Hello AARland. I am volksmarschall, who shall be taking you on a journey through the Revolutionary Wars, concentrating on the exploits and heroism of the Archduke Charles (Erzherzog Karl in the game). This AAR will not be overtaking “Decline and Fall” for anyone who is following that AAR – rather, this AAR is intended to be a fun and hopefully, somewhat quick AAR that will build to my list of completed AARs; since it is substantially lacking at this moment, and will be a nice relief from the aforementioned heavy-handed AAR which I think will take a very long time to complete.
For those who know me, I bid you welcome once more. For those who do not, I bid you welcome! This AAR will be conducted in the history-book format, which I am partial to. However, I hope to include more screenshots than those familiar with my two history-book AARs: The Presidents, and Decline and Fall, which are generally bereft of screenshots! I also want to give a shout-out to Seelmeister for his MotE AAR “In the Shadow of Greatness,” which inspired me to do an AAR primarily focusing on an in-game character (who is also historical) rather than a sweeping history of the period.
Historically, this is a topic of great interest of mine. For those not aware of my background, I have a BA in history, and working towards a PhD. in the coming years. I have written on the Napoleonic Era, which was one of my two principle fields of study as an undergraduate (the other being Near East history, American history doesn’t count for me!). I am not an Anglophile, nor do I have Anglophobia, but I hope that in this AAR, even though it follows the EUIV campaign of the Revolutionary Wars, that I bring a much not highlight to the often neglected Imperial and Royal Army of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era. Historically, the Austrian Army at the start of the Revolutionary Period was considered to be the best army in Continental Europe – contemporaries of the period praised the individual Austrian soldier, and believed the Austrian artillery and cavalry to be the finest in Europe (cf. Christopher Duffy, Owen Connelly and Gunther Rothenberg’s books “The Army of Maria Therese,” “Blundering to Glory,” and “Napoleon’s Greatest Adversary” respectively. Yes, the title of this AAR pays tribute to Rothenberg’s magisterial English-speaking narrative of the Archduke and the Austrian Army of the period). Napoleon lost 9 battles during his career, only 4 of which he was defeated in personal battle against a single army (without coalition help), 3 of these battles were against the Austrian Army, of which the Archduke Charles handed Napoleon his first defeat in over a decade. He is the only Napoleonic Era commander to personally defeat Napoleon’s Grande Armée without the help of allied forces.
House Rules : No cheating, no reloading, no gamey-tactics, etc. I will also be handicapping myself to use Austria’s historical military units (i.e., the White Coat Infantry), which Paradox developers modeled after the historic Austrian Army. This AAR ends when the Revolutionary Wars conclude (arbitrarily in the game of course, although I have the right to make that determination). The War will end when I defeat France, to keep it challenging I must take Paris before I can conclude such a peace. In the event that I sue for peace with France, assume that such an event will be but a lull in the war.
So, without further ado, I present to you all, The Revolution’s Greatest Foe!
CHAPTER INDEX:
The Road to the Revolutionary Wars (below)
Ch. I: Panic in Vienna
Ch. II: The Battle of Lambach and Trouble in Italy
Ch. III: The Battle of Landschut and the Rise of the Revolutionaries
Ch. IV: Across the Rhine
Ch. V: Retreat and Reform
Ch. VI: The Battle of Innsbruck, Part One
Ch. VII: The Battle of Innsbruck, Part Two
Ch. VIII: The Fall of Paris and the Legacy of Archduke Charles
For those who know me, I bid you welcome once more. For those who do not, I bid you welcome! This AAR will be conducted in the history-book format, which I am partial to. However, I hope to include more screenshots than those familiar with my two history-book AARs: The Presidents, and Decline and Fall, which are generally bereft of screenshots! I also want to give a shout-out to Seelmeister for his MotE AAR “In the Shadow of Greatness,” which inspired me to do an AAR primarily focusing on an in-game character (who is also historical) rather than a sweeping history of the period.
Historically, this is a topic of great interest of mine. For those not aware of my background, I have a BA in history, and working towards a PhD. in the coming years. I have written on the Napoleonic Era, which was one of my two principle fields of study as an undergraduate (the other being Near East history, American history doesn’t count for me!). I am not an Anglophile, nor do I have Anglophobia, but I hope that in this AAR, even though it follows the EUIV campaign of the Revolutionary Wars, that I bring a much not highlight to the often neglected Imperial and Royal Army of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era. Historically, the Austrian Army at the start of the Revolutionary Period was considered to be the best army in Continental Europe – contemporaries of the period praised the individual Austrian soldier, and believed the Austrian artillery and cavalry to be the finest in Europe (cf. Christopher Duffy, Owen Connelly and Gunther Rothenberg’s books “The Army of Maria Therese,” “Blundering to Glory,” and “Napoleon’s Greatest Adversary” respectively. Yes, the title of this AAR pays tribute to Rothenberg’s magisterial English-speaking narrative of the Archduke and the Austrian Army of the period). Napoleon lost 9 battles during his career, only 4 of which he was defeated in personal battle against a single army (without coalition help), 3 of these battles were against the Austrian Army, of which the Archduke Charles handed Napoleon his first defeat in over a decade. He is the only Napoleonic Era commander to personally defeat Napoleon’s Grande Armée without the help of allied forces.
House Rules : No cheating, no reloading, no gamey-tactics, etc. I will also be handicapping myself to use Austria’s historical military units (i.e., the White Coat Infantry), which Paradox developers modeled after the historic Austrian Army. This AAR ends when the Revolutionary Wars conclude (arbitrarily in the game of course, although I have the right to make that determination). The War will end when I defeat France, to keep it challenging I must take Paris before I can conclude such a peace. In the event that I sue for peace with France, assume that such an event will be but a lull in the war.
So, without further ado, I present to you all, The Revolution’s Greatest Foe!
CHAPTER INDEX:
The Road to the Revolutionary Wars (below)
Ch. I: Panic in Vienna
Ch. II: The Battle of Lambach and Trouble in Italy
Ch. III: The Battle of Landschut and the Rise of the Revolutionaries
Ch. IV: Across the Rhine
Ch. V: Retreat and Reform
Ch. VI: The Battle of Innsbruck, Part One
Ch. VII: The Battle of Innsbruck, Part Two
Ch. VIII: The Fall of Paris and the Legacy of Archduke Charles
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