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It seems lie you could exploit that. Surround an enemy province, let it rebel and wait for the rebels to enforce the demands while refusing military access.
Well, if you're surrounded an enemy province, you're either:
a) very lucky
b) stronger than the enemy country
So the "exploit" doesn't sound too strong. Of course, some intreprid EU4 player will prove me wrong :)

What you mentioned is actually a valid strat, used for example against disjointed countries such as the Palatinate or the Timurids (the Timurids tend to break into separate regions in most games).
Rebels usually neeed to hold the capital to get ticking demand-score. I didn't think revolutionaries got ticking demand-score from any province, but may be that allow them to be more hurtful than mere peasant.
Well, most rebels actually don't need to hold the capital - just a certain number of provinces. Once they reach that threshold, the timer starts ticking down. Nobles, peasant, patriots, nationalists, etc. Even pretenders don't need the capital - those are the most rigid and they want 50% of the provinces occupied. I don't remember about zealots. See here for more details: http://www.eu4wiki.com/Rebel
 
Wow. Just...wow!
 
tnick0225: Ja! The Habsburgs are done as rulers of Austria! Except for Johan Leopold, who has joined the revolution! I just saw that Habsburgs are about to rise to the thrones of France and one of the minor German states. They will join us in time!

Fortunately though my RMs broke, my alliances didn't.

Avindian: The leader of the diseased, bloated thing that calls itself the Empire has been Palatinate since we began with Austria - and yes, we will bring down this monarchist construct!

TheDualSwords: Alas! Though Johan Leopold might last long enough (he's 33 as this turn begins), I doubt we will be here to guide him long enough and the AI will eventually pick a successor.

4th Dimension: Ja! The one band of brave nobles from Sundgau forced Johan Leopold to end his tyrannical delusions! And yes, 'WTF' was my reaction as well!

Chief Ragusa: No, I was not laughing. Nonetheless, I have come to see this as a blessing! Unfortunately, the only way a PU is happening (and even that's a huge maybe) is if Johan Leopold does not die or leave office before 50 years pass. Eventually Bohemia will leave, and then we will show them the ways of revolution as well!

Orlov Kruskayev: Tempting, but I don't even think we CAN attack them. Anyway, as long as the B.N.F.S.R. (Bohemian Noble Federated Soviet Republic) is loyal, they have nothing to fear!

Stuyvesant: We do not need resources! Those will come from the nobles who throw off their chains and join our revolt!

Asdfezxcas: Patience, comrade! Even with our righteous determination we cannot hope to conquer all of Europe!

Right away.

Augenis: Yes, the nobles of Sundgau shall live forever in our memory! And yes, CK2 has an excellent random generator.

Homusubi: Johan Leopold will reign as long as he remains true to the revolution!

Darkath: Indeed! Especially once the French become Habsburg. That affront cannot stand! And yes, Johan Leopold surviving 5 terms will be difficult.

Richards840: This is true. Johan Leopold has to last 40 years, and we have to be here to keep him in office. That's not likely.

Seelmeister: Nein! If this were a long term game it would indeed be different, but think of all the roleplaying possibilities and sheer fun of trying to set off revolutions centuries early. It'd be alot of fun.

00CloughRN: Yes! Once the dust settled they started throwing their harlots at us again.

Svip: Right.

eugene171: It'd be nice if you were right, but that would mean a tooltip is wrong. (Not that it can't be.) If I hover over Bohemia's 'ruler', it says that once Johan Leopold dies an heir from a different (Czech sounding) family takes over.

Nikolai: Yes, damn the enemies of the revolution!

oblio-: My initial reaction was definitely 'Are you kidding?'

Still, it does make a weird kind of sense. If I was going to try to turn this into a narrative, I'd talk about how the nobles were growing increasingly concerned (Disorder event) by my refusal to do something, finally strongly hinted I needed help (Sickness of the King), then struck once they'd consolidated their position and forced 'me' to permanently cede power (Noble Republic), while perhaps keeping 'me' around as a figurehead leader to prevent a backlash.

4th Dimension: No, it can't be an exploit if it allows us to spread the revolution!

Darkath: Well, they WERE mere peasants. This started as a tax revolt event.

oblio: That sounds right.

Idhrendur: Join us comrade, don't be afraid. We have cookies!

blasteg: We were able to rebuild our RMs, but again, unless the tooltip is simply wrong, we're going to lose Bohemia to the monarchist swine.
 
CHAPTER XVI: AUSTRIA
Part 4: In Soviet Austria
(1670-1675)


It's a Revolution!

Welcome, comrades!

For too long have we lived under the tyranny of kings and their adulterous, inbred progeny! They have trod on the liberties of the righteous! They have led us to the brink of oblivion! No, not the physical death of Austria, which we hold dear and to which we pledge our lives, but to a spiritual and emotional death!

I've even designed a new flag! See?
167501SovietAustria_zpsee58acc8.jpg


The hammer and sickle obviously representing the fact the nobles do the real work around here.

Now rise up! Down with the monarchist scum and up with the aristocrats! (Not the bourgeois or proletariat however, let's not get ridiculous.) The freedom loving nobles in Sundgau showed us the way. Johan Leopold has seen the errors of his ways and he will lead us! We will rise up and free Europe, ensuring the health, prosperity and liberty of all!

By force if need be.


Coalition Wars

First thing's first: Even though all our RMs broke, our allies instantly agree to reaffirm their vows with 7 new RMs. Perhaps we hired some good marriage counselors to get over this rough patch in our relationships. Beer can solve anything, including broken hearts!

We are no longer eligible for the Imperial throne, so we must find other ways to weaken the Empire! The Palatinate has generally been a good friend, but for our revolution we need an emperor as week as possible. Bavaria, a TPM (and the two aren't bordering), has one vote. If we vote for them, and Bohemia follows along, then the election would be PAL 3/BAV 3/SAX 1. I think the current emperor (Palatinate) wins ties, but it makes his position much more fragile.

Let's hire the 12 mercenary regiments mentioned last turn: I want a reserve of manpower when the bloodletting begins, and we can afford them.

Very quickly we have a northern army of 13K under Karl Joseph Arenburg (F2 S6 M4 Sg1), a west central army of 17K under veteran general Michael Erlmayr (F2 S3 M6 Sg3), and Johan Leopold (F3 S3 M5 Sg2) with 16K on the Bavarian border.

I'm still worried about losing Johan Leopold in battle (and thus the Bohemian PU), but he's a good commander and we'll need him. The coalition may be a little weaker than before, but so is our alliance net. The numbers are reasonably close...

167001War_zpsbcc2f151.jpg


..but we won the first coalition war pretty handily, and who can stand before the fury of our revolution? Officially our target is Thuringia, but I'm thinking of using this opportunity to clean up a few messes. Ulm and Wurzburg, for example, will peace out separately when we conquer their lands. Bavaria and Thuringia are small enough we can probably take them in the peace. Revolution indeed!

In the north, Arenburg quickly smashes 2,000 in Wittenburg, Thuringia and settles in to siege. Erlmayr settles in Memmningen, Wurtemberg while Johan Leopold kills 2K Bavarians and sieges Munich.

Our enemies make a determined run on Wittenburg. It was one of those sprawling affairs where stacks swarmed in from all over, which only prolonged the coalition's suffering. Bohemian commander Jiri z Veleslavina (6/3/3/1) proved much better than his opponent. They lost 22,000 to our 4,800.

167003Win_zpsfeb988be.jpg


It wasn't as decisive as you might think however. Veleslavina et.al. chased the routing army hoping to destroy several regiments and forced two more battles, but finally had to back away as our enemies retreated into a stack of 17K fresh troops and our own morale was flagging. Nonetheless, this ended the northern campaign until August.

In the south, Johan Leopold and Erlmayr both split their stacks to siege Ulm and Nurnberg. We raised 10K more mercenaries to defend the revolution, but too late. Lothar Franz I caught us with 43,000 men vs. our 20. For awhile we held out, again due to superior leadership, but this time it was not to be. Our eastern army routed deep into Austria in order to collect the new batch of mercs.

167007Loss_zps85e313f9.jpg


He would soon have company: In the north, Arenburg successfully seized Wittenberg and marched on Altmark to destroy a coalition army of 10,000. He succeeded, then as an encore struck at Brunswick, who was under siege from an army of 41K.

He was outnumbered, only mustering 33K, but confident in his abilities. Indeed it was a close, hard fought affair that seriously damaged both armies, but their artillery was too strong. Arenberg also retreated, this time to Vienna.

167008Brunswickloss_zpsac923b11.jpg


This was ridiculous and alarming. Erlmayr abandoned his siege at Ulm to recombine his army at Memmingen. The coalition didn't care, for now they carried their momentum into an attack on Bohema and Austria proper.

A coalition army of 17K caught the 'new' 10K mercenaries in November: I would like to say we won, or even that it was a good battle, but they weren't quite ready and were leaderless. 10 regiments ceased to exist.

Arenburg's army followed in December. Though still woefully understrength, I noticed 14K Bohemians fighting off 7K Mainz in Bohmerwald. Sensing an easy battle I sent Arenburg's army in. Slaughtered.

This left Erlmayr's as the only army worthy of the term. He thrust north, defeating a larger army at Augsburg before destroying a coalition army in Brunswick.

167101Erlmayrtriumphs_zps7ba5cc1f.jpg


They delayed him long enough for a fresh attack however, and once more armies weighed in from around the region. Within a week we were outnumbered, but only 51K vs. 55K. This time we were the ones at a disadvantage: It appears a large number of allied regiments were understrength and they began routing of the battle. By the beginning of February it was 24 on 40.

Losing Erlmayr would leave us at the coalition's mercy. Yes, we could build another mercenary army, but the tide's completely against us now. Utrecht's already been forced out of the war and everyone else is exhausted. Our own manpower is gone, spent trying to rebuild Johan Leopold's army.

No. This just won't do. Fortunately we haven't (yet) lost Wittenberg, which gives us some bargaining power with the coalition leader...

167102Discretion_zpsf31282db.jpg


We lost the war, but not the will to free Europe from tyranny! We will form a new pact! A Vienna pact! A curtain is falling over Europe, kinda velvet with frills, and will not be raised again in our lifetimes! Da?

I mean, Ja?


Interbellum

We will NOT sit quietly and recover. We will simply find smaller targets! Mantua's high on my list. She refused to join us in the last war. Her alliance with Wittenberg isn't an issue, but Spain's guarantee is. They'll have to wait.

No, it has to be Mitrehead. Along with his past crimes, Catholicism is at the heart of the 'divine right' nonsense which monarchists use to lord it over us nobles! Unfortunately, the Papacy is protected by geography, meaning we only border one province of five. While our armies recover we arrange for MA through Venice and Tuscany, which gives us access to all but one on the Dalmatian coast.

There's a problem though: The Pope has allies in Switzerland and Hungary. Switzerland's a joke, but after that last beating I don't want to get into a prolonged campaign. This needs to be a virtual smash and grab. What to do...

While I ponder (and Johan Leopold's army continues to heal), Venice wants to upgrade to a full alliance. Sure, welcome aboard. A merchant republic isn't as good as a noble one, but it's a start. We also gain Military-21 (Cartridge), and now that we're not paying for so many mercenaries we can afford to build Fort-3s along our southern border. Just in case.

In May 1671 I notice Bohemia didn't follow me after all, and is in fact voting for the Palatinate. Well...fine. We can afford to be the Emperor's friend. For now.

September comes, and suddenly armies burn through Europe because Ulm has decided their (larger) Wurtemberg neighbors are idol worshipping scumbags. It's Ulm, Thuringia, Spain, Lithuania, Florida and Catalan Canada vs. Wurtemberg, Poland, Mantua, Liege, Netherlands, Dutch West Indies and Dutch Colombia. This could be fun to watch.

It's even more fun to take advantage of their confusion though. We finally integrate Ansbach in October, then declare war on Switzerland.

Wait. Switzerland?


Sticking it to Mitrehead

Yes, because Switzerland only has the Papacy as their ally. I don't call any, which makes the Papacy think it's okay to try their luck at defense. We respond by inviting France and Tuscany along, you know, just in case.

167110Switz_zpsf662c283.jpg


There will be no fighting in Switzerland: We couldn't get there if I wanted, and we don't. No, both armies strike through the Papal frontier to destroy the Catholic tyrant. By the end of October the eastern army has sieged Istria, while Erlmayr annihilated a 3K stack and sieged Ferrra, Romagna AND Rome.

This worries our bourgeois scum: On the one hand, new coastal provinces means more trade opportunities, but also tightens our hold on their capitalist practices. They ask for guarantees. We laugh at them.

167112FreeTraders_zps992498dc.jpg


Indeed, overthrowing the monarchist bureaucracy leads to certain benefits, like Administration-21 (Land Clearance), which redistributes land to those best able to exploit its resources (the nobles), and the Recruiting Act, which redistributes our young and healthy men to those best able to exploit them (the nobles).

It isn't much of a war, though Mitrehead does get credit for bravery: In November, a Papal fleet of 12 galleys and 4 transports deposits 2,000 men on top of Erlmayr's 8,000. The results are predictable.

This alarms our bourgeois, who once more ask for concessions and get laughed down some more. Indeed, mercantilism benefits Austria as it allows us to import a rare fruit which we have no use for but has an interesting taste. (Diplomacy-22 (Limes))

Rome falls in October 1672, followed by Ferrara, Istria and Romagna in November. Unfortunately we don't have enough Dip points to impose a just and lasting peace, so we sit there as the Palatinate emperor demands we allow Catholic priests to convert Styria to the Roman faith.

Uhm...I just occupied Rome. Which part of 'We don't like Mitrehead' are you missing? We agree to make the Emperor happy, then send missionaries in. Steiermark is Protestant again before the end of '73.

In December, we finally find where Mitrehead's hiding and make him sign over 3/5 of his land. Even better, we can claim we're reclaiming lands for the Empire, and the Emperor can't say a thing.

167212Victory_zps17cffd89.jpg


In the aftermath we send in the missionaries and start coring Istria. We've frightened the Mantuans badly enough that our alliance auto-broke. Too bad that's the last mistake they're going to make.


Milk of Mantua

Since Mantua and Spain are on opposite ends of Ulm's little cleaning of heresy war mentioned earlier, Spain's guarantee must have broke - or perhaps it simply expired. Regardless, they're not in the least bit interested when we declare war in March 1673, just three months after the Papal war and still technically at war with Switzerland (who is not interested in any kind of peace. Perhaps they realize what a dump Sundgau is.)

Wurtemberg was Mantua's ally, but since their country is almost fully occupied they have no interest in getting involved. We don't even bother calling in our allies.

167303Mantua_zpsda506720.jpg


Later that month we smash 4K Mantuans sieging a Venetian province. This represents the end of their army and all resistance, as by the end of March their entire country is sieged.

Meanwhile, people back home are still celebrating sticking it to Mitrehead. I know I am.

167305ReligiousZeal_zpsc20bfb2c.jpg


In August the bourgeois scum try yet again, giving me a good chuckle. By October all of Mantuan territory is occupied. Unfortunately, we lack Dip points to do what we want.

The cynical among you may think that we betray the revolution here, for twice Mantua offers to give us Modena and convert to a noble republic if we leave them alone. That's true, but they would not be a noble republic serving as a member of the Vienna pact. That's why we had to wait until June 1674 and annex them outright.

Now the cynical among you are wondering why we didn't release Mantua as a member (vassal) of the Pact. Well, we will once they realize that Mitrehead's Catholicism is a lie. Please be patient, our missionaries are working in the order received.

Switzerland's decided they had enough, something to do with 13K Frenchies fighting 7K in Sundgau. We admit we were mistaken in declaring war on Switzerland since they were never the target anyway, and everyone goes home.

We've now officially angered pretty much the entire continent. Spain joins the coalition, hereafter referred to as the North European Alliance & Trade Organization (NEATO). We are not yet ready to carry the revolution to Spanish shores. NOW it is time to rest and regroup.

And sabotage the Empire. Bavaria no longer has any support to be Emperor. Saxony does, and they're just as weak: Throwing in with them makes the Imperial election SAX 3/PAL 2/SAV 2.

This annoys the Emperor, who joins NEATO and embargos us. He also demands we give up Mantua. We laugh at him. This reminds Spain they can embargo people also, and so they do.

Revolutionaries (the wrong kind!) show up in Modena in November, so we have General Erlmayr march down and explain things to them. This ends our turn...

Johan's Dice

Reign: 20 years
Needed: 5+
Roll: 4
Continue? No

..and our tenure.
 
INTERLUDE XI (1675)

So, how did we do?

167501Austria_zps87a8b17e.jpg


It's a mixed bag. Lost some provinces in the north, Regained the Bohemian PU and a new vassal. We turned into a noble republic, but had a very successful conquering spree. Europe hates us, but they fear us also.

Rather than go country by country through our former charges (most of whom rarely if ever change), I thought we'd focus on a few areas I thought look interesting. For example, the New World's about to get interesting.

167501NorthAmerica_zps56148da9.jpg


'Vinland' already lost a war vs. Catalan Canada and paid a war indemnity. Now they're occupied by Great Britain. Florida now borders the Shawnee. Can war be far behind?

167501SouthAmerica_zps7c8bf067.jpg


The same can be said for the Dutch/Inca border. Will there be a war? It's hard to be sure: I've seen the Portuguese establish a protectorate over Kongo via conquest for example, but everyone's known about the Aztecs for awhile now and no one seems interested in bordering them to attack.

Meanwhile, Oman's back.

167501Oman_zps1a3eb50d.jpg


That's more or less their pre-war borders. The Ottomans eliminated Iraq. Yemen's still a major power in its own right. I'm sure I saw the two fight once already, though the results were inconclusive (unless that's when the Ottos destroyed Iraq.)

Europe is .. a mess.

167501Europe_zps787d2c47.jpg


That is a frightening looking Spain. Despite their size the Netherlands are emerging as one of the major players, while Britain's starting to pick up their colonial game. The Ottos are huge, but haven't made any serious pushes into Europe in awhile. Sweden's rebounding, though with most of their provinces occupied we'll see how that goes. My Teuton buddies are still there.

167501RussiaandJapan_zpsa9460740.jpg


So not only is Japan colonizing, they gave the Ming a rude awakening and are currently thrashing the Zhou. Meanwhile, Russia's pushing down the Kamchatka Peninsula. With the Ruskies also in control of Manchuria and Japan owning Korea, are we going to see an early Russo-Japanese war?


Where to?

Okay, I realize some of you weren't quite happy that I ignored Kanem Bornu, so I'll give you the choice.

We can go to Kanem Bornu this turn. My concerns from last time remain: They have one neighbor (Mali), who's about three times more powerful. Theoretically they could go after Oyo, but with no border that means traveling through unclaimed/native lands. Attacking Portugal is right out, and I doubt KB's going to get any colonists any time soon.

Still, we have dealt with worse. Far worse.

Our other choice, according to the RNG, is Palatinate

167501Palatinate_zps1c353f37.jpg


They are the emperor, which helps, but they appear weaker than both Netherlands and Mainz. Regardless, it will most certainly not be quiet.

It's currently predawn Sunday where I live. We'll go with most votes through Wednesday evening.

(Vote authorized by Avindian. Thanks!)
 
Last edited:
Zhou who?

Revolutionary Austria wasn't as good at war as monarchist Austria. You did thoroughly smash mitrehead, which counts for something.

My vote is for KB.

War with mali, a colonist, westernization, pizza and royal marriages with anyone who'll have you. Maybe not all in that order or in your lifetime.
 
Are we allowed to vote by the mods? I'll give my voice to the Palatinate in that case.:)
 
Kanem Bornu- Lead them to greatness!
 
Palatinate
 
I vote to let you choose- whichever you think you'd enjoy more. You're the one doing the AAR, after all- the fact that you told us about cheating (on Kanem Bornu) means that, in my mind, you are entitled to that cheatery. I'll enjoy reading whichever one you pick :D