Neapolitan Nightmare - A Naples Always War AAR

[Arcas Cronifer]

EUIII and EUIV Naples are quite different, I have noticed. In EUIV they start stuck out in a PU under Aragon, although fortunately for me I get out of that with this mod. I do find it amusing that you used France to aid your own expansion. They're quite useful for that. Too bad I can't use them this time.

I just annexed Byzantium a few minutes ago. This time France didn't have anything to do with it ; Crete called me to their defense

 

[Michaelangelo]

I just annexed Byzantium a few minutes ago. This time France didn't have anything to do with it ; Crete called me to their defense

Aw, poor Byzantium. The Eastern Empire falls. Sounds like you're making a ton of progress though. I don't think I'm doing that well, but then again I have to deal with everyone attacking everyone. Getting involved in the Balkans would be quite nasty for me.

 

[Arcas Cronifer]

Aw, poor Byzantium. The Eastern Empire falls. Sounds like you're making a ton of progress though. I don't think I'm doing that well, but then again I have to deal with everyone attacking everyone. Getting involved in the Balkans would be quite nasty for me.

Well, what you're intending to do here has nothing to do with a good old "country unification, then Holy wars and let's see what happens next".
I couldn't play on a mod like Always War. I'm not afraid of waging wars but I like to take some rest between two conquests

 

[Michaelangelo]

Well, what you're intending to do here has nothing to do with a good old "country unification, then Holy wars and let's see what happens next".
I couldn't play on a mod like Always War. I'm not afraid of waging wars but I like to take some rest between two conquests

Well I could form Italy, although it's more waiting for admin 10 to do so than getting the provinces.

Well some peace is always nice. It's useful for building up more manpower, lowering war exhaustion, and burning off AE before waging more war.

 

[Arcas Cronifer]

Well I could form Italy, although it's more waiting for admin 10 to do so than getting the provinces.

Well some peace is always nice. It's useful for building up more manpower, lowering war exhaustion, and burning off AE before waging more war.

Seems like the AI doesn't like Naples at all. I get DOWed much more brutally and by bigger coalitions than in my usual games. Must be the status of potential conqueror of Italy while not being member of the HRE : it makes things much more difficult than with Milan, who can become emperor and thus greatly ease the process.

Just a few interesting points : I finally inherited Milan and Provence in 1465, at the cost of a 13 year long regency. I immediately started to consider going republican after that, since I had no more PUs to expect and my heir really sucked. I also cancelled the alliance with France who was dragging me in dangerous and pointless wars. It was a wise decision since shortly after they got completely crippled by emperor Burgundy. From then on they would'nt be such a good ally and I could even consider defeating them and taking some neighbouring provinces from them... meanwhile I shouldn't stay without allies, so I chose someone who, on the contrary of France, I cannot expect to beat anytime soon : Great Britain (holding all of their islands and with an enormous navy as usual, I assume no one else will). Actually it was them who offered me an alliance after buttering them for some months... a few weeks later I got DOWed by one coalition of Savoy, Genova, Austria, Tyrol, as well as another of Venice. It ended quite bad for all of them. In 1501, with a final core, I was able to form Italy. This will be my 4th Italian game, but this time it's a republican and non-HRE Italy. Wonder how I will manage to fight the Reconquest wars against HRE minors now. The emperor is truly powerful. Hope GB will be a faithful ally...

 

[Michaelangelo]

Seems like the AI doesn't like Naples at all. I get DOWed much more brutally and by bigger coalitions than in my usual games. Must be the status of potential conqueror of Italy while not being member of the HRE : it makes things much more difficult than with Milan, who can become emperor and thus greatly ease the process.

Just a few interesting points : I finally inherited Milan and Provence in 1465, at the cost of a 13 year long regency. I immediately started to consider going republican after that, since I had no more PUs to expect and my heir really sucked. I also cancelled the alliance with France who was dragging me in dangerous and pointless wars. It was a wise decision since shortly after they got completely crippled by emperor Burgundy. From then on they would'nt be such a good ally and I could even consider defeating them and taking some neighbouring provinces from them... meanwhile I shouldn't stay without allies, so I chose someone who, on the contrary of France, I cannot expect to beat anytime soon : Great Britain (holding all of their islands and with an enormous navy as usual, I assume no one else will). Actually it was them who offered me an alliance after buttering them for some months... a few weeks later I got DOWed by one coalition of Savoy, Genova, Austria, Tyrol, as well as another of Venice. It ended quite bad for all of them. In 1501, with a final core, I was able to form Italy. This will be my 4th Italian game, but this time it's a republican and non-HRE Italy. Wonder how I will manage to fight the Reconquest wars against HRE minors now. The emperor is truly powerful. Hope GB will be a faithful ally...

If I remember correctly, most major nations like France, Austria, and Spain get missions to claim part of Italy, so that may be why they're so hostile. Plus you're probably right about Naples not being part of the HRE hurting their expansion, since they inevitably have to anger the emperor to expand north.

For a second I read 1465 and thought you had inherited Milan within the first 20 years of the game, but then I remembered that EUIII starts in 1399 and not 1444. I've noticed quite a few people stick to EUIII. It does still hold up as an excellent game, especially since you don't have to struggle whenever a new patch messes things up for you.

Wow, four Italy games. I always wonder where people find the time to finish all these games. Sometimes I feel like I play at too slow a pace, since it takes me a couple hours just to play a decade. I can barely finish one game, and that usually takes months.

 

[Attalus]

Subbed

 

[Arcas Cronifer]

If I remember correctly, most major nations like France, Austria, and Spain get missions to claim part of Italy, so that may be why they're so hostile. Plus you're probably right about Naples not being part of the HRE hurting their expansion, since they inevitably have to anger the emperor to expand north.

For a second I read 1465 and thought you had inherited Milan within the first 20 years of the game, but then I remembered that EUIII starts in 1399 and not 1444. I've noticed quite a few people stick to EUIII. It does still hold up as an excellent game, especially since you don't have to struggle whenever a new patch messes things up for you.

Wow, four Italy games. I always wonder where people find the time to finish all these games. Sometimes I feel like I play at too slow a pace, since it takes me a couple hours just to play a decade. I can barely finish one game, and that usually takes months.

You're right about the "Italian ambition" missions, that also explains why my neighbours are so aggressive. It does take them a lot of time to understand that Italy is no longer a chaos of rich and defenseless independent states, but a unified country they shouldn't mess with . I bet it will be the same (and even worse / better) in your Always War AAR.

I stick to EUIII DW, not only because it looks like the perfect game for the alternate history maniac I am (and after 2 years I'm still finding out some new features and possibilities...) but also because my connexion is terrible (I live at the countryside) and if I was lucky enough then to manage downloading the EU3 suite, I'm not sure I can do it again now with EU4. Maybe I will try it harder when I make sure all the patches have been released, the bugs fixed and the extensions developed .

4 Italy games, 7 France, 7 England, 6 Burgundy, 3 Hindustan, 2 Ottomans and so on... but just remember I quite never actually finish a game. And of course I don't write brilliant AARs like you do . Basically I play up to 1450, or to 1550 if the game is more promising, or to 1650 if it feels truly exceptional. Last game I really followed up to 1820 was a Milan -> Italy -> HRE one. And it hardly looked like half a WC in the end. I never managed a true WC. I'm not really skilled, I only play to have fun and often give up when it gets boring or too hard - but I do play a lot indeed. Well, I'm a medium player, though I always play on VH level because I follow some of the Holy Prawnstar's rules .

 

[Michaelangelo]

Subbed

Glad to have you along.

You're right about the "Italian ambition" missions, that also explains why my neighbours are so aggressive. It does take them a lot of time to understand that Italy is no longer a chaos of rich and defenseless independent states, but a unified country they shouldn't mess with . I bet it will be the same (and even worse / better) in your Always War AAR.

I stick to EUIII DW, not only because it looks like the perfect game for the alternate history maniac I am (and after 2 years I'm still finding out some new features and possibilities...) but also because my connexion is terrible (I live at the countryside) and if I was lucky enough then to manage downloading the EU3 suite, I'm not sure I can do it again now with EU4. Maybe I will try it harder when I make sure all the patches have been released, the bugs fixed and the extensions developed .

4 Italy games, 7 France, 7 England, 6 Burgundy, 3 Hindustan, 2 Ottomans and so on... but just remember I quite never actually finish a game. And of course I don't write brilliant AARs like you do . Basically I play up to 1450, or to 1550 if the game is more promising, or to 1650 if it feels truly exceptional. Last game I really followed up to 1820 was a Milan -> Italy -> HRE one. And it hardly looked like half a WC in the end. I never managed a true WC. I'm not really skilled, I only play to have fun and often give up when it gets boring or too hard - but I do play a lot indeed. Well, I'm a medium player, though I always play on VH level because I follow some of the Holy Prawnstar's rules .

Well the nice thing about the Always War Mod is that wars only seem to be forcefully declared based on land borders. Since Italy is one giant peninsula, all those major powers that usually prey on the region will probably be focused elsewhere.

Yeah, I love the EU series for the chance to make some unrealistic worlds. Some people are obsessed with historical accuracy, but the crazier the world the better for me.

You play games like I do then. I played a bunch of EUIII games and abandoned most of them in the early 1500s. The only one I finished was an Ottoman one. I have difficulty sticking to one game for too long. I've actually found writing an AAR a good way to stay committed, since it has forced me to keep going and drawn out the process so I don't burn myself out or grow too bored. I'm excited to finish my tag swap AAR so I can add that game to the small collection of finished games. That would knock me up to four completed EU games, although I don't really count my France one because I cheated hardcore at the end when I got bored of rolling over everyone.

 

[Michaelangelo]

The Holy City (Part I)

At the instruction of the Archangel Michael, King Renato moved his army up into Abruzzi. Word had already arrived that war had broken out between the Papal State and Urbino. The fighting between the two had become brutal, resulting in acts of savagery more fitting for the tribes of the Central Asia. Neapolitan spies reported a titanic battle in Ancona where soldiers on both sides literally tore men apart. Hundreds were dismembered and worse in the throes of battle. The Pope only came out on top because he had more men.



The Papal army was now rampaging freely across Ancona, but was still weakened. Renato feared that once it was done terrorizing Urbino, it would move south against him. He had assumed Michael had anticipated such a thing and had thus asked him to move his army north, but he soon discovered that was not the archangel’s intention. The archangel instead advised him to strike at Rome while the Papal army was busy in Urbino. The holy city was vulnerable and open for taking. With it under Naples’ control, the Pope could be brought to his knees. Such talk sounded like blasphemy to Renato’s ears, yet it came from an archangel’s mouth. If the Pope was indeed corrupted by the Devil, it would make it his duty as a good Christian to free the city from his influence. He only hoped such an action would not come to bite back at him.



The Neapolitan army immediately marched into Roma and was soon stationed outside the gates of the holy city. The Neapolitan navy was positioned outside its harbour, although the Papal navy had long since fled to the ports in Romagna. The siege would only be a matter of time, as long as the Papal army did not return. Reinforcements were brought over in the meantime.

The Archangel Michael, in another surprising piece of advice, suggested that Renato order the bulk of his army to Ancona to strike at the Papal army while it was still undermanned. Under the leadership of General Carlo Gori, he believed that they could best the Pope’s forces and push them north to Romagna, claiming Ancona for Naples in the process. This would secure Naples’ northern borders and give Michael more land to cleanse. With nervous hesitation, Renato made the order to engage.



The terrain worked against the Neapolitan army and they didn’t have enough men to simply overwhelm the enemy. General Gori fought valiantly as men on both sides died in great numbers. The savagery of the enemy severly harmed morale, but the men kept fighting. The arrival of an entire cavalry regiment helped raise morale and tip the odds back in their favour. The Papal army was soon routed and Ancona open to siege. Renato welcomed the news.



While the battle had raged on, less welcome news arrived in the capital. The king of Aragon had decided to make good on his threats. War was declared and the Aragonese king vehemently swore that he would claim all of Naples as his in the end. Renato could only hope that Aragon would turn its sights elsewhere while Naples focused north. They did not have the men or resources to capture Sicily as of yet. He even ordered the Neapolitan navy back to port just in case the Aragonese navy arrived in force.



Another infantry regiment was recruited in the meantime while some of the army returned to Rome to continue the siege. The army was too weak to pursue the Pope’s forces into Romagna. Instead Renato focused his attention on stabilizing his rule over Naples, something that he desperately had to do now that Aragon was trying to reclaim the kingdom. The appearance of Aragon’s navy south of Naples was not a welcome sight. News that Aragon was at war with France and Castile was welcomed, however. In time perhaps Aragon would be weak enough to be forced out of Italy. For now Renato had more pressing matters to deal with.

 

[Attalus]

Poor little Naples surrounded by threats but well it could be worse, you could play Nuremberg or Byzantium

 

[Michaelangelo]

Poor little Naples surrounded by threats but well it could be worse, you could play Nuremberg or Byzantium

What was that about Nuremberg?



Don't even let me get started on Byzantium.

 

[Attalus]

I forgot they had 11BT or sth like that these pesky little Bavarians. I'm hyped to see more Byzantium coming in the next updates

 

[Michaelangelo]

I forgot they had 11BT or sth like that these pesky little Bavarians. I'm hyped to see more Byzantium coming in the next updates

From what I can tell, the key to survival is having the least amount of neighbours. The less neighbours you have, the less people who can attack you. You get lots of random tiny nations suddenly blobbing because their bigger neighbours are preoccupied.

 

[blklizard]

Better work quickly in expanding into the HRE before a dominant power gets in control. I'm getting the feeling that later wars becomes who could siege faster and, as a result, take more land than the enemy. Might be wise to get defensive ideas at one point?

 

[Michaelangelo]

Better work quickly in expanding into the HRE before a dominant power gets in control. I'm getting the feeling that later wars becomes who could siege faster and, as a result, take more land than the enemy. Might be wise to get defensive ideas at one point?

I don't intend to extend too far into the HRE right away. It'll be hard to defend with so many fronts. I'm hoping to push to the Alps and use the mountains to hold back enemies as I expand elsewhere. I don't want to give up too much of my plan yet.

That will probably be my first idea group. Quality also seems like a good choice, but defensive will probably be more beneficial at the start. The bad thing about Naples is my starting king isn't very good, so I'm going to be lagging behind everyone else until he dies.

 

[Attalus]

I think you need that morale bonus more than the discipline boost. You'll have to face the BBB at some time in the future and you don't want to be too much behind with their élan

 

[Michaelangelo]

I think you need that morale bonus more than the discipline boost. You'll have to face the BBB at some time in the future and you don't want to be too much behind with their élan

Good suggestion. I'm really just hoping to avoid France until I have to.

 

[Arcas Cronifer]

Well, this Always War game mechanic looks promising. It surely brings a lot of drama and we might see some unexpected events (hope to see a lot of maps, including of regions you're not directly concerned about). I can see clearly the point in starting from the heel of the Italian boot . You'lll be pretty safe progressing North against the minors and by the time you meet Milan, you'll already be bigger than them (provided they survive until that point, since their position is not as safe as yours).

For now you have to care about securing Sicily though, but I guess Aragon might not be as dangerous as they would be if this was the only war they'd have to fight. France and Castile might be busy themselves with their other neighbours, but they can still stomp Aragon like a cheap piece of meat between them (hope it will work and then they get doomed having to fight each other forever ).

I'll be pleased to see you expanding towards the Alps, crushing Switzerland and Austria - you know I don't like them, especially when they prey on Italy like they did in real history. I can't stand to see those rude Germans putting their thick fingers upon fine Carrara marble ... Make sure you hold Tyrol quickly, not only it's a mountainous stronghold, really difficult to size, but it's also quite rich - and a gate to Germany. I was glad to get it early in my game (Tyrol had been previously released from Austria, then they vassalized them, and I just had to annex them in a defensive war - I could make a separate peace since Austria was not even leader ).

 

[Michaelangelo]

Well, this Always War game mechanic looks promising. It surely brings a lot of drama and we might see some unexpected events (hope to see a lot of maps, including of regions you're not directly concerned about). I can see clearly the point in starting from the heel of the Italian boot . You'lll be pretty safe progressing North against the minors and by the time you meet Milan, you'll already be bigger than them (provided they survive until that point, since their position is not as safe as yours).

For now you have to care about securing Sicily though, but I guess Aragon might not be as dangerous as they would be if this was the only war they'd have to fight. France and Castile might be busy themselves with their other neighbours, but they can still stomp Aragon like a cheap piece of meat between them (hope it will work and then they get doomed having to fight each other forever ).

I'll be pleased to see you expanding towards the Alps, crushing Switzerland and Austria - you know I don't like them, especially when they prey on Italy like they did in real history. I can't stand to see those rude Germans putting their thick fingers upon fine Carrara marble ... Make sure you hold Tyrol quickly, not only it's a mountainous stronghold, really difficult to size, but it's also quite rich - and a gate to Germany. I was glad to get it early in my game (Tyrol had been previously released from Austria, then they vassalized them, and I just had to annex them in a defensive war - I could make a separate peace since Austria was not even leader ).

I'll admit I haven't been quite diligent in taking screenshots of other parts of Europe, since I felt that due to the narrative it made no sense for anyone in Naples to know what was happening too far away from Italy. I've come up with an idea to get around that, but you probably won't notice too much going on outside Italy until at least 1450.

Aragon is more of an annoyance than a threat. As you will see over many updates, their navy is very persistent.

Taking provinces from Austria is easier said than done. Once I get that far north, I have several enemies to deal with and trying to take even one province is a chore.