1846 found the young Kingdom of Macedonia in a spirit of jingoism. The great victory over the once-mighty Ottoman Empire and the creation of a Macedonian state larger than anything the
Brotherhood of Freedom had imagined left the people of Macedonia (Greeks, Bulgars, Turks, Albanians, Jews) with mixed feelings. The Greeks and the Bulgars wanted more expansion in their lands where their brethren were still under the control of the Sultan. The Turks were largely apathetic, as if the demise of the Ottoman Empire was taken as a personal matter by all of them, while the Jews were apathetic for other reasons. For the large minority Jews of Thessalonica, Macedonia's capital, Thessalonica was their home; not Macedonia or the Ottoman Empire. What country it was in was of no consequence to them, insofar as they maintained their rights and priviledges and, since the Jews were among the wealthiest of Macedonia's subjects, His Majesty's Government made sure that they continued to live their lives as before.
Even in ten short years, Macedonia has started to transform beyond recognition. Factories have begun to be constructed, schools and hospitals have been created by His Majesty's Government to cater to the needs of the citizens of the young Kingdom and the Capital is to be built anew, no longer on the oriental, unorganised plan but on a grand scale worthy of the Kingdom of Macedonia - on a grid plan typical of cities of ancient Greece, with monumental architecture fitting for the state created out of the War of Independence. The style chosen is to draw from all eras of Macedonian history: classical, Roman and Byzantine. The centerpieces of the new design, the Arch of Triumph and the Temple of Victory, will both be devoted to the memory of all those who perished for the Freedom and Liberty of Macedonia.
(Fun fact: that drawing is an
actual proposal for Thessalonica from after the Great Fire of 1916 but was never built because of the Great Depression. Sadly.)
The majestic Royal Palace of Madrid.
Meanwhile, Macedonia's foreign ministry was increasingly turning towards the Iberian peninsula, but not towards the ancestral home of His Majesty Constantine XII & III. Instead contact with Spain became more widespread, both economic and diplomatic. The creation of a Foreign Mission in Madrid eventually led to the creation of a Macedonian-Spanish Alliance. Spain, with its sizeable navy and considerable greater manpower than Aragon, could potentially be a powerful ally for the Kingdom of Macedonia; an opinion shared in both Thessalonica and Madrid. The official signatures were placed upon the documents in Madrid in a ceremony fitting for such an occassion.
Men'o'war of the Royal Macedonian Navy.
The news of the Macedonian-Spanish Alliance spread quickly throughout the Kingdom. The creation of such a powerful naval alliance lit up the hope of liberating Macedonia's Greek brothers in the islands of the Aegean Sea and Cyprus. The Macedonian Royal Navy, His Majesty's pride, now consisted of a large number of men'o'war. Built to the specifications of Aragonese men'o'war, these vessels were created with one purpose: to liberate Macedonia's peoples and secure Macedonia's mastery of the sea. In Thessalonica's harbour, the hundreds of merchant vessels are dwarfed by the ships of the Macedonian Royal Navy, docked nearby due to a lack in proper naval facilities currently under construction.
Soon, the sight of the mighty warships created a sense of expectation. An expectation that Macedonia would continue the work she started, that she would liberate her Greek brothers at Sea and once the seas are secure, she will expand her loving embrace in the Balkans so that all her Bulgarian brothers can live under the Macedonian flag as well.
The Macedonian lion circling the Ottoman elephant over the Aegean.
The sudden militarisation of the Aegean Sea naturally created conflict. Macedonia's intentions to liberate the remaining Greeks from the rule of the Sublime Porte was no secret. In Thessalonica, the idea that the Royal Macedonian Navy was the key to success was very widespread. With every ship added to the fleet, tensions over the Aegean islands mounted. Throughout early 1846, the Royal Macedonian Navy's ships could be spotted in Ottoman-controlled water with orders not to shoot first. The mere presence of the ships flying the Macedonian tricolour all the way south to Rhodes was enough to cause revolutionary fervour in the Greeks of the Aegean.
Finally, after years of preparation and a surprisingly fast-moving Naval modernisation program, Macedonia (and her new ally, Spain) once again declared war upon the collapsing Ottoman Empire. Macedonia's demands for unchallenged supremacy in the Aegean Sea would give the fatal blow to whatever prestige the Sublime Porte had left. The much-desired Aegean islands, a prize to boast for, had for centuries been under foreign control and now Macedonia was challenging Ottoman control in the region - not just on land, but also at sea.
The Battle of the Sea of Marmara, a decisive victory for the Royal Macedonian Navy.
War was declared on 13 March 1846. The role of the Royal Macedonian Navy was swiftly proven right. The first action of the war saw the Macedonian navy enter the Straits where it engaged the Ottoman Imperial Navy, a shadow of the once-powerful Ottoman fleet. Raising the battle order, the Royal Macedonian Navy moved against the 31-strong Ottoman fleet. In the ensuing battle, Macedonia's more organised fleet all but obliterated the Turkish forces, with the 13-strong Macedonian fleet (made up entirely of men'o'war) completely destroying 5 ships of the Turkish fleet as the rest made a disorderly retreat back to Constantinople. Despite a numerical superiority of over 2:1, the Ottomans failed to secure victory and the much smaller Royal Macedonian Navy claimed supremacy in the straits.
Macedonian troops raising the Macedonian battle flag over the retaken city of Dedeagatch.
Encouraged by numerical superiority on land, as well as at sea, the Ottoman forces attempted to invade Macedonian soil at Dedeagatch, at the time undefended by Macedonian troops. This calculated move to allow the Ottomans to enter Macedonian soil allowed Macedonia time to rally enough troops to the region to be able to launch a successful offensive. The Macedonian general in charge of the attack against Ottoman-held Dedeagatch, Bulgar general Gjerasim Avram, lead a successful retake of the city. In the two battles which were held at Dedeagatch, a total of 15,815 casualties were reported, of which 4,873 were Macedonian while 10,942 were Ottoman. Finally, after the surrounding countryside was stained with the blood of honourable soldiers both Macedonian and Ottoman, Dedeagatch moved to Macedonian hands once more.
Macedonian troops crossing the river Evros onto Edirne.
Following the victories at Marmara and Dedeagatch, the Macedonian army moved on to the main stage of the offensive. This included a crossing of the river Evros onto Edirne, the former capital of the Ottoman Empire, and then a march towards Constantinople - the City of Cities. Crossing the river Evros was a major challenge, and the landings at Edirne were hard-earned victories for the Macedonian army. In the first wave of the attack, the First Battle of Edirne saw 9,239 casualties, 4,585 Macedonian and 4,744 Ottoman. The Ottomans, defending without the support of Artillery or Cavalry, were quickly driven out of Edirne in the two following attacks on the city. Overall, the three battles for Edirne saw 18,984 casualties on both sides, of which 9,749 were Macedonian and 9,235 were Ottoman. Finally, the city fell and the Ottoman army capitulated.
With the straits blockaded and Macedonian troops passing en-masse into Thrace, the Ottoman resistance began to collapse. In Thrace, the Ottoman forces were completely obliterated and nothing stood between the Royal Macedonian Army and Constantinople. Further north, in Bulgaria, the Turkish forces were attempting to encircle the Macedonian troops without much success. The battles of Skopje, Bitola and Stara Zagora were all Macedonian victories.
Click for larger.
The plains of Thrace were quickly transversed by the Macedonian troops, which started the assault on Constantinople. Left without a garisson, the takeover of the city was to take no less than a few months. The Ottoman troops watched hopelessly from across the Straits as their capital was swiftly taken over by the Macedonian army. Completely humiliated in the field of battle, and with its capital city captured, the Ottoman Empire soon sued for peace. Macedonia's terms, that the islands of the Aegean be passed onto here, were lenient on the Ottoman Empire. For now, Macedonia was interested in Liberation - not Empire.
Ottoman troops surrendering the Ottoman garrisson outside Constantinople.
While negotiations were taking place to end hostilities, Macedonian troops secured strategic positions within Turkey-in-Europe in order to guarantee that the Sublime Porte would not mount a counter-offensive. Finally, after 9 months and 7 days of fighting and 82,205 casualties, the Sublime Porte surrendered to the Macedonian demands. Unchallenged Macedonian supremacy in the Aegean Sea was now a reality and, some might argue, so was Macedonia's supremacy on land. Macedonia has only taken the Aegean islands. Constantinople will remain in Ottoman hands for now, for Macedonia has other matters to attend to. Inspired by her successes against the Sublime Porte, Macedonia now looks to the other powers of the Balkans occupying lands inhabitted by Greeks and Bulgars.
There is no space for Colonialism in this Macedonian Balkan reality. The old powers, which subjugated the peoples of the Balkans, must be expelled. For far too long has Venice, and her puppet of "Greece", dictated terms to the region. The time has come for Macedonia, tested in the field of battle, to show her true power so that her mission of Liberation may be complete.
First of all,
wow. :wub: I feel very honoured to have been given the AARtist of the Month award, thank you guys so much. I will try and keep updating the AAR as much as I can, it is great to know that the work put into it is appreciated by the community. I won't let you guys down, I'll make sure the quality of the AAR remains high for your enjoyment (and mine too).
@Athalcor - Yeah it's the AHD version of Victoria II which I have on my mac (on my PC I have HoD). It's good to be able to play Divergences every now and then, it is one of my favourite (if not
the favourite) mods.
@Mkoll13 - Macedonia will never die! :ninja:
@Warlord Skorr - Well, Aragon is not too happy with Macedonia, so Macedonia allied Spain instead. What's life without a bit of father-son competition, eh? To be honest I'm hoping no one spheres me, I like to be the one doing the sphering. Macedonia is already 11th, we are not that far off ;D
@hoi2geek - Yeah, it is the old anthem of Galicia. It's just an epic anthem, come on!
@Zzzzz... - That is exactly what we plan to do! When the Wars of Liberation are finished, that is!
@Derahan - Thanks a lot! Yeah I hope to be in the AARlander someday *daydream*
@rorlegion - Thanks man! It's a shame you haven't been on the Blutt und Eisen forums lately, we have had some very interesting games! We started a game a couple of weeks ago in which
I play Austria (well Austria-Hungary now). Also, thank you so much for nominating me for AARtist of the month. I really appreciate it!
@Mr. Capiatlist - Let's hope I stay back :| With the AARtist of the Month award I feel pressure (and incentive!
) to keep updating!
@blos10 - Thanks, hopefully nothing unexpected will come up and I'll keep updating the AAR
@StanislavSoltys - Yes, we were actually thinking of putting all the SCJU countries into Vicky 2 on an SCJU mod. Epic stuff, but then the site went down because the guy who paid for it went Africa to teach (I think?)
@hoi2geek no. 2 - Yeah the SCJU website is down, but some of the old SCJU members have started working on a new wiki to try and save all our work. It is a closed-membership wiki so if you want an account, tell me and I will make you one and give you the link.
@aekakiac - Hope you enjoyed
@MarniXL - Well, Macedonia rose up against oppression, so I think it is possible (theoretically) that it could accept Turks. I think it is more unrealistic that it starts out as an absolute monarchy - why would a nation rise up against a tyrany as an absolute monarchy? o_o All the rebellious states of the Ottoman Empire should start as democracies I think, with events to make them monarchies under Great Power pressure.
@Svip - Thank you so much!! This is a great honour! I will check out your AAR as well, for sure!
@Jape - Thanks! The trick is to lower the opacity a bit so that the new image blends in with the background a tiny amount.
@robw963 - Thanks for following
I'll make sure I don't disappoint in future updates!
@Belgiumruler - Thanks man
Hopefully you enjoyed this update as much as the previous ones!
@Athalcor no. 2 - Well the new update is here! You won't have to wait 5 months for the next one (I hope)
