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The Trouble With The Neighbors- A Dutch AAR

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En Til'Za
May 23, 2001
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Greetings to one and all! I've been away from the solo-AAR scene for a while, but it's time to make a return. This time, as the title notes, the effort will be a full-scale Dutch campaign. Our home province will be Geldre, and then our intention will be to transition to the Netherlands proper assuming we survive long enough to do so. From then on, we will play the Campaign out as a Netherlands scenario. We have an event loaded into the Gelre file which will enable the switch, and we should be able to take over the Dutch event file at the proper time.

The Goals of the AAR:

1) Stay Alive for the full course of 400 years. Not so easy when we start as a one province minor with Burgundy slobbering over us.

2) Unite the Netherlands by any means necessary. This means the unification of all provinces that carry "Dutch" culture under our banner. Note, we are not limiting our conquests to only Dutch culture. But this is not a World Conquest AAR.

3) Number 1 in VP.

4) Develop a Strong Colonial Empire, and in so doing crush the Iberian Colonial efforts to the maximum extent possible. We intend to be at least as strong colony-wise as the Dutch were historically--which means prodigious--even more if we can manage it.

5) Play the Great Game in Europe to inhibit German unification, French and Austrian ambitions, and generally keep ourselves a serious player in Northern European politics. We will not be too concerned with what France does in the South or Austria in the East, but anyone coming into Northern Europe will be--hopefully--dealt a sharp rap to the knuckles. If we do not wish a great European empire, we refuse to allow one to come knocking on our door, either...

EU 1.05 (with the one mod I mentioned) will be used. Difficulty will be Normal/Normal. My initial stats for Gelre read as follows:

4 merchants (2.8 per year)
0 settlers (1.1 per year)
1 diplomat (4 per year)
0 missionaries (1.4 per year)
+2 stab
10 manpower
400d
tolerance set to 0 Islamic, max Catholic, and middling Orthodox.
DP as follows
8 aristocracy
9 Decentralization
8 Mercantilism
5 offensive
6 Land
5 Quality
9 Serfdom

Reinald IV monarch (4 diplomacy, 4 econ, 3 military)
land tech 1, naval tech 2, infrastructure and trade techs 1.

Friday AM, the first installment of the narrative will be posted, and our ambitions will be put to the test. My sincere hope is that you find this AAR an enjoyable read.

Anyone who wishes to contribute in any way, such as guest appearances, "council" members, or any collaborative concept they'd like to try out, drop me a line at shawng30@yahoo.com, or simply post a short line here or via PM, and we can chat about it. I've always encouraged and enjoyed the guest contributions of the past, and hope to have that continue here.

That said, and the background posted, tomorrow AM, Denver time, the opening installment of "The Trouble With the Neighbors" will be available for your perusal.:D
 
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Definitely looking forward to this. I've played them a couple of times but in both instances I got just a little bit too greedy just a tiny bit too early and got squished like a bug. *squish* :)

Looking forward to it shawng1, and if you find yourself in need of a guest author at some point...
 
Mr T,

I think you'll like how this works out, though I have to admit, the first time I tried this, "squish" happened to me too. Too fast to even write about it.:D

As for Guest Author, consider yourself tapped, I'll get in touch with you by PM about it in the not-too-distant future.:p
 
Ah. It's 'bout time you got back in the saddle. I'll be looking forward to this one.
 
Chapter 1- A Dangerous Gambit (Jan 1, 1419- June 1423)

“Lord, this is FOLLY! UTTER LUNACY! If anyone but you were to suggest this, they would be tried for treason on the spot!” The exasperated councilor, Jaan Van Duilen’s voice was as shrill as his words were panicked. The Count had never shown the least bit of audacity before, and this display of the newfound attribute horrified him to no end. He had thought himself ready for anything. But this? No, it simply could not be.

“My Lord,” he continued, regaining as much control as possible, “to ally with England means to ally with….with Burgundy! We have spent our whole lives battling them. How can we forget that? How can we suddenly go from being enemies to friends? They have rampaged the Nederland for 30 years. How can we accept what they have done?”

Reinald IV, Count of Gelre and Juilius, stared at him icily. This new turn of their liege-lord had done little to make anyone in the chamber comfortable, to be honest. But the Count had reigned for 29 years in Arnhem, and had combined his generosity to the nobility as a liberal granter of privileges with a steadfast opposition to the Burgundy menace. He shared the same virulent hatred for the tyrants of Dijon. The only thing he regretted more than the lack of a son to be named heir was his failure to stop Burgundy. However, a monarch is not allowed the privilege of letting his feelings determine policy. Survival was what mattered, and it was that basic instinct, and little more, that told him to do what he had now decided to do. Letting the icy stare hang in the room for a few moments, he then rapped out his reasons.

“1) I’m your sovereign and I’m ordering this done. It’s your place to accept such orders when they come from me. Make no mistake; I am not 'any other person' in this land." He nearly sneered the "any other person."

"2) I see no other hope for survival. If someone has a more honorable suggestion, I’m willing to entertain it.” The brief pause was met by silence. “That’s what I thought. We have the options we have, my friends. We can only make the moves that are allowed by the game we are in.

3) Our goal has to be to unify as much land as possible against Burgundy for when the time comes to settle with them. And come it will…we have tried to meet them piecemeal as Duchies and Counties. It has failed. Only through unity will we be able to throw back Burgundy. The Emperor has seen fit to turn a blind eye to Duke Phillip’s aggression. Safely tucked away in Vienna, he can do that. We cannot. This alliance buys us time…and perhaps, just perhaps, an ally powerful enough to stand with us when the day of reckoning comes.”
 
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“As you wish, my liege,” the councilor, only slightly mollified, responded. “Do you have any further instructions?”

“Yes, we will need to improve the quality of our armies—even if this means fewer troops raised per year. See to the institution of a more rigorous training program for the men (Quality 6, Stability dropped to +1). Also, we must build up England’s goodwill before we approach them concerning an alliance. Let us send King Harry a gift…the sword of Floris V, an ancient symbol of Dutch friendship with England…I’m sure King Harry will appreciate the gesture (personal gift, relations to Very Dear Friends). Also send our merchants (4) to Flandern to siphon funds from the coffers of Dijon to our own.”

“Yes, my Lord.” This pleased the councilor considerably more. “Anything more?”

“Yes, order 10000 troops immediately raised.”

“My Liege, are we going to war?”

Reinald smirked, “Allied to Burgundy and the Normans, can we avoid it?”


“No, my lord.”

“Then we’d best be prepared for it, shan’t we? Now be about it men.”

“Very well, my Lord.” They replied, bowing and exiting. For his part, the Count walked to the window and pondered the effects this would have.

On April 4, 1419, we join the English alliance and immediately are thrown into the war for the French Throne. We find ourselves at war with France, Aragon, Bourbonnais, Orleans, Provence, Scotland, Savoy and Strasburg in one day. On May 3rd, to no one’s surprise, we raise war taxes (stability down to +2). On June 13th, we further protect ourselves from Burgundy aggression by granting them military access to our realm. They will have to revoke this before they can declare war on us. On the 19th of the same month, we find our enemies reduced by one, as King Harry accepts the surrender and annexation of Orleans.

But our ambitions lie elsewhere, and we have seen now our enemies are too distracted elsewhere to take note of the tiny province of Gelre. That is all to the good. On July 6th, we declare war on Friesen. We have no cassus belli, there will be no way we can explain this but aggression. Perhaps to defeat the monster we must become the monster. But we will do what we must to survive. The Count stands at his balcony and muses Have I become what I despised. For 30 years I have fought tyranny, now am I to become the foreign tyrant? One can only hope that because I ask myself this question the answer is no.

16000 soldiers from Gelre march on Friesen, on July 24th we are victorious and lay siege to the city. On August 17th we hear that Bohemia has converted to the teaching of one Jon Hus. We have heard little of him, but our own reading of Scripture tells us that not all the practices of the Church seem to be founded on it’s teaching…we however, will keep silent for now. We wish them well, as long as they do not convert into infidels.
 
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On September 20th, we arrange a marriage with my nephew and heir, Arnold to a daughter of the House of Exeter, the King’s Uncle, to further our bond of alliance. Arnold at first considers a morganatic marriage to avoid this, but there is no other heir but him, and he at last is persuaded to do his duty and bind our realm more closely with the Cross of St George. The messenger also brings us news that England and Scotland have made peace for the pittance of 700 crowns (7d) paid to the English coffers. One can only assume they promised more. This is followed in December by Provence offering 3000 crowns to England for peace and Savoy paying an equal sum to Burgundy for it as well. Seeing this trend, Friesen attempts to offer us 200d to make peace with us. We do not accept. On Christmas Day, Friesen falls to our armies, and is incorporated into our realm. We continue our practice of the liberal granting of privileges to those who prove their loyalty, but the people of Friesen are not pleased with the new relationship.

We move in the spring to soften the blow this annexation had on our reputation (now tarnished). On February 19th, we marry into the House of Lisbon and on May 2nd even into Duke Phillip of Burgundy’s house as well. In July we continue our trading efforts in Flandern, and we hear on the 5th that France has paid 5000 crowns for peace with Brittany. On the 16th, we marry into the House of Hessen, though it looks soon to fall, to be honest. However, this brief time of peace is brought to a close when, predictably, Burgundy declares war on Brittany on August 1st. We raise war taxes on the 18th, but have no desire to send men to the south of France to die for someone else’s ambitions.

For our part, we continue our diplomatic maneuvering while we have time, pacifying our largest threat to the north, Denmark, via a royal marriage on December 21st. On January 3, 1421, the French make peace with King Harry for 20000 crowns and the promise that the son of Harry and Catherine Valois will be crowned heir to France. Unfortunately, the frequent burden of war taxes has not made the peasantry happy, as they rise in revolt in Gelre on January 28th (-2 stability to 0 as well). By February 2nd, the revolt is crushed.

Away from the Low Countries, we hear that Mecklenburg has been forced into vassilization by Magdeburg on March 3rd. But not everyone has turned a blind eye to our aggression. And on March 21st, they deem themselves strong enough to act. We receive a Declaration of War from the alliance of Munster, Kleves, and Oldenburg. Predictably, Burgundy tells us they cannot keep to their agreements and come to our aid. But England does honor the alliance. It would seem Harry has remembered the gift of the sword of Floris. We march 19000 men on Munster and 10000 men on Oldenburg, by the end of the month, the 6000 men in Oldenburg are defeated and the city under siege. Munster is more difficult to crack, as our cavalry do not seem to get the advantage we had hoped for there. Initially we are defeated by Munster’s 13000, but it is a victory that hurts their cause as much as ours, as only 5000 men remain under arms in the whole province.

We keep our eyes open politically, and ensure more of Germany does not come into conflict with us by a marriage to Brandenburg. In September, we countermarch our army on Munster once more and on the 10th, the province is besieged. However, to our dismay, the help of our allies has arrived in the form of a stolen siege in Oldenburg. We disengage our troops and send them to Munster.
 
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On December 3rd we sign white peace treaties with Brittany and Strasburg. We signal the beginning of 1422 by raising war taxes to support further troop levies. Our diplomatic maneuvers continue in February with royal marriages to Saxony and the Hapsburgs (Munster at 0). On April 14th England makes Oldenburg a vassal, but they do not tell us to stand down from war against them ourselves, so we do not. Instead, we march 5000 troops to lay siege to Oldenburg anew under our own banner. We sign a white peace with Kleves on May 1st, while on July 11th Munster falls and is annexed as well. This frees 12000 more men to aid the siege of Oldenburg. On the 27th we hear that Strasburg has been annexed by Burgundy and Wallachia made a vassal of Hungary.

But the saddest news to us comes on September 2nd, when we hear that our valiant ally King Harry V of England has fallen. His son, the infant Henry VI, is nowhere near ready to take the throne, and to no one’s surprise, the French renege on her treaty agreements, naming Charles VII King of France on October 22nd. Further a field we hear that on December 8th, Poland becomes a vassal of Lithuania. Finally, on January 26th, 1422, Oldenburg falls to our forces and is made a part of the realm of Gelre, which the Emperor to his displeasure now recognizes as a Duchy. Our expansion has been rapid, but our enemies are now many, and our reputation is quite poor (very bad).

On January 1, 1423, Oldenburg revolts against the “tyrants” in Arnhem. The blow strikes Reinald hard, and his 30-year reign has worn on him. He had arranged for his cousin Arnold I to ascend following him, and on his deathbed, it is widely rumored that Reinald was whispering, “I have not been a monster, and I am not a tyrant, we will be free.”

As Arnold I (4,4,4) took the scepter from his dead predecessor, he said firmly, “Yes, we will be free!" He promised himself with quiet determination.
 
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Oh gracious sovereign, I am glad you find my humble tale of interest to you so far. Yes, the high BB is a problem. But without the manpower that four reasonably rich provinces provides, I wasn't sure how else I could hold off Burgundy. I knew the first time I was DoWed, they would prove faithless. But at least this costs them the protection of England in the future. The game I tried before this I annexed Friesen, and allied with Bremen, Hannover, and Munster, hoping that would hold off Burgundy. It probably would have, but not England too. As that FOOL Mr T so aptly put it, "squish.":D

Anyway, I was wondering what people were thinking, I saw a reasonable number of views, but no replies until yours. Thank you for the response, and I hope you continue to enjoy our adventure in the Low Countries.
 
Another reply...

I have read the story. And I must say I'm impressed! :) The gameplay is of course impressive (England are nice allies in the early game...), but I'm mostly impressed by the writing; concise, yet elaborate enough that I actually felt some grief upon the death of king Harry and Reinald.

Breaking the story into multiple post is a very good idea, as I think it improves readability (is that even a word??). It even makes me want to do a serious AAR. :)

Good going! I'll be reading.
 
Norgesvenn,

You could not pay a writer a much better compliment, IMHO. I have always detested it when writers have to walk me by the hand through the emotions of the characters (cough-Robert Jordan-cough). I thought the significance of the sword of Floris, who actually was a historical figure of Anglo/Dutch unity, given to one who is so emotionally burnt into the consciousness of anyone versed in English Literature as King Harry would do the trick in itself. I'm glad it did.

I should be posting chapter 2 Friday evening, BTW.
 
shawng1,

I agree with Norgesvenn. I think the length of the posts is perfect, and that breaking them up makes it easier to read.


As always, the writing is excellent, with great characters but also a good focus on what's transpiring in the game. It's that perfect balance which you also displayed in your Brandenburg and Nippon AARs.

Goodie goodie, another update on Friday evening!

Cheers,
LT
 
Good stuff. May I ask which Dutch unification event you're using? I know there were several proposed. Or is that something that we will have to wait to see? I'm asking because I like that tough effects that the EEP event throws at you. although you presumably want to become the Netherlands before 1559.

Your goals rather remind of Oranje's excellent AAR from the otiginal EU, which convinced me to get the game a year and a half ago. I'm optimistic for this one too. He went for the German minor allies against Spain which worked in 1492. However, as you say it would be much tougher with England AND Burgundy to deal with.
 
Isaac,

I loaded an event proposed by some folks on another thread. I'm not using EEP unless/until there's a version that is less brutal in the "random" events, I happen to like making DP choices, and IMHO, the current version takes any ability to use the DP slider away from the player.

Yeah, I thought uniting the German minors as allies would help me the first time through, but as I noted, all it got me was "squish" in less time than when I tried to play Scotland in EU1 and watched France declare war on England, and then England withdrew from Calais and pummeled me.:rolleyes: It was, perhaps, the fastest beating I ever took in EU. So I decided I needed to be a little "treasonous" to try to survive the early game...we'll see how it turned out.
 
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