• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
And with regards to the naval battle, what happened to all the Ottoman warships? :confused:

They had been at war against mostly land-based powers in Europe (Poland, Austria, Russia), so I have no idea what happened. Unless they were really well-hidden, I don't even think they had any galleys. As you can see from my massive doomstack, I did expect to run into serious opposition in the Med. Just like Portugal before, however, they did not have anything resembling a credible threat. The one time I have played as the Ottomans, I had a massive fleet of galleys, trade ships and transports in the med. When I ended the game in the 17th century, I had begun to build heavy ships in the former Oman territory to expand into the Indian Ocean.

Money can't have been the issue. They have almost complete control of all trade nodes in the Eastern part of the Med.
Does the AI scuttle obsolete ships to replace them with more modern versions?
 
They had been at war against mostly land-based powers in Europe (Poland, Austria, Russia), so I have no idea what happened. Unless they were really well-hidden, I don't even think they had any galleys. As you can see from my massive doomstack, I did expect to run into serious opposition in the Med. Just like Portugal before, however, they did not have anything resembling a credible threat. The one time I have played as the Ottomans, I had a massive fleet of galleys, trade ships and transports in the med. When I ended the game in the 17th century, I had begun to build heavy ships in the former Oman territory to expand into the Indian Ocean.

Money can't have been the issue. They have almost complete control of all trade nodes in the Eastern part of the Med.
Does the AI scuttle obsolete ships to replace them with more modern versions?

Not from my experience. I had a similar situation in the Med in a game as Aragon, I formed Spain with them, we were battling for control of the Med with our navies and got really lucky in a pitched battle. I had more modern carracks and galleases while they still had early carracks and regular war galleys. They had about 60 ships and I had roughly the same number, lost about 6 or so, they lost the entire fleet. In retrospect, I did them a favor because in 10 years, they had an 80 ship fleet again and they were probably all the newer versions. At least with trade ships they return the costs of replacement overtime, I'll generally modernize my trade fleet first for that reason.

On that note, I do hate the 'modernization' of the navy when it comes up (by yourself). I honestly would prefer the old ships to sink in battle rather than replace them with newer ones, only on the account that if they sink, that probably means they sunk enemy ships too, and I now have a reason to modernize my navy, rather than sit in peacetime and contemplate, "Hey, I think I should spend like 1000+ ducats over the next couple years to re-arm my navy with modern ships and screw any other plans I might have!" But alas, I like that trade-off in the game.
 
You crushed them easily! I'm hoping that you will be able to do the same with Spain and Portugal. On another note i read this line:"18 regiments that I had send to the Ivory Coast to squash a catholic rebellion are the first ones", what was that rebellion about? Was it an error or are you reformed? :huh: Great update anyway.
 
You crushed them easily! I'm hoping that you will be able to do the same with Spain and Portugal. On another note i read this line:"18 regiments that I had send to the Ivory Coast to squash a catholic rebellion are the first ones", what was that rebellion about? Was it an error or are you reformed? :huh: Great update anyway.

That were Portugese Catholic Zealots. So, no mistake on my part. I still don't quite know how the game decides what type of rebels to spawn sometimes. But there you have it.

That was the perfect war, two fronts for the enemy but not for you, and no British navy to hinder your movement :)

Defending Algiers next should be easy enough.

Well, I already know how that war turns out. You will probably find out tomorrow or the day after, depending on how much time I have tomorrow.
 
m6TYM4P.jpg


Chapter 37: Breaking The Spell.


We find ourselves at war against the Ottomans on one hand, and the Portugese on the other. Portugal has called in Spain, but remains the warleader.
This is very important, since it means that Spain cannot call in Austria.
I may be able to use this to my advantage.



YrMPXw6.png



July, 1745. The Ottomans, with only about 100,000 men left, will have a chance to make up for the beating I gave them last chapter. Somehow, though, I doubt it, since the Russians have more than twice that number. Sorry, tovarisch, but I have other things on my mind right now.

My new heir is looking promising. Let’s hope he makes it to his own coronation alive, since his dad is pretty useless (3-0-2).
This war against the Iberians becomes even more promising when Algiers agrees to give me leadership in the war. You’re fighting on my terms now, Portugal.


I notice a large Portugese fleet, consisting of 22 Heavies, 36 Lights and 17 Transports, sitting in the Côte Azur. In the past, that would have been enough to make me cringe.


SEv2vn3.png


Not anymore. I can only hope there were 17 regiments on board.

The only army I have in France, are 31 newly build regiments. They are given a general and send to Béarn. The Portugese have gathered about 45,000 men and are marching on France. They seem to hesitate a bit when they see that army in Béarn. Not long, but long enough to let me get everyone back home.
I only have 2.08 War Exhaustion. Good. That means I can keep going as long as it takes.



Leg67vB.png


The Portugese try to sneak past the Béarn army by going through Roussillon. Unfortunately for them, that happens to be the province where I had send about a third of my army. With some quick reinforcements thrown in for good measure, the fight is very easy, even with a river crossing.

After that victory, the fighting is almost over. There is a scuffle in Alentejo, but that is about it, really.

Then I realise that I had forgotten to bring the army in South America home. I have 27 regiments sitting in Grao Para!
These, of course, are quickly put to work. The Spanish and Portugese don’t seem to care that their home is being sieged, and happily concentrate on Africa. There are not even any landings in the Phillipines.


LFy9LoY.png


Pretty impressive, right? God, it’s fun having such a large army. I don’t know many nations on Earth that could comfortably carpet siege all of Iberia. Even so, it takes every soldier I have in Europe to do it.
In case you’re wondering why I am not blockading the Iberian peninsula, that is because they were busy at the time chasing down a Spanish fleet.
The Spanish escape, but not before dropping off 31 regiments in Nice. Somewhat annoying, but since I refuse to drop a whole bunch of sieges right now, I am going to let them have their fun for the moment.


GWJ2Yfj.png


Scratch another 32 Light Ships. If nothing else, this will hurt the Spanish trade more than a little.


lBINHmv.png


And another one bites the dust. Even more than the Portugese ships, this feels really good, after 200 years of practically nonstop piracy in the gulf of Bordeaux.

Even without my intervention, the armies of Algiers and Mali manage to stay alive, and siege several Portugese colonies in Africa. Meanwhile, the Portugese are concentrating their efforts on my holdings in the Ivory Coast. I don’t care, as long as they stay away from my 2 colonies. Thankfully, they are too far inland, and never get in any serious danger. Together, we all sit on a satisfying 49% Warscore.


SzFEuvj.png


Here is a look at the situation in Brazil, where my single army is doing a ton of damage. By now, it is 1748. The war has been dragging on for a couple of years now.

Then, the Algerian army ceases to exist. I will have to do something if I want to prevent their gains from being lost again.


SvLfY9b.png


For one thing, I finally have enough men freed up to take care of that army in Nice. 30 infantry, 5 cavalry and 21 artillery, along with the Milanese army, under the command of Benoit de Ecures, a stunning 6-5-5-1 general. Probably the very best general I have ever had in any EU game.
Mind you, he will have to be at his best, because opposite the battlefield is a Spanish 5-5-3-1 general.


NdeiJMa.png


Right away, it becomes clear that I have it in the bag. With 2 more points of Morale and 7% Extra Discipline, together with superior numbers, I have nothing to fear.


FTHRtYV.png


That is enough for the Spanish to cave to my demands. Grabbing Léon is really just icing on the cake. The real price is the fact that they are forced to give up their alliances with Austria, Genoa, Portugal and Savoy. And after I take all their money back to Paris with me, it will take them a while to climb back out of the pit they had dug for themselves.


3wBllP1.png


I am happily blockading Portugal, when out of the blue a Portugese fleet of 2 Heavies and 24 Lights, attacks my 26-ship blockade. I manage to get my combat fleet there, but they are just a day too late. We each lose 26 ships, but I have the feeling that I am in a position right now where I can afford the losses. Portugal can’t. Together with Spain and their mutual colonies, they can muster a mere 9 Heavies, 25 Light and 1 Galley.
I think that would break any camel’s back.

In other news, the Timurids get annexed by the Mughals with a Cleaning Of Heresy CB, while the Ottomans are forced to set Armenia free and pay Russia 196 ducats.


b8rqAwa.png


Not to be outdone, I write down a peace treaty of my own. Hidden in the midst of it all, Portugal is forced to break off all treaties with Spain, including Military Access.

I won’t be able to do much conquering after this, now that I have 85% Overextension, but it was worth it.
Great Britain has lost the Ottomans, Portugal has lost Spain and Spain has lost Austria.
What a difference a couple of defensive wars make.
Even better is the fact that my Land Force Limit goes up to 205 and my Naval Force Limit goes up to 208.

So I finally have free reign to pay the Emperor of the HRE (or maybe the Queen of England) a visit. See you next time!
 
Pay the Queen of England a visit and carpet-siege her instead! You're becoming pretty unstoppable. :eek:
 
You do not have Corsica but you did get Sardinia from the Ottomans which I guess is as good (no offense to the corsican here). I'm also voting for a visit to the English queen as I would like you to impose a treaty similar to the one of Paris in 1763 (after the disastruous seven years war, which will probably never happens seeing as powerful as you are in the new world) to the British so that the "Perfide Albion" will never be able to rise again from the ashes.

That were Portugese Catholic Zealots. So, no mistake on my part. I still don't quite know how the game decides what type of rebels to spawn sometimes. But there you have it.

Seems weird indeed. Why would catholic zealots attack a catholic country? Are the portuegese protestant/reformed?
 
Last edited:
Pay the Queen of England a visit and carpet-siege her instead! You're becoming pretty unstoppable. :eek:

There is only one tiny little thing to factor into the equation: Austria only has 2 reforms left to go. We've all seen or experienced just what a powerhouse a united HRE is. Just for reference: what do you think Hitler was doing before he invaded Poland? Compare the Third Reich after march 1939 with the HRE in EU 4...

You do not have Corsica but you did get Sardinia from the Ottomans which I guess is as good (no offense to the corsican here). I'm also voting for a visit to the English queen as I would like you to impose a treaty similar to the one of Paris in 1763 (after the disastruous seven years war, which will probably never happens seeing as powerful as you are in the new world) to the British so that the perfide Albion will never be able to rise again from the ashes.



Seems weird indeed. Why would catholic zealots attack a catholic country? Are the portuegese protestant/reformed?

I guess the shoe is on the other foot now, compared to the situation RL: GB held the Atlantic coast, while France had Canada and Louisiana. Now it's the other way around. Only question: just how much can I grab, now that I have the 2nd level of Administrative Efficiency?
 
Only question: just how much can I grab, now that I have the 2nd level of Administrative Efficiency?

Not sure, it really depends on what your CN:s want (if you plan to conquer in North America) and the basetax of the provinces that you take.
 
Oh, that swarm of lovely blue over the Iberia! Congratulations on not having to re-live what the Napoleonic forces had to deal with... :p
 
May be good to have a late-game challenge, now that you've proven you can beat down Spain and the Ottomans with ease.

Maybe so.
 
Brutal losses on Spain and Portugal's part, especially the loss of those big trade fleets. Looks like Spain's being eaten from the north to the south, too.

Turks kinda didn't show up. Sick man indeed.
 
Brutal losses on Spain and Portugal's part, especially the loss of those big trade fleets. Looks like Spain's being eaten from the north to the south, too.

Turks kinda didn't show up. Sick man indeed.

Yeah, I think that we are seeing the sick man of Europe being born.

What about the end game revolutions, will we see any?

Your guess is as good as mine at this point.
 
Viva le Revolucion! :cool:
 
I too, would be interested by some kind of revolution in the endgame.

Viva le Revolucion! :cool:

Do you mean for the Spanish colonies or the French revolution? In the later case it should be "Vive la Révolution!" and in the former "Viva la Revolución!".

EDIT: Or maybe it is just an intentional melee of both as a joke. Probably this one. :eek:o
 
Er...let's go with the intentional melee. :blush: