France
The update one day early. It's constantly raining outside and I had a lot of time at work. My boss is great if he is in a good mood. Beware if he isn't.
I bought two generals. Crap. Bought a third. Even more crap. That's not what I wanted.
One general with decent shock and maneuver skills would have been enough.
Hagan Reinike is the only general to fight on hostile soil.
Karl Leopold can only fight in my provinces. No maneuver means a lot of attrition.
Magnus Klatt, what the hell will I do with him? Lowers attrition a bit, that's it.
The two armies in Koblenz and Worms (Alzey? / How is this provinz named in the english version?) are 7/6 and 7/0.
To strong to attack. Antwerpen is a much better target with a lot of Inf. I try to hold my ground as long as possible.
I send my Inf stacks to Kassel and Brunswick, they are better out of harms way at first.
I hit that army hard, twice. The second battle was over after the first round. 1000 kills/day.
As nice start. That gives hope.
Can't kill him, to many armies start to pile up and my armies are OOM. I retreat them to Limburg and Cologne.
The French army does't show its complete strength yet. I attack every small army I can find.
Push them back and raise the WE, can't do more at the moment.
The vassals send their troops to Italy. Schwyz, Brescia, Parma and back again. Not much going on here.
As soon as Palatinate is out of the war they will lose free passage and no more enemies appear in Italy.
Hmmm, no, that's a lie. No more French minions appear in Italy.
Seven month till The Palatinate surrenders. Good job for an emperor with only 1 province. Franken is under control of rebels since ever.
Palatinate stays emperor and they will win the next vote a few month later.
I hunt small stacks and kill them. A new big stack shows up and I have to retreat once more.
The war is going on for 9 month. I lost only three provinces and my armies are in good shape.
Spain ends the war in Africa. They have 4 provinces in Africa now.
Hopefully they send some help to me now.
France doesn't kill me. Maybe more events like this will.
One year after they DOWed. I can't hold my first defencce line any longer. That are 80+ french regiments on that screen.
Only Cologne and Zeeland can resist a bit longer. Rebels force France to slow down and pile up. No need for me to kill them.
Lithuania came, saw and ran back to mama. They didn't engage.
My plan works fine so far. WE 8 for France and again I can defend Cologne.
I pull my armies back from the front to secure provinces. To attaching provinces first.
A bit further away, out of sight, as soon as I find a way through the French lines.
This time the AI falls for my bluff.
France sends all armies north, not expecting any more resistance.
They suffer a lot from attrition.
17 month after the war started. My chance to attack. The turning point in this war.
Two stacks of Cav kill the last remaining French troops along the border. None of them have more than two regiments.
My Inf is at full strength and can conquer the first french province.
Almost done. Only 6k in Zeeland now.
Oh Yeah. More of those please. I'm not far away from ProdTech 9. More workshops for me.
Some days later I become Papal controller. French has a good relation with the pope. Pitty.
My reputation goes down a bit faster.
Can't save Zeeland. That stack in Onabrück must not reach France. I send 20K Cav to Limburg to block the way.
Better save than sorry now.
There are another 20+ regiments in Gelre. Couldn't they flee to Brabant.
I follow up. Don't know when I get a chance like this again.
43 regiments led by a 6 star general. I'm not strong enough for that. The problem is that I realized it late.
I try to get a general with some maneuver skills. No luck today.
I send all my troops to Gelre, but too late. I will lose this battle. My first big mistake in this war and a really stupid one.
A few days later I pull one stack out of Gelre to recover some morale.
I wait to long. Instead of retreating to Utrecht or Limburg my army flees to Friesland.
Lucky I am that no French army is strong enough to follow me.
Stab an injured man in the back. That's brave. Naples only has a 2/10 army, but I need all my generals.
Damage control is the best I can do now. My 10K Italian rebelforce hasn't seen a battle in month. Can't send more men to help.
Sweden dishonours the alliance. Cowards.
Finally. The French flee to Limburg. I follow them and send fresh troops from Münster. My Inf starts sieging in Zeeland and Gelre.
43 regiments are gone. 25 month after the war started.
My highest WE in this game up to now. It will raise further.
Rebels cut the remaining French army off. Time to finish them.
Carefully, they are still strong.
Ok, not that one. Lüneburg is stronger. I have to wait for a second army.
Naples opens a new COT in Naples. Why? I have no idea.
The emperor sends his best wishes and a 10K Inf. All I want is a white peace.
Naples owns Sicily, but not Malta.
My armies spread out. I split them into 3-4K siege units. Only a handful French regiments appear near me.
They die fast.
I never lost Cologne. Zeeland only for a short time and when the war was settled allready.
It was a really big help to get full reinforcements so near at the front.
In Lüneburg are still 30+ French regiments, but they are no real danger anymore.
