “The Turk” was regarded with fear and mistrust throughout Europe. With the conquest of Vilnius in 1698, the Ottomans acquired a long border to the Danish possessions on the Baltic, and panic started to spread, as the citizens feared a Turkish push to the coast. Rumours of forced conversions, enslavement and harems flourished, and petitions were sent to Copenhagen for fortifications to be strengthened and larger armies to be stationed.

Margrethe and her council saw the Turkish threat as severe. It was by no means implausible that the Ottomans would seek to expand their reach from sea to sea, thereby carving a corridor between Danzig and Marienburg. This prospect was, of course, unacceptable, as it would have been to any great power.

Consequentially, a large mobilization was carried out in the Baltic region, the cities along the border were fortified and cautious requests of access to harbours and supplies for the Mediterranean fleet were sent to Italian city states. So when the war finally did come in 1701, the Danish military were ready to move in like pliers on the Northern and Southern flanks of the Ottomans.

Denmark and the Ottoman Empire with vassals when hostilities commenced.​

In the propaganda from Copenhagen, the war was portrayed as having been forced on the Danish government, but the fact remains, that it broke out when a large Danish fleet operating out of Naples started intercepting Turkish traffic to the islands of Crete and Rhodes, shortly followed by a full scale invasion of the Vilnius region. Within six months, the Mediterranean was controlled by Danish ships, and all Ottoman ports were under blockade. And while Harald Danneskiold celebrated the Christmas of 1701 in the old royal castle of Vilnius, a large army lead by Bent Scholten, the 20 year old nephew of the spymaster and council member Franz Scholten, camped for the winter in the province of Grodno.

The following years, however, saw the war come to a standstill, as Ottoman armies from the Balkans kept pouring north, hindering further advances. It was not until the battle of Bialystok in March 1704, where Bent Scholten won his first major victory, that the war was decisively won for Denmark. From that point, Ottoman resistance was weak and disorganized, the reserves on the European side of the Bosporus having been exhausted, and reinforcements from Anatolia being held back by the large Danish fleet in the Mediterranean. In 1705, the sultan signed a peace handing over Vilnius and the Grodno province.

In darker red the provinces acquired by Denmark in the peace of 1705​

Vilnius was incorporated as The Lithuanian Duchy, but Grodno was kept as a buffer region between the Turks and the Baltic duchies. This status would lead to much suffering for the citizens of that region, as we will see in later chapters.

But before we carry on with the Turkish wars, we will use a few chapters to look at the economic revolution that hit the realm with the acceptance of Smithian economic philosophy; at the Imperial policies carried out by the council; and last, but not least, at the tragic character of Frederik V.

 

[Enewald]

I hope Ottomans do not get crushed by rebels. Or game gets boring.

 

[Qorten]

He still has France and Austria to worry about as well, so even if the Turks collapse, I doubt this AAR will become boring.

 

[Milites]

It was not until the battle of Bialystok in March 1704, where Bent Scholten won his first mayor victory, that the war was decisively won for Denmark.

Whenever the name Bent is mentioned I always think of this beautiful work of poetry
That's a massive Turkish influence over poor little Poland. No winged hussars this time, eh?

 

[King_Richard_XI]

This AAR will never get boring! I hate to hear such heresy from the lips of Enewald.

 

[Salik]

I hope Ottomans do not get crushed by rebels. Or game gets boring.

I think they're more likely to be crushed by the valiant force of eternal good that is Denmark

He still has France and Austria to worry about as well, so even if the Turks collapse, I doubt this AAR will become boring.

France, Austria, Ottomans, Castile, Finnish rebels, they're all ganging up on me

Whenever the name Bent is mentioned I always think of this beautiful work of poetry
That's a massive Turkish influence over poor little Poland. No winged hussars this time, eh?

Oh, my ears, my precious ears. For shame, sir, for shame.

And Poland got hit pretty hard by me, then by Austria and then by the Ottomans. They never stood a chance

This AAR will never get boring! I hate to hear such heresy from the lips of Enewald.

Your enthusiasm is most flattering, sir

 

[Salik]

Chapter XLVI: Of Kings, Queens And Countesses

Coat of arms of the House of Gyldenstierne​

With the acquisition of a buffer against the Ottoman Empire, and a considerable shortening of the shared border, Margrethe and the council could once again turn their attention to expanding Danish influence within the Empire. Although the election of Frederik as emperor would seem to have secured Danish dominance for the foreseeable future, it was still a priority to tie the member states as close as possible to Copenhagen. Ideally, Denmark would be surrounded by vassals or friendly minded states, who would keep Austria and France out and still allow passage of Danish troops. With such an order, Danish hegemony in Northern Germany would be unassailable.
Within the Empire, the Count Palatine of the Rhine was the most powerful lord, second only to the emperor. Being squeezed in between Austria and Denmark, he was also instrumental in getting the upper hand against the Habsburgs. In the war of 1695, he had joined the Austrian side, mostly providing supplies and lodging to the Habsburg armies. It was obvious, that keeping the count neutral or possible leaning towards supporting Denmark, would be a huge advantage in a future war. So in 1707, the 19 year old Margrethe Gyldenstierne, sister to the king, was married to the Count Palatine, to the great ire of Franz III of Austria.

Magrethe Gyldenstierne, countess consort​

Further alliances were secured when the court in Copenhagen supported Thuringia’s independence from Poland in 1707 and benevolently overlooked the deposition of Friedrich III as Margrave of Hesse and the erection of a noble republic, which would otherwise have been extremely unpopular with the monarchist court. The dislike of the very pro-Austrian Friedrich was greater than the fear of Danish nobles being inspired by their Hessian counterparts.

But the state also had interests elsewhere. In Vinland, the great Castilian holdings to the South and the French colony on the island of Terre-Neuve were a concern. In case of another great war, the Danish settlements could easily be overrun by a joint strike. And since the Indian dreams of Frederik IV had not been completely abandoned, it was necessary to have access to ports and supplies on the long journey south of Africa.
For all these purposes, Margrethe’s native Great Britain was the ideal ally. With large tracts of land on the Atlantic coast of New England and further to the southern side of the great lakes, Great Britain would be able to pressure Castile and pose a threat to the French holdings in California. Furthermore, the Brits had started colonizing the East coast of Africa all the way from Cape Horn to the kingdom of Swahili. This would be a perfect offset for an eventual attack on Persia or the merchant kingdom of Sind. Finally, Bretagne was still on British hands, and as such would make it possible to attack France from two fronts. The fact that Margrethe’s brother, George IV, had ascended to the throne only encouraged the council further in seeking an alliance with the former enemy. Surely, the two siblings would be able to keep an alliance.

Meanwhile, the young king Frederik had grown into a man, 20 years of age. Remembering such kings as Vilhelm I, the observant reader might be wondering why the policies described in this chapter are all attributed to the council of Margrethe, rather than to the young king. To Danish readers, well versed in their history, this would be obvious, but for the benefit of our foreign friends, we shall take a short detour to describe the tragic figure that was Frederik V.

Frederik V at ten​

It was several years before anyone suspected that the king was not quite normal. His early years were spent in the company of his sister, mother and several teachers and nannies, and it seems that his progress was more or less as expected for his age. His first teachers describe him as a charming and bright boy, but around the age of ten, he began to lag severely behind expectations. His Danish had not yet fully evolved, he stammered and spoke incorrectly. He neither learned German, Latin, French or English, and in most other subjects he seemed to be completely incapable. He was clumsy, could not dance, could not mount a horse, and in a quiet agreement between the queen and Harald Gyldenstierne, who was in charge of his military education, it was decided that his training in fencing and shooting should be put off indefinitely. He showed no interest or talent for matters of the state, and was only really interested in his private zoo at Sorgenfri Castle, outside the city walls. As he matured physically, he became prone to taking a few select noblemen with him on prowls of the city, were he would scandalize the patrons of taverns and alehouses with his rough behaviour and complete lack of manners. Eventually, the court relocated entirely from Frederiksborg Castle in Copenhagen to Sorgenfri, not least to get the king out of sight of foreign emissaries, who reported home about the strange young man and his antics. Even though he did receive the Eucharist on his 15th birthday, and as such was mature by law, his coronation was not held until he turned 17, out of fear that he would make a scandal of some sort. The ceremony, when it was held, differed from every previous coronation, in the fact that the king did not ride to the cathedral but was taken there by coach, that he did not give a coronation speech and that several ambassadors swore that they had seen him doze off during the state dinner.

Even though the regency council was formally dissolved with the coronation, Margrethe, Franz Scholten and Harald Gyldenstierne remained in power, as the king’s executive orders were written by them and signed by the king through the addition of the Roman numeral “V” to his initial “F” at the bottom of the page. It was these three people who would lead the triple kingdom into the 1720’s, and, in 1715, into a new war against the Ottoman Empire.

The king’s “signature” on the Sermon Act of 1717, which allowed Sermons to be held in the local languages throughout the duchies, but also stipulated that all sermons were to be written by the local authorities, who followed monthly guidelines from the court.
​

 

[Enewald]

Building the Great Firewall?

 

[Chris Taylor]

Uh oh. You beat the Ottomans only to face the greater terror of a possibly disastrous heir. Given his extreme youth you might be "blessed" with his wise and benevolent rule for many years. :wacko: Hope his advisors are top-notch in compensation.

 

[King_Richard_XI]

Time to break out the lone-but-valiant-cog-which-sails-all-the-way-to-Hawaii.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Time to break out the lone-but-valiant-cog-which-sails-all-the-way-to-Hawaii.

Wow! I am a rank amateur at regicide. I thought constant rebel-fighting was the way to go... You guys are mean. :rofl:

 

[blsteen]

For the good of the state, of course.

 

[Salik]

Building the Great Firewall?

The Great German Meatwall more like

Uh oh. You beat the Ottomans only to face the greater terror of a possibly disastrous heir. Given his extreme youth you might be "blessed" with his wise and benevolent rule for many years. :wacko: Hope his advisors are top-notch in compensation.

Time to break out the lone-but-valiant-cog-which-sails-all-the-way-to-Hawaii.

Wow! I am a rank amateur at regicide. I thought constant rebel-fighting was the way to go... You guys are mean. :rofl:

For the good of the state, of course.

That would have been nice, yes. However, I must once again remind you that Frederik V is imaginary. What happened in game was that I got a female monarch, Magrethe, so I needed some explanation for that. (On a not completely unrelated note, the lack of screenshots would allow me make up any monarch I wanted to, theoretically speaking...)