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unmerged(63809)

First Lieutenant
Dec 24, 2006
237
0
Well friends, this is going to be my first AAR and I'm going to put my ass out there in a serious way. First, a few things about me:

1) I've never done an AAR....EVER

2) I've owned EU2 for 5 years, but I've only played it seriously in SP for about a year. I've recently played in two aborted MP campaigns.

3) I've never played anything other than vanilla or AGCEEP.

As far as many are concerned (and they aren't far off at all) I'm a newb. So this AAR will be fun for veterans to watch a newb squirm and struggle in the face of normal degrees of difficulty. I won't try for WC or anything remotely that absurd for my experience level. Rather, I will do my best to guide my nation to the greatest glory possible. So I shall lay the foundations and framework for my campaign...

First, I plan to have my first update by Wednesday / Thursday of THIS week. No exceptions on my part.

Second, this campaign will be AGCEEP, latest edition. I'm not familiar at all with the events of any nation with this mod as I've mostly played vanilla.

Third, this campaign will be played hard / normal.

Fourth, I have set no particular house rules for myself regarding CB, DA, FA, or the like. If my tactics seem gamey after the first 1-2 updates, the readers can chime in on house rules.

Finally, as I am not a glutton for noobish punishment (I don't want to play Xhosa) , I will give the readers the decision for what nation I shall play, within my playlist. I will take the majority vote by Tuesday night (EST, North America). If there is a tie I shall decide for myself. The nation list is, in no particular order:

-Denmark
-Dauphine
-Burgundy
-Sweden
-Aragon
-Brandenburg

Yes, I know. All Latin tech groups. Spare me the derision.

You decide. Looking forward to your replies.

P.S. In a test run for screenshots I notice I can take screen using F11, but not while major events pop up. Is there a different command for this?

NC
 
Ok, now I feel really newbish. I've tried this. I used that command, alt / tabbed out of EU2, opened paint, and tried to paste. Perhaps I missed something, or forgot to opena file. Maybe I was a little drunk, like now. :rofl:

I'll try it again tomorrow.
 
Denmark, Aragon or Burgundy I think. All have some interesting events if I remember correctly, and all are big enough to keep you out of jams, yet let you "interact" with the "locals". (IE- get into fights with 'em :))
 
I know I said I'd decide what nation to play tonight, however I had some free time yesterday and went with Denmark, as it seemed to have the most votes at the time. I'll get along with the first update now, with a few notes after word.

Origins of Danish Hegemony: 1419-1437

Denmark begins as head of the Kalmar Union, consisting of Norway and Sweden as vassals. The overall state of Denmark is remarkably strong, having two vassals, an adequate monarch, a large treasury, decent manpower, and domestic policies which aren't terribly unvaforable. Nevertheless, I am somewhat unsure of what the future will bring and how to conduct myself abroad. Should Denmark seek glory through trade and wealth or through war and conquest?

Either way, changes need to be made with my domestic policies. I want to become centralized as quickly as possible so I move in that direction immediately. Luckily, I get an event to speed the process.

randomevent.jpg


Stability costs at this point aren't an issue, so I opt to increase centralization. A few more favorable events like this and I should be completely centralized in less than 40 years.

Focusing on research and accumulating wealth are my prime objectives at the moment. Though I start with a large treasury and could easily overrun a German minor or two, I decide doing so with such good relations and no cassus belli would be seen as far too aggressive and in poor taste. By 1429 I advanced my trade efficiency and infrastructure and I am now investing fully in infrastructure, though I will soon want to boost my LT and NT just in case.

Sounddue.jpg


Being strategically positioned at the entrance to the Baltic has its advantages. Being able to collect taxes from passing ships is merely one. The income in my capital doubles almost overnight from the new COT and my trade policy becomes more mercantilistic. Though one could hardly complain about getting a free COT, I'm slightly irritated about the mercanilism shift. I one day hope for Denmark to become the center of free trade.

Things were progressing well. I had plenty of cash and research was coming along quickly. I was itching for a fight with someone but had no CB and decided to wait for one of my neighbors to make a mistake.

scandal.jpg


Luckily for me the ambassador from Mecklenburg decided to get drunk and assault a Danish noble during a feast, providing me with a much desired CB. Sure, declaring war over a tiny scandal like this could be considered an over reaction but I was getting bored.

In May of 1433 I declared war on Mecklenburg and invited my vassals to join the conflict. Holstein and Bremen immediately joined the conflict against me. No matter. As my 28,000 troops marched for Holstein I thought it would be a good idea to demand more taxes from my vassals.

erikswartaxes-sweden.jpg


Being the generally useless and poor bastards that they are, the Norwegians only coughed up half as much as Sweden in these taxes. Perhaps they would benefit from direct and efficient Danish control.

At any rate, Danish troops were performing well, defeating armies from Mcklenburg and Holstein in quick succession and laying siege to their fortifications. Bremen oddly, but wisely, kept its troops from engaging my own and sat idle. A few Swedish troops assisted in the siege of my enemies but were mostly unneeded and simply took up space. It was around this time I was informed of a minor diplomatic situation.

rebellion.jpg


Though my sheriffs may be cruel men, I cannot allow myself to be bullied around by simple miners and peasants. My increased control and power is felt throughout the land and met with hatred.

Meanwhile, I force vassalized Holstein. I was tempted to annex them outright but decided to save that fate for Mecklenburg instead.

ScreenSave3.jpg


Though I wished to expand my control over my vassals I didn't want to alienate them completely to the point of full scale rebellion. I allowed a few more freedoms for Sweden which increased relations. My monarch fled to Gotland in disgust, leaving the Danish State Council in charge of the kingdom. Unfortunately, Gotland fell out of my control during this event.

rebellioninsweden.jpg


Then, one year after the war started with my small German neighbors, it ends abruptly with the incorporation of Mecklenburg into the kingdom.

ScreenSave4.jpg


After the war I returned to research, wishing to reach trade 3 as quickly as possible. For seemingly no reason at all, Saxony declared war on me.

ScreenSave6.jpg


The war was quick. I received access through Hanover, took Saxony's capital, and demanded 50 gold for my trouble. Hopefully little irritations like this will not be a recurring problem or I'll have to vassalize every last German minor I can get my hands on.

After a short period King Erik returns from Gotland with a set of demands which I find acceptable. Denmark regains Gotland and centralization. Stability drops slightly and a tiny revolt must be dealt with, but the price is acceptable.

thefutureheir.jpg


Denmark has established itself in northern Europe. But the near future brings some decisions for our kingdom. Denmark needs a foreign policy to guide it through turbulent waters and on to glory. Will there be glory in the conquest of Germany or continued influence over our Scandinavian vassals? Or perhaps Denmark's future is one of peace, exploration and trade.

--------------

You, the readers, must vote and decide the overall grand strategy for Denmark. Throughout the campaign, events and circumstances may lead me slightly atray from this grand strategy momentarily but I will strive to remain faithful to it. What will be Denmark's policy?

1) Subjugation of Germany. Become master of Germany through war and diplomacy.

2) Subjugation of Scandinavia. Become master of Scandinavia through war and diplomacy.

3) Remain at peace. Avoid wars in Europe, invest in research, explore the world, build a colonial empire.



Edit: I'm going to comment later on some house rules to impose on myself, but haven't got the time as of right now. Hope you enjoyed the first installment. Any comments appreciated.
 
I say northern Germany - the future protestant provinces :).
And Norway (which you will inherit anyway).
Or rather: try a bit of everything. Just don't go only colonizing - it's pretty boring, in my opinion...
 
Yeah, I also want you to try a bit of everything. Only focusing on #3 would get boring after a while.

Your first 20 years went really good, it seems. Those centralization events were very frequent - I guess you're fully centralized now?

You're also filthy rich considering the date. What are you going to do with the money? :)
 
I recommend spending that cash on a improving the fleet. Controlling the Baltic is the key to your wealth, and besides, the mighty fleet can suplement the invicible legions of the Danish State. Can the Danish King be elected Holy Roman Emporer, or do you need more German territory?
 
Olav - I believe I'm still 2 clicks away from being full centralized. Surprisingly, Denmark starts with 600 gold in this campaign on hard, (I think it was 900 on normal) so I've only had to be careful about my spending. I was thinking of building a FAA soon. I don't really need it at the moment, but its a good investment for the future.

left-handed - Not sure if I can become emperor or not. Even if I could, my little war irritated alot of my German neighbors. I'd pay a good amount of money to repair relations.

Emperor_krk - Yes, limiting myself to one goal throughout the entire campaign would get boring I suppose. However I wanted this AAR to be somewhat interactive to those reading it. At the end of my next update I'll try to provide a few much more specific and near term goals (aka, goals that can be met in the next 1-2 updates rather than the whole game) for you all to choose from that I should strive for.


As for some rules to impose on myself, I have a few. If you all have any others you'd like to suggest then list them here.

1) No attacking without a CB.
2) No forced annexation. (Yes, I am aware I FA Mecklenburg in my first update)
3) Cannot take more than 2 provinces in peace resolution.

Also, I should have another update by tomorrow evening at the latest. Thanks for reading / commenting.
 
Duke of Wellington - Denmark has some interesting events. I've already played through my next session (just need to post the update tomorrow). I have to say its hard to decipher what the outcomes of these events will be. I will say, however, that these events have placed my future in Germany.

left-handed - Remaining Catholic would be quite a challenge. Most likely all of my current provinces would go protestant. However I have some plans to revive some very old Danish claims on lands abroad, so keeping tranquility at home will be important.
 
A German Foothold: 1437-1486

The last fifty years have been peaceful. Technologically Denmark advanced modestly, improving infrastructure and gaining the ability to hold a monopoly in trade. Militarily, technology could have been much better. Though my NT is equal with other nations, I am a CRT behind in LT than most of my neighbors as well as the major powers in Europe. Viewed in that light, peace is a good thing.

In 1446 I received an event I was unsure I should be happy about.
erikinheritspomerania.jpg


The last major event of my first session (The future heir) led me to believe I would one day inherit Pomerania if it remained independent. At the time I took the event for the centralization shift. Now I was starting to wonder if gaining this territory was such a good thing. The province was poor and only netted me an extra 3k in army support, while setting back my trade research for two years and hitting me with BB. Annoying. On the bright side, it gave me a land connection to Brandenburg in case I wanted to vassalize or annex it later.

Two years later Christian I rose to the Danish throne from Oldenburg, which became my vassal.

christianofoldenburg.jpg


This was welcomed. I quickly invited them to my alliance in the hopes that some pesky German minor would DOW them allowing me to gain another vassal in Germany. It also raised relations with Holstein, who declined to be diplo-annexed and cancelled its vassal status with me. I continued to pursue vassalizing Holstein to no avail and lots of lost money.

In the end it didn't matter as I gained Holstein through inheritance in 1460. My foothold in Germany was still very weak, but getting stronger.

holsteininheritance.jpg


In 1465, as I was beginning to itch for a fight, something disturbing occured.

ScreenSave3-1.jpg


Poland diplomatically annexed its ally Brandenburg. Worse still it allied itself with Lithuania and three of its German neighbors, two of which bordered me. One on one I was convinced I could defeat Poland, but in an alliance war I would probably lose to due my worthless allies Sweded and Norway. This event really annoyed me. For the moment I was content to fly under the radar until my CRT increased.

In 1470 tensions flared with Sweden. I didn't want to lose them as vassals but my decision here most likely set the course for that very result.

Stensture.jpg


A year later events forced me to make a difficult decision.

battleofbrunkeberg.jpg


I'm convinced a war with Sweden could have been easily won, however I didn't wish to raise my BB and waste troops for fear that Poland's alliance would take advantage and DOW me. So I let Sweden go her own way, hoping I would regain it as a vassal through events later. If not, I would find a more opportune moment to press my claims there in the future.

Years later I began to take more interest in my domestic policies. When the Pope offered, I accepted his invitation to build a university.

university.jpg


Overall, I am happy with my sliders. I am fully centralized and moving steadily towards quality troops. I've also shifted away from full mercantilism for more merchants in anticipation of trade 3. Still alot of work to be done here.

In 1482 Hans rose to the throne in Denmark and Norway. Sweden chose to "stall" the coronation in their own country. I suspect that Swedish independence is a reality I'll have to live with. If inheritance won't bring them under my control I'll have to do it through force. In the meantime, I've brought Stettin into my alliance in the hopes of diplo-vassalizing them, which they have thus far refused due to higher troops and LT I would assume.

I am currently satisfied with the overall situation in Northern Europe. Denmark is getting stronger economically and has the money, if not the LT, to fight a major war and possibly win (depending on the foe and luck). I imagine the near future will bring several wars and hopefully new territory.

Europe in 1486
ScreenSave4-1.jpg


A few things to note.

1) Poland looks strong. I am not looking forward to fighting them.

2) That is Spain in Bretagne, Armor, Luxemborg, and Koln. This was inherited from Aragon who gained those territories when allied to France and later England.

3) Until 10 years ago, England controlled everything from Calais to Morbihan. It lost wars with France, Britanny revolted (Aragon conquered Britanny then), and English power is basically broken on the continent.

4) Austria could really become a monster in the next 75 years. Hhhmmm.

Goal for the next session? Should I...

1) Press my claims in Sweden and try to provoke a war?

2) Try to provoke war with Poland to gain Danzig or kick it out of Germany?

3) Some other fruitful venture I'm not thinking of.
 
Some good events there but worrying developments with Sweden and Poland. Going for Poland now might net better rewards quick on the other hand Sweden will be much easier to defeat now than later. However I favour an attack on Poland. Seizing either Danzig or connections to Pommerania would be very helpful.
 
You've made some gains since last 1437, your grip on Northern Germany is growing stronger. It would get even stronger if you could annex Stettin so you could connect Hinterpommern to the rest of your German provinces. I hope Poland won't cause troubles with that, though, as they look very scary now. Going to war against Poland and her alliance will thus be a ambitious project. If you want Danzig, perhaps you should wait until Poland gets into a war against Bohemia/Hungary/Austria or someone else big, and then attack them?

Regarding Sweden, I don't what the best thing to do would be. If you decide to take them on by war, you should expect some long and costly wars. Those provinces in Finland are usually a pain to capture.