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Screenies, yay!
I need to get some for my Sibir AAR... Anybody know of some good websites for this purpose?
I need to get some for my Sibir AAR... Anybody know of some good websites for this purpose?
Shows the territorial gains of Lorraine after the completion of her first war, which has come to be called "The Fool's Gambit." It was one of only a very few unprovoked wars that Lorraine got herself into, and one that she technically had no business winning, but the faith and heart of her warriors carried the day, and put Lorraine on the path to Empire!
-=Vel=-
The conclusion of Lorraine's second major war, in which tiny Kleves was annexed by the brave King Antoine, who went on to win a stunning victory in Cologne, but would not live to see the war's end, nor the full measure of our gains. Cologne, Lux, and Hainaut were all formally added to our growing Kingdom not long after King Charles' coronation.
This war would lead directly into our grudge-match with the mighty Turk!
-=Vel=-
After the war with the Turk! Note the newly resurgent Venice, the expanded Savoy, and the (still numerous) Turkish presence in Italy, and Tyrol!
-=Vel=-
Thanks guys! I made a promise to myself NOT to start an EU2 Lorraine game till I finish the AAR for this one....but of course, in the meantime, I *did* start an AAR with the Cherokee....couldn't resist....TALK about your underdog! -=Vel=-
ACK EUII still pulling in more EUI-ers...
Don't listen! There is no such thing as EUII! Aaaaaaaargh!!!!
Don't listen! There is no such thing as EUII! Aaaaaaaargh!!!!
No worries....I still have both EUI and EUII on my hard drive....haven't had much of a chance to write tho....been home sick, and too out of my head to do much more than cut/paste and make short responses....lol....another installment coming soon tho!-=Vel=-
Apologies to all for the delay….the Candle’Bre project pulled me away from the forums entirely….however….note which of my two AAR’s I updated first, just as soon as I had the time….
1561 – Lorraine’s Colonial Era Begins!
We began 1561 in a period of quiet introspection, and hopes for a bright future, and why not? Against long odds, we had weathered a goodish many storms, and come out of each one stronger than we had been before.
And my how quickly the time had gone! Could it really have been more than sixty years? That alone astounded me, as had our accomplishments to date, as I sat back and reflected on them.
We had started as a ramshackle little Dutchy with nothing to recommend us, and mighty France having ancestral claims on our lands. No army to speak of, no vast pool of resources to draw from, and yet….every fight we found ourselves in, we had been on the winning side. Every opportunity that had presented itself for territorial expansion, we took, sometimes exploiting our alliance partners ruthlessly to satisfy the needs of the Empire in our hearts, and to make that Empire a living, breathing reality.
The Palitinat….erased.
Territories wrenched from the hands of the Spanish Titan.
Kleves and Cologne….gone…added to the growing territory of Lorraine.
The holy city of Rome, rescued from the marauding Turk, also now under Lorraine’s banner.
And now….Dutch territories confiscated on a point of honor, and a whole new world opened up for us to explore!
We were thriving.
The problem was that outside of our alliance, which had served us well since Lorraine’s star had begun rising, we were viewed with a great deal of scorn and suspicion. “Plucky upstarts” to some (like the Titans in Spain), and dreadful warmongers to others (like our smallish Germanic neighbors, who greatly feared our growing might.
Included in those who mistrusted and despised us were the independent city-states on the Italian peninsula.
At first, in the months that followed our liberation of the city of Rome, the leadership of nearby Tuscany and Modena would not even allow our envoys inside the city gates. Such was the level of mistrust that our diplomats were turned away at sword-point, but this, at least, was something I could act on….it was a beginning, and if you give a diplomat an opening….any opening at all, he can take it and run with it, which was what I did.
In the months that followed, I began humbly, by writing the Doges of both city-states humorous letters, detailing the antics of our envoys, and their various attempts to gain entrance into their cities to prove that we had no ill will toward them, nor any territorial designs on their lands.
The first several of these letters went unanswered, but I had sources inside both cities who assured me that the letters were reaching their intended audience and being read.
In time, I began getting tentative written responses, and the letter-writing campaign intensified, blossoming into the occasional sending of a lavish gift….showering the skittish Doges with attention, such that by the time we actually had our exploration fleet outfitted (October, 1561), we were on….almost friendly terms with the Italians in what was oft referred to as the “Small Alliance” (Tuscany, Modena, Naples (who only recently threw off the yoke of the mighty Turk), and the Knights), and this boded very well indeed, for when the Knights declared their latest crusade against the Turk, the Italians cowered in fear, and refused to fight, and when they did, I was there, with an offer in-hand that made room for the Italians in our alliance.
Given that Europe was a festering madhouse of politics and backstabbing, it was certainly no time to be without friends, and Lorraine had demonstrated time and again that she was a winning horse, and a good bet, and so the Italians signed on with us, binding their futures closer to ours, and though I didn’t tell them (in fact, I told them quite the opposite), I began envisioning a future with Italian city-states being peacefully absorbed and added into the growing Empire of Lorraine….
But enough of our politicking! There are other stories to tell in this, Lorraine’s golden age of exploration!
We are not a sea-faring people by any means….our nation began land-locked, and with scant hope of ever having much more than trading barges under our control, so that we suddenly found ourselves with a variety of ports and maps to far-off places….ohhh those were heady, intoxicating days! It seemed that the whole of the Kingdom was abuzz with excitement….all eyes turning toward the explorer Teufel, and all ears waiting for the day when his expedition would finally set out for the New World, and begin sending reports back home of his findings.
An expanding territory, new friends, a strong position on the Italian peninsula, a steady alliance with partners who had proved their loyalty to one another time and time again….things were looking up indeed!
Much as I enjoyed it, there was a small, nagging portion of my mind that was pessimistic, wondering how long the good times would last, and what cruel twist of fate would bring them to an end…..
-=Vel=-
1561 – Lorraine’s Colonial Era Begins!
We began 1561 in a period of quiet introspection, and hopes for a bright future, and why not? Against long odds, we had weathered a goodish many storms, and come out of each one stronger than we had been before.
And my how quickly the time had gone! Could it really have been more than sixty years? That alone astounded me, as had our accomplishments to date, as I sat back and reflected on them.
We had started as a ramshackle little Dutchy with nothing to recommend us, and mighty France having ancestral claims on our lands. No army to speak of, no vast pool of resources to draw from, and yet….every fight we found ourselves in, we had been on the winning side. Every opportunity that had presented itself for territorial expansion, we took, sometimes exploiting our alliance partners ruthlessly to satisfy the needs of the Empire in our hearts, and to make that Empire a living, breathing reality.
The Palitinat….erased.
Territories wrenched from the hands of the Spanish Titan.
Kleves and Cologne….gone…added to the growing territory of Lorraine.
The holy city of Rome, rescued from the marauding Turk, also now under Lorraine’s banner.
And now….Dutch territories confiscated on a point of honor, and a whole new world opened up for us to explore!
We were thriving.
The problem was that outside of our alliance, which had served us well since Lorraine’s star had begun rising, we were viewed with a great deal of scorn and suspicion. “Plucky upstarts” to some (like the Titans in Spain), and dreadful warmongers to others (like our smallish Germanic neighbors, who greatly feared our growing might.
Included in those who mistrusted and despised us were the independent city-states on the Italian peninsula.
At first, in the months that followed our liberation of the city of Rome, the leadership of nearby Tuscany and Modena would not even allow our envoys inside the city gates. Such was the level of mistrust that our diplomats were turned away at sword-point, but this, at least, was something I could act on….it was a beginning, and if you give a diplomat an opening….any opening at all, he can take it and run with it, which was what I did.
In the months that followed, I began humbly, by writing the Doges of both city-states humorous letters, detailing the antics of our envoys, and their various attempts to gain entrance into their cities to prove that we had no ill will toward them, nor any territorial designs on their lands.
The first several of these letters went unanswered, but I had sources inside both cities who assured me that the letters were reaching their intended audience and being read.
In time, I began getting tentative written responses, and the letter-writing campaign intensified, blossoming into the occasional sending of a lavish gift….showering the skittish Doges with attention, such that by the time we actually had our exploration fleet outfitted (October, 1561), we were on….almost friendly terms with the Italians in what was oft referred to as the “Small Alliance” (Tuscany, Modena, Naples (who only recently threw off the yoke of the mighty Turk), and the Knights), and this boded very well indeed, for when the Knights declared their latest crusade against the Turk, the Italians cowered in fear, and refused to fight, and when they did, I was there, with an offer in-hand that made room for the Italians in our alliance.
Given that Europe was a festering madhouse of politics and backstabbing, it was certainly no time to be without friends, and Lorraine had demonstrated time and again that she was a winning horse, and a good bet, and so the Italians signed on with us, binding their futures closer to ours, and though I didn’t tell them (in fact, I told them quite the opposite), I began envisioning a future with Italian city-states being peacefully absorbed and added into the growing Empire of Lorraine….
But enough of our politicking! There are other stories to tell in this, Lorraine’s golden age of exploration!
We are not a sea-faring people by any means….our nation began land-locked, and with scant hope of ever having much more than trading barges under our control, so that we suddenly found ourselves with a variety of ports and maps to far-off places….ohhh those were heady, intoxicating days! It seemed that the whole of the Kingdom was abuzz with excitement….all eyes turning toward the explorer Teufel, and all ears waiting for the day when his expedition would finally set out for the New World, and begin sending reports back home of his findings.
An expanding territory, new friends, a strong position on the Italian peninsula, a steady alliance with partners who had proved their loyalty to one another time and time again….things were looking up indeed!
Much as I enjoyed it, there was a small, nagging portion of my mind that was pessimistic, wondering how long the good times would last, and what cruel twist of fate would bring them to an end…..
-=Vel=-
[suspenseful music playing in background]
Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good.
How 'bout some screenies?
Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good.
How 'bout some screenies?