An English AAR (GC 1.08). Something a little different..?

[Warspite]

To think it has almost been a year, sigh where have the days gone?

I felt it appropriate to sticky one of the most famous and fair stories of the forum. Looking forward to the year anniversary.
Hey maybe we should get up a whole thread for the AAR anniversary?? right then, thats a great idea Ariel, glad you thought of it

 

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Well, damn me eyes if I haven't finished typing me notes up and it's still a week to go before me self-imposed deadline.

Guess I'll just have to finish the bugger orf, eh? All the way to 1792, what?

Damn right.

See you all in a week...

 

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Incidentally, if anyone wants to make a suggestion as to the topic of my next foray into the murky realms of AAR writing, you'll find an appropriate thread over on the EUII AAR forum...

 

[unmerged(1996)]

Finally...

Well, after double-checking the relevant dates, it seems I came close to making an error. The first post on this thread was actually made on March 26th 2001, which means that today is the one year anniversary of "An English AAR (GC 1.08). Something a little different..?". Dammit - nearly missed me own anniversary...

And so without further ado, and for those one or two readers still with me, I hereby proudly present the epic conclusion, in several installments. The screenshots website will be updated as soon as the text protion of the exercise is complete.

Okaty - nobody post anything until it's obvious I've finished and you'll be able to read the whole thing through in one go...

 

[unmerged(1996)]

December 1747 – December 1748

Our first colonial party arrives safely in Matto Grosso on December 5th and another party is sent swiftly after. Our treasury has become swollen in recent months, since our industrialists made their last advance, and so realising this we switch to trade development. Perhaps we should seek to spend some of the 19,000 ducats we now have available to the treasury? We decide to wait for the New Year. Our Salvador colony is successfully begun on December 12th. We decide to send troops to defend it at the earliest opportunity. We also send a colonist to Bushman province in South Africa, just to the north of Table.

Tax 2041d. The peasants of the Languedoc rise again but this time fail to seize the fortress - their defeat will be both swift and sure. Two new leaders await the King's command - General Clive (6/6/6/1) and Vice Admiral Hawke. We decide to send Clive eastwards, to take command of the Mekong peninsula. The time has come to prepare for a full invasion of Nippon at some point in the future, and Clive is just the man to lead it. Preparations begin - fifteen transport vessels are ordered from the Mekong shipyard and troops are raised across the region.

We also raise a new siege army in the Netherlands to prepare for possible action in northern France. The Languedoc rebels rise again in March. Our expansion mission to Matto Grosso fails on the 3rd but Salvador successfully expands on the 11th. The Languedoc rebels are destroyed on the 14th. We successfully establish our colony in Bushman on April 29th. Morea revolts yet again in May so yet again Wolfe is sent to put the rebels down. We re-take Orlenais from the rebels on May 4th. Our Matto Grosso colony fails to expand again on June 5th. Wolfe arrives in Morea on the 6th and the rebels are slain or fled by the 8th. Happily, Salvador expands again on the 11th.

There is revolution in Bremen in July but our Hessen army shall deal with them. August brings a revolt in Rousillon, but again we will not be caught unawares or unprepared. Bremen is re-taken on the 19th and Rousillon on the 22nd. Matto Grosso does expand on September 4th and Salvador on the 10th. We have but one colonial group available though, and so we send them to Salvador. In November another group volunteers for overseas transportation and so we dispatch them to Matto Grosso once more. Salvador expands yet again on December 9th, but we will have to wait for next year to send another colonist. At Christ's Mass we send gifts to our allies Austria (+100 to +162), Spain (+32 to +122) and Poland (+62 to +91) and a warm letter to Sweden (+159 to +170).

January - December 1749

Tax 2064d. It is past time we were at war with France again, but they are still engaged in conflict with Denmark. What’s more, their domestic armies - totalling some 345,000 troops stationed on French soil - are surrounded by the English Empire and her allies, with no means of reaching their theatre of war. If we were to declare on Nippon now we largely suspect that France would not rise to the bait, and if they did, we would have a seriously high troop concentration to deal with... the matter requires some consideration, methinks.

Another colonist goes out to Salvador. Matto Grosso expands again on January 30th. The peasants of Memel revolt in March but our garrison is more than equal to the task. Our good friends the Poles invite us to enter into a Royal Marriage, which we are delighted to accede to (+90 to +105). The last colonial party arrives in Salvador on April 2nd to inaugurate a city there, and 1,000 locals swell the ranks of our population. We commission a fortress at once. Another colonist is sent to Matto Grosso.

There is another revolt in Rousillon in May. Our policing force moves in from Bearn and the scum are defeated by the 20th. There is an extremely short-lived rebellion in Guyenne in July. Matto Grosso expands on the 11th. In September our guild masters report the development of theories of liberalism, which should see our trade incomes rise significantly. Our latest mission to Matto Grosso fails on October 12th. November brings possibly the biggest peasant revolt in English history, as 61,000 angry Holsteiners rise in open rebellion. Our army of 40,000 from Bremen is sent against them.

January - December 1750

Tax 2096d. A new Centre of Trade opens in our province in Toubkal, covering Morocco and most of France's West African trade posts. Three new leaders await His Majesty's command - Major General Hastings (6/1/1) in Madras, who will take command of the Yanam garrison, Major General Burgoyne (2/3/2/1) who now commands the anti-Russian strike force in Moravia and Admiral Saunders who commands the Macedonian fleet. England appears to be entering a Golden Age of military talent. Superb.

Matto Grosso expands on the 10th and we defeat the Holstein Rising on the 16th, although at great cost - 10,000 of our own men were killed and will now have to be replaced as a matter of some urgency.

There is another abortive attempt at a revolt in Guyenne in March - once again swiftly dealt with. Albania rises in April but our garrison there swiftly restores order and Matto Grosso colony fails to expand yet again on the 10th. Another attempt is made at once.

There is revolution in the Cyclades in October and Wolfe is again called to action. Then on October 7th we inaugurate the city of Matto Grosso to fully exploit the gold mines there and immediately commission a fortress for its protection. In November we send a colonial mission to Krasnoyarsk to the south of Angara and traders to Tannu Ola and Kamenkoie to expand our Siberian interests. The Cycladean rebels are defeated on November 6th.

January - December 1751

Tax 2087d. We decide the time has come to see to the further improvement of our New England administration and infrastructure, thus the following appointments are made: Chief Judges in Athabaska, Kebec, Conneticut, Chesapeake, Manhattan, Biloxi, Matagorda, Savannah and Roanoke with Tax Collectors in Bangor, Penobscot, Oswego, Onondaga, Mohawk, Irondekoit, Tuscarora, Shenandanoah, Alleghany, Catawba, Carolina, Bayou, Jalisco, Saltillo, Tampico, Marajo and Caracas. We also commission our first colonial goods manufactory in Delaware.

Our Krasnoyarsk colony is founded on February 21st and the Tannu Ola trade post follows on March 10th. In April we send traders to Ulan Ute and Tchita. The Kamenkoie trade post is re-established on May 10th.

On June 24th Sweden re-enters the war with Denmark and Russia, which France and Portugal are still fighting. In July there is a revolt in Guyenne - swiftly dealt with by our garrison, and in August Western Pommerania rises and we send our army from Holstein to quell them. Our Ulan Ude trade post is established on August 20th and Tchita on the 23rd. In September traders go to Chatga and Touva. The Western Pommeranian rebels are defeated on October 9th.

January - September 1752

Tax 2097d. General Braddock (2/1/1) now commands the King's forces in Helvetia. On the 3rd our trade post in Touva is established. Traders are sent to Balakhta and Bratsk and our Chatga trade post is established on the 14th.

Maine revolts in March. Russia makes gains against Sweden, capturing the old Teutonic cities of Pskov and Livonia. The Maine rebels are defeated on April 4th by our Orlenais army. Our trade missions to Brakhta and Chatga both fail. We decide to try Chilka to the east instead.

In June we finally re-take the Azores from the rebels and leave a small garrison to guard against further insurrection, sending the rest of our troops on to Salvador. There is a short-lived Albanian revolt in July. August brings revolts in Gascoigne and Madgeburg. We send a colonist to Birobidjan - a territory on China's northern border. A fortress there would not hurt, methinks. Gascoigne is cleared of rebel scum on September 6th and Madgeburg on the 14th.

Then on September 19th, just as we were beginning to despair of ever seeing another opportunity to flex our military muscles...

The Spanish-Turkish War of 1752

September 1752

Spain declares against Turkey. We immediately rally to our ally's side and swing our long-prepared plan for the conquest of Oman into action. Shirley marches on Thrace and Wolfe takes ship in the Cyclades to cross to Smyrna. Our Isfahan force marches on neighbouring Ahwaz. We shall seize the two strategic provinces and settle the peace quickly, before Spain demands reparitions and brings an end to the conflict. But in the meantime, all Oman will be ours. An army of 35,000 marches from Hadramut on Dofhar while our Indus fleet prepares to transport 50,000 men and artillery across to Mascate.

October 1752

Almost as an aside our Chilka trade post is established in early October. Our covering fleet in the Bosporus falls on two Turkish vessels and sinks them. Shirley arrives in Thrace on the 9th and Ahwaz is besieged. Both Turkey and Oman demand 250d for an early peace and both are of course refused. Thrace is besieged on the 10th after the swift defeat of a small defensive Janissary force. On the 13th, 22 Turkish galleys attack our covering fleet in the Bosporus. On the 16th we begin unloading troops off Mascate.

Then on October 19th, Georgia declares war on the might of the English Empire. France and Portugal support her, but Sweden dishonours their alliance. Swiftly we call on our own allies and all rush to support us, and then we send an envoy inviting Sweden to join our camp - an opportunity we have long awaited. The King of Sweden gladly accepts and there is great rejoicing in the halls and corridors of English power.

Now we must look to the situation in France, where some 509,000 men stand ready to strike at our territories in the region. Should we attempt to weather the storm, or cunningly bribe the French to stay out of the conflict? We think 500d spent now would prevent much damage to our territory later, but the French refuse to be bought. We shall keep a close eye on the situation and see what develops, but in the meantime an army is sent into Limousin in the hope that this will draw the bulk of their troops south. In the confusion their supply lines should be chaotic and surely the bulk of their troops will die or desert...

Georgia's 95,000 men will attack Armenia as soon as possible, so we send our garrison into Turkish Trabzon and hope our fortress can weather the storm until the Georgian capital can be taken by Wolfe or Shirley.

By the 21st the French armies have begun to move, some heading west towards Picardie or Caux, others south-west to Orlenais, still others due south to Helvetia. We withdraw our Helvetian garrison to the Dauphine for a strike against Lyonais.

On the 24th our forces enter Dohfar and engage a 7,000 strong Omani army. On the 25th we defeat the Turkish galley fleet and send them limping, 8 ships weaker, back into the Black Sea.

November 1752

On the 1st there is a revolt in Kustrin, which our Brandenburg garrison will deal with, and we besiege Smyrna. On the 4th we likewise besiege Dofhar but launch an assault at once to avoid the worst of the desert attrition. By the 11th the French battle plan becomes clear - they are launching an all-out attack on Orlenais - we withdraw our garrison and prepare to counter-attack against Paris. On the 12th our Pommeranian fleet puts a French squadron to flight in the Sund. Our Helvetian garrison halts its south-ward march when it becomes apparent that the French are not attacking in this direction and prepares for a possible counter-attack on Baden.

On the 19th we lay siege to Trabzon - the Georgians have by-passed Armenia entirely in favour of an attack on Austrian-held Kars – the fools. Another Turkish fleet lines up for a battering in the Bosporus on the 20th, this time 13/2/2 of them. On the 22nd our main army lands in Mascate. Attrition rates are predicted to be horrendous, so after a single bombardment of the city walls an immediate assault is launched. The French are determined to re-take Orlenais, with some 200,000 men en-route, which gives us the opportunity to send our force of 40,000 from the Languedoc into Lyonais. Mascate falls on the 26th and Dohfar follows on the 27th. We split our main force and send the two halves against the remaining mainland Omani provinces, while our fleet maneuvers to collect the Dohfar army and sail for the East African, Omani-held island of Zanzibar. We defeat the Turkish fleet in the Bosporus but lose 8 warships in the process. The French advance force arrives in Orlenais on the 28th and engages our retreating army, but we offer no resistance and they lay siege to the mighty fortress. They must be desperate to achieve some kind of quick victory, no matter how phyrric in nature, as they assault at once...

December 1752

The assault of Orlenais continues. By the 13th, the French are throwing 354,000 men at the fortress, and cracks are beginning to show in the defenders' morale. If we can hold out until the new year then surely the massive rates of attrition on their troops will aid us. In the meantime, we send our force from Picardie against Paris and on the 14th we lay siege to Lyonais. By the 20th there are 406,000 Frenchmen flinging themselves at Orleans, with still more on the way. Madness, I tell you. How can they possibly hope to keep so many supplied with our own armies raiding at will behind them? On the 21st we lay siege to the Omani province of Masirah.

January 1753

Tax 1988d. Flotilla Admiral Duncan takes joint command with Middleton of the Indus fleet. Our army from Mascate arrives in Al Kharam and is met by a token force of 2,000 cavalry, whom we defeat and then lay siege to the town. 20 Turkish galleys attack our fleet in the Bosporus again.

On the 3rd we lay siege to Paris. Our Orleans forces are weakening, but the French morale is about to break - we shall see which lasts longest. On the 9th more reinforcements arrive and now 426,000 Frenchmen bay for the blood of the English within the walls. We send our Memel garrison against Kurland once the French have moved their own troops southwards. French morale finally breaks on the 15th and the assault of Orlenais is called off. Great rejoicing in the fortress and a two-month reprieve to follow. Damn the cowardly French and their craven hides. Even with nigh-on half a million men they are simply incapable of taking just one English fortress. If it weren’t for the archaic rules of war under which we labour, we would have marched our armies across the length and breadth of their nation and conquered all a century ago!

We decide to send another 40,000 against Paris to hasten the end there and put us in the position of power in terms of the negotiations to follow. On the 16th Oman pays 116d indemnities to Austria. In Siberia our attempt to colonise Birobidjan fails on the 18th so we try again of course, and send a trader to neighbouring Orsk for good measure. The Portuguese besiege Aragon on the 30th, but we are unworried.

February - March 1753

Turkey demands 250d and Oman offers Dohfar on the 1st. An emphatic ‘No’, on both counts. On the 3rd we lay siege to Kurland and on the 4th reinforcements arrive in Paris and now 311 guns are aimed at the capital's walls. Ahwaz falls on the 9th and our forces march on Damman. Thrace falls on the 10th. Wolfe will take Smyrna before too long and we can talk terms with the Sultan. France has brought even more men up to Orlenais and now the entire French army of 478,000 is encamped beyond the walls. On the 20th France demands 250d and Eskimalt, which they have taken by stealth and guile. We refuse, and spit in their envoy’s moustachioed face for good measure. On the 23rd, Shirley leaves a garrison of 9,000 to watch Thrace and takes ship, bound for Sochi. March is eerily quite, except for the boom of the siege guns.

April - 1753

We lay siege to Damman on the 1st. On the 8th Shirley begins his landing in Sochi. On the 15th we burn a Portuguese trade post in Curango and send a trader of our own to replace it. On the 20th Wolfe blasts a massive breach in the walls of Smyrna (-6) and orders the assault. We also order an assault on Daman. Smyrna falls by the 22nd. We burn a Portuguese trade post in Diamentina on the 27th.

May 1753

In May our guild masters announce the development of pre-capitalist trade policies (trade tech 9). On the 2nd we burn a Portuguese trade post in Luanda. Damman falls on the 4th. We send a peace demand to the Sultan to let him know our wishes but he rejects it, as we expected. We shall wait for him to come crawling back to us. On the 6th an Omani raiding party burns our trade post in Karoo. Their last act of defiance before we swallow their nation whole...

Trade posts in Minas Gerias (FR), Pernambuc and Alagoas (PO) are destroyed on the 9th. On the 13th Shirley lays siege to the Georgian capital in Sochi. We burn the French out of Iguato on the 21st. Seeing as we are only likely to take two French mainland provinces in this conflict, we decide to take the unfortified French town in Parnaiba, to give us another base from which to keep the French under control in New Spain. We burn the Portuguese from Natal on the 27th.

June 1753

We seize Parnaiba on the 3rd. France offers a white peace on June 18th, but our sieges are nearing fruition and Orlenais still holds so we refuse. The French lose a trade post in Tiracambu on the 20th. Zanzibar falls on the 22nd with the help of Spanish reinforcements. Then disaster on the 23rd - Oman settles a peace with Spain, paying them 136d in indemnities and all our work is undone. We privately curse the gutless Spanish - although how many times in the past have we pulled the same rug from under their feet? - and hastily arrange a peace settlement with the Sultan for Ahwaz and Damman. The Sultan wisely accepts - our army from Trabzon heads for Georgian Azerbaidjan, and Wolfe prepares to take ship and sail for the province of Georgia itself. Our trade venture to Norsk is a failure on the 27th.

July - August 1753

We start the month by burning French trade post in Zaire and the Portuguese in Maranhao follow on the 2nd. Birobidjan colony is successfully started on the 4th so we begin its expansion at once. We capture Lyonais on the 15th. The race is now on to take Paris and Limousin before Orlenais falls. Our Curango trade post is established on the 16th of August and on the 18th we lay siege to Azerbadjan. A French trade post in Cabinda burns on the 23rd.

September - October 1753

We send a colonist to Karoo. Shirley captures the Georgian capital on the 17th and marches on Kouban. On the 19th Sweden settles peace with Russia and takes the province of Savolaks. Three cheers for our ally and future vassal’s efforts to expand the scope of our future demesne for us! We burn a French trade post in Mayumba on the 30th.

On the 4th we capture Paris and besiege both Georgia and Kouban. We burn the Portuguese from Inhamabane on the 15th and on the same day, when our latest bombardment fails to force the defenders of Limousin to yield, we launch an assault. Limousin falls on the 25th and we demand the surrender of both that province and Lyonais. Parnaiba was but insurance, we care not for it in truth. The French agree, as we knew they must, and two new territories are added to the English possessions in France. Now to finish Georgia and deprive France of her ally... for good... January - 1750

Tax 2096d. A new Centre of Trade opens in our province in Toubkal, covering Morocco and most of France's west African trade posts. Three new leaders await His Majesty's command - Major General Hastings (6/1/1) in Madras, who will take command of the Yanam garrison, Major General Burgoyne (2/3/2/1) who now commands the anti-Russian strike force in Moravia and Admiral Saunders who commands the Macedonian fleet. Matto Grosso expands on the 10th and we defeat the Holstein Rising on the 16th, although at great cost - 10,000 of our own men were killed and will now have to be replaced as a matter of some urgency.

There is another abortive attempt at a revolt in Guyenne in March - once again swiftly dealt with. Albania rises in April but our garrison there swiftly restores order and Matto Grosso colony fails to expand yet again on the 10th. Another attempt is made at once. The month of May passes without incident but Jenkins dies on the 4th of June. Matto Grosso expands again on July 8th and we send hopefully our final colonial mission.

There is revolution in the Cyclades in October and Wolfe is again called to action. Then on October 7th we inaugurate the city of Matto Grosso to fully exploit the gold mines there and immediately commission a fortress for its protection. In November we send a colonial mission to Krasnoyarsk to the south of Angara and traders to Tannu Ola and Kamenkoie to expand our Siberian interests. The Cycladean rebels are defeated on November 6th.

November - December 1753

Kouban falls on the 5th of November and Shirley marches to reinforce the army in Azerbajan. In the end he's not needed as the city falls on the 16th and so he marches to support Wolfe in Georgia as do the victorious conquerors of Azerbadjan. We burn the Portuguese out of Zambezia on the 25th. Birobidjan expands on the 26th. On the 22nd of December reinforcements arrive in Georgia and Shirley and Wolfe order the assault. The city falls on Christ's Mass Eve and Georgia is annexed at once. Another 99 ducats tax revenue for our coffers and a commanding position at the eastern end of the Black Sea from where we can strike against Turkey’s provinces in Anatolia. A superb victory yet again.

Shirley remains to hold the region against potential rebel insurrection and Wolfe returns to Macedonia, to prepare for the next strike against Turkey. We also inherit some 33,000 troops in Kars, who we recall north to be inspected by their new commander.

A white peace offer is dispatched to lowly Portugal, but it is refused. Very well, our army from Limousin will teach them a lesson instead…

January 1754

Tax 2109d. Aragon rises in revolt. The Sultan, rather than live with the shame of yet another humiliating defeat by our great Empire, takes his own life and Osman III ascends the throne in his place.

New Year gifts are sent to all our allies Austria (+67 to +179), Poland (+61 to +129) and Sweden (+140 to +200) and a letter to Spain (+129 to +138). We also commission three new goods manufactories in the colonies - in Chesapeake, Roanoke and Catawba. On the 17th we successfully establish a new colony in Karroo and send a colonist to nearby Transkei.

We begin to make preparations for a more effective strike against Oman in the next war - troops are raised in the Holy Land to stage at Mekkah for the attack on Zanzibar. We also promote officials in the region. Our first Georgian revolt occurs in February as Sochi rises in protest at the change in rulership. Shirley will surely show them the error of their ways.

Then on February 15th, Russia declares war on us, supported by the fools in Denmark. They shall rue this day.

 

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The war of Russian Aggression, February 1754 – December 1755

February 1754

We call on our allies and all respond and now the whole of Europe has set their hand against the Russians. Our first move sends our Moldavian army of 31,000/21,000 to take up station in the Ukraine. We then prepare to send our Memel garrison, with reinforcements already being recruited in the Pommeranias, to sail to Swedish-held Ingermanland and thence to attack Novgorod. In the south our Georgian army strikes against Astrakhan. Let these newest members of our Empire prove their worth on the fields of battle. Our Jylland army crosses the straits in a flotilla of small boats to attack the Danish capital and we prepare an expedition to the frozen north.

March 1754

We defeat the rebels of Aragon on the 6th. On the 16th we lay siege to Astrakhan. On the 23rd the army sent to attack Tago lands on Portuguese soil, but command is seized by a Spanish general who orders an immediate assault. Not what we had in mind, but our troop are unable to withdraw with honour and so participate we must.

April 1754

On the 5th we lay siege to Sjaelland. Birobidjan expands again on April 18th. The assault on Tago is thrown off on the 23rd. Our forces under Burgoyne arrive in the Ukraine and assess the situation in Russia. The Russians are concentrating their forces on Polish Tula, and so we decide to strike north and attempt to destroy the bulk of their army in one swoop.

May 1754

May brings a revolt in Madgeburg. On the 2nd a small infantry force lands in Iceland and takes control of the Danish colony there. Our fleet arrives off Ingermanland and begins unloading an army to march on Novgorod.

June 1754

Our colonisation attempt in Transkei is a failure on the 2nd. On the 8th we predictably defeat the Madgeburg rebels. On the 14th the Grenadier guard under Burgoyne arrives in Tula at the tail end of a Russian assault on the fortress. We smash into the demoralised and disorganised Russian ranks and send them fleeing back towards Moscow. Burgoyne sets off in hot pursuit.

On the 16th we land a force of 2,000 in the far northern Danish colony of Finnmark. A Russian cavalry force attacks the Grenadier Guard's rear on the 19th but we defeat them and send them fleeing with their fellows and then renew our pursuit. And then on the 30th another 11,000 Cossacks are defeated and routed. Now the entire Russian army is gathering in a desperate defence of Moscow. Burgoyne is poised to destroy them.

July 1754

Russia offers a white peace on the 3rd. Hah! We think not. On the 11th 15,000 men and 155 cannon lay siege to Novgorod. On the 20th we clash with the Russians in Moscow. Burgoyne's force (24,850/20,694/0) lays into the defenders (24,849/12,162/9) with a will.

On the 24th we capture Tago but the Spanish commander claims the prize and on the 25th they settle peace with Portugal for 47d indemnities. We prepare to renew the siege but thanks to the ineptitude of the Spanish commander we do not have enough men. Our fleet prepares to fetch 12,000 reinforcements from English France.

Then on the 26th we defeat the Russians in Moscow. The Russian Imperial Army is reduced to (12,135/9,980), having lost nearly half their number, and retreats north, we believe to Vologda. Burgoyne, who lost only 1,500 infantry and 300 cavalry in the battle, lets them go and swings westwards towards Tver, where another Russian army is en-route for Tula. A swift and sure victory will be ours.

Then on the 28th an Austrian general arrives in Tago and seizes command of the siege from us once again. This is fast becoming farcical. Send for Wolfe!

August 1754

Portugal demands 250d for peace on the 4th and Russia offers a white peace the same day. Both are refused. Burgoyne defeats another Russian recruit force in Tver on the 16th and then splits his forces, sending one half south to Tula, where a 6,000 strong Russian army is encamped, and the other half north to assist in the siege of Novgorod.

September 1754

Burgoyne engages the Russians in Tula on the 4th. Then on the 5th, Sjaelland falls. We immediately demand the surrender of the Danish colonies in Finnmark and Iceland. They refuse. Very well, we can wait.

Burgoyne is victorious on the 7th. Spies report that the Russian Imperial Army is marching back towards Moscow and so Burgoyne heads north-east once more. Birobidjan expands again on September 10th. We decide to wait before sending further missions for the outcome of the Danish segment of the war.

Reinforcements arrive in Novgorod on the 16th. Burgoyne's scouts report that the Russian Imperial Army is marching straight for Tula, so Burgoyne decides to prepare a reception for them. More cannon from Georgia arrive to reinforce the siege of Astrakhan on the 20th. On the 28th a Russian advance force of 2,000 cavalry and 50 cannon arrives in Tula and is defeated and sent fleeing by Burgoyne in a single exchange of fire.

October 1754

Ulster rises in October and the rebels seize Belfast. Or Irish garrison was reassigned to France and the Azores, and so 15,000 men of the Home Army are detailed to re-take the province.

Then on the 6th Denmark sues for peace, offering us both captured colonies. We accept, and withdraw our army from Sjaelland. Our choice of territorial prize may seem unusual to the casual observer, but all will become clear in due course. We send a colonial party to Finnmark to inaugurate an English city there – fortifying the region is our main priority now.

The Imperial Russian Army arrives in Tula on the 10th. The Russians fight hard and die well, but are ruthlessly defeated and sent fleeing back to Moscow yet again, 9,000 fewer than when they arrived. Burgoyne sets off in pursuit once more.

November 1754

Wolfe arrives in Tago on the 3rd, promptly pulls rank and takes command of the siege from the Austrians. The walls are weakened but not breached (-2) and so he elects to wait for one more bombardment before ordering the assault. Burgoyne arrives in Moscow on the 8th and attacks the remnants of the Imperial Army. By the 16th, the once proud Russian force is reduced to a mere 5,500 cavalry and a few cannon, fleeing northwards into the arctic wastes once more. Burgoyne returns to more pleasant climes in Tula. On the 29th the walls of Tago are breached (-5) and Wolfe orders the assault.

December 1754

Tago fall on the 1st. We shall wait for the New Year to bring Portugal's limited tax revenues in, then seize them. Meanwhile, winter has descended on Novgorod, sending attrition rates soaring (1% to 10%). Still the walls are not weak enough for an assault. We must wait, and maybe send Burgoyne north to assist in the spring.

Burgoyne arrives in Tula on the 6th to find a small Russian force sitting around doing little. Our men fall on them and crush them, then enter the town to a heroes' welcome from the grateful Poles. Finally we are able to assist our ally in maintaining their freedom from the Imperial Russian aggressor.

Finnmark expands on the 6th and another colonial party is sent. Another recruit army attacks our siege force in Astrakhan, but with little effect.

January 1755

Tax 2160d. Lord Admiral Howe takes command of the Taiwan fleet and Admiral Rodney rises to command the Baltic fleet. We suffer a revolt in Savannah and our Biloxi garrison is sent to deal with it. We demand reparitions from Portugal and they hand over 26d. Disappointing, but then their Empire is now but a shadow of its former self, thanks to our efforts in Africa and New Spain. We send colonists to Iceland to develop a city there.

The last 5,500 Imperial Russian cavalry attack Burgoyne in Tula on the 6th. Burgoyne's men are weary and so they are unable to defeat the Russians before enemy reinforcements arrive on the 19th. Unused to fighting in the depths of the Russian winter, English casualties mount and Burgoyne keeps one eye on a retreat to the north. Undignified, perhaps, but far better to fight another day we think…

February 1755

We inaugurate a city in Finnmark on the 5th and immediately commission a fortress. Burgoyne is finally victorious on the 10th, but he now has only 10,000 men under his command. The Russian forces in the region are too weak now to take Tula and so with apologies to his Polish hosts, he marches his forces northwards to assist in the siege of Novgorod, leaving Tula to the Russians’ uncomfortable, but largely ineffectual siege activities.

Astrakhan falls on the 15th and a cavalry detachment is sent east to burn the Russian trade post in Alga. On the 17th Burgoyne is attacked by a recruit army of 7,000 Russians, and after killing 500 of them, sends the rest fleeing back to Moscow. The Alga trade post is destroyed on the 25th.

March 1755

Iceland expands on the 1st and we send a final colonial party. The walls of Novgorod are breached (-5) on the 13th. As soon as Burgoyne arrives we will assault the city and take Russia's Centre of Trade for our own.

April 1755

April brings a small revolt in the Yemen, which our local troops will deal with, and more serious uprisings in Aragon and Orlenais, although neither will pose a long-term problem. Burgoyne arrives in Novgorod on the 2nd. He will assault the city as soon as the next bombardment is finished. The Savannah rebels are defeated on the 11th. The walls of Novgorod are breached (-5) on the 12th and Burgoyne orders the assault. The defenders are mown down like wheat and the Centre of Trade is ours by the 23rd. We will wait until our Polish allies have negotiated the surrender of Lithuania, which they captured from the Russians in February, before sending a demand to the Tsar for Novgorod and Astrakahan to be handed to us. In the meantime we shall bring more infantry into Novgorod in case we need to attack Moscow and force his hand.

The Aragon rebels are defeated on the 29th.

May - June 1755

There is another minor revolt in Yemen, Manhattan suffers from revolutionary fever and - more seriously - rebels in Bremen seize the fortress. On a happier note the city of Rekjyavik is founded in Iceland and we commission fortifications. The Yemeni rebels are defeated on the 10th.

Braddock dies on June 3rd and on the 5th we defeat the rebels in Bremen and lay siege to the fortress. The Manhattan rebels are similarly defeated on the 22nd.

July - September 1755

On the 2nd of July, 14,000 infantry reinforcements arrive in Novgorod and Burgoyne marches on Moscow. We lay siege to the Russian capital on August 8th. Then on the 12th Turkey pays 239d indemnities to our ally Poland, followed by a smaller payment of 59d to Poland on September 7th.

October – December 1755

In October we suffer revolts in Lyonais, Roanoke and Provence. The Irish rebels from Ulster take Connaught on the 8th - our army was delayed by bureaucratic hold-ups and only just arrives in Meath on the 10th before marching to rectify the situation. Sweden and Denmark sign a white peace on the 20th. The Lyonais rebels are defeated on the 22nd. Turkey pays 61d indemnities to Spain on the 28th - all our allies have profited from the new Sultan's weakness, it would seem.

November brings a fresh revolt in Lyonais, where this time the rebels succeeded in seizing the fortress, as well as another in Savoie and a third in Azerbadjan. Hopefully our Polish allies will soon finish off Belgorod and take back some of their territory, allowing us to settle with Russia. Indeed the city falls on the 7th and the Poles march north, hopefully to the relief of Tula, which is hard beset. On the 11th we defeat the Lyonais rebels and lay siege to the fortress. On the 12th we defeat the Irish rebels and lay siege to Connaught.

In December there is a minor revolt in Carolina. No problem for our army currently in Savannah. On the 6th the walls of Tula are breached. We seem no closer to prising open Moscow and so in an act of supreme magnanimity, and to make some amends for our lack of support in times past, we negotiate the return of Lithuania to the Poles and the surrender of Novgorod to ourselves. The Russians agree.

We take the Baltic Centre of Trade, Tula is saved, the Poles can call themsleves Poland-Lithuania once more and the Tsar is humbled. Burgoyne takes up station in Novgorod, within spitting distance of Moscow should Russia once more act in an aggressive manner towards the English Empire or our allies.

Our attention turns now to restoring peace within the Empire and re-building diplomatic links with our allies. We send gifts to the leaders of Poland (+136 to +200), Austria (+130 to +148), Spain (+83 to +195) and Sweden (+153 to +200). We then set about replenishing our troops to replace loses in this last war, and planning for a fresh conflict with France in the near future. We also send a fresh trio of traders to Norsk, Khretset and Nagorje in Siberia.

Interlude

January - December 1756

Tax 2174d. A new leader awaits our command in France, a General Washington, a colonial gentleman who left New England – a land he apparently detested – in order to serve in His Majesty’s continental army (5/2/1) has taken command of our forces in Picardie - and another General, Howe (3/3/3/1) now commands the army in Zeeland. His siege expertise will be invaluable in cracking the French lowlands of Hainaut, Artois and Luxembourg. Good news also arrives from the Midlands, which are now predominantly Catholic once more (random event, conversion of heretics). Only two protestant regions still hold out on the English mainland - Strathclyde and Wessex.

We re-rake Bremen from the rebels on the 6th. On the same day we offer the Swedes the benefits of full vassalisation, but they regretfully turn us down. We shall try again to persuade them later in the year. The rebels of Provence are defeated on the 17th. We are getting nowhere with the siege of Connaught. We sent no artillery for the sake of swift movement around the Irish countryside, but have cause to regret doing so now. We decide to bring over the entire Home Army to do the job properly.

In February we continue to reorganise our armies within English France and in the excitement forget to send a long-planned letter of regard to Sweden until March 1st (+158 to +160). In April we suffer revolts in Navarra and Finnmark. We also receive a report from our generals that they have developed platoon fire tactics (land tech 47).

We are unable to continue our diplomatic efforts in April as we have no diplomats available and so will send a gift to Sweden next month to assure their goodwill.

There is a revolt in Iceland in May - 775 islanders objecting to the presence of our 272-strong garrison. On the 8th we establish a trade post in Norsk and on the 9th we defeat the rebels of Navarra. Nagorje trade post fails on the 10th, we re-take Lyonais from the rebels on the 11th and establish our trade post in Khretset on the 12th. Another colonial mission is sent to Birobidjan and another trader to Nagorje. We defeat the Icelandic rebels on the 20th, but really must increase the garrison there.

In June our trade techniques reach pre-industrial level (trade tech 10) and so we split our research towards further improvements in naval and land technology. We send a trader to Mogotcha and a personal gift to the King of Sweden (+159 to +200). On the 21st our Home Army lands in rebel-held Ulster. In July our admirals report the development of copper bottoms (naval tech 38).

On September 1st we repeat our vassalisation offer to Sweden but again we are refused. They are a proud, noble and independent race, the Swedes. We cannot understand their reluctance to join their fortunes with those of the English Empire and work towards enjoying the massive benefits of Imperial citizenship. Truly, the workings of the Swedish mind represents something of a Paradox. Our generosity shall wear them down eventually.

Ulster is re-taken on the 23rd and Birobidjan expands again on the 27th. Our trade post in Mogotcha is established on October 12th and Nagorja on the 15th. We send a trader to Bratsk. Reinforcements arrive in Iceland in early November and Connaught falls on the 14th. We decide to leave 49 cannon and 15,000 men in Connaught to garrison Ireland properly again and the rest of the Home Army returns to Wessex to await reinforcement.

In December we send another warm letter to the Swedish King (+167 to +187). We shall renew our charm offensive next year.

January - November 1757

Tax 2192d. General Murray (3/3/2/1) now commands our forces in Lyonais. Internal politics (and an English-assisted assassination, we have to admit) results in Mustafa III rising to the throne of the Sultancy. Our generals report the development of Dragoon regiments (land tech 48). Our Bratsk trade post is established on the 26th and we send a trader to Balakhta.

February brings a revolt in the Languedoc, which will be stamped on by Colonel Knox and the Bearnese army. Our admiral also reports the development of Double Shots (naval tech 39). Birobidjan expands again on February 10th and the (hopefully) final colonist is dispatched. The Languedoc rebels are defeated by March 10th and Knox returns to Bearn. The Cyclades rebel on the 1st of May but Wolfe knows full well how to handle just such a situation…

On May 1st we send another warm letter to the King of Sweden (+185 to +198). Wolfe is victorious on May 2nd and our Balakhta trade post is established on the 4th - another mission is therefore sent to Palana.

Then on June 1st we make our offer once again to the Swedish King, and the third time is truly the charm. Sweden are now our vassals, and we can look forward to negotiating their diplomatic annexation in 1767, thanks to our common land border in Finnmark. In the meantime, half their not-so inconsequential tax revenues should bring an extra 280d or so to the English treasury.

On June 24th we successfully inaugurate a city in Birobidjan and commission a fortress at once. In July our generals report the development of Brigades (land tech 49). Admiral J. Byng dies on the 4th of August. A September revolt in Maine sees the peasants seize the fortress.

Then on September 3rd, General Shirley dies. His exploits were not as legendary as those of Marlborough, Cromwell or York, but his conquest of Georgia with Wolfe has earned him a place in the Annals of the English Battle Saints.

Then a message arrives from Clive in Bangkok. In light of Shirley's demise, Clive has become acutely aware of his lack of opportunity for conquest to date, and he respectfully requests a chance to take Nippon. Our return messenger takes letters ordering him to do so at the earliest possible opportunity and Clive begins his maneuvers at once.

The rebels of Maine are defeated on the 23rd and we lay siege to the fortress. Our Palana trade post is successfully established on the 19th. We decide the time has come to extend our Siberian demesnes west of the Ob river and so traders are sent to Tomsk and Ob. Sochi rises in revolt in November and the Georgian army, bereft of Shirley and suspecting rebel elements to be responsible for his death, march with a will on the old Georgian capital.

By November 20th, Clive's three fleets are in place off the coast of Nippon. Scouts report that a total of some 250,000 troops defend the island. Clive is outnumbered by more than 2 to 1, but is determined to lead his men to victory.

War is declared, and Clive prepares to attack.

 

[unmerged(1996)]

The Anglo-Nipponese War of 1757 - 1758

November- December 1757

We land an army under Colonel Exeter on Shikoku island, which is undefended and should fall easily, Colonel Cavanagh invades Hokkaido island, which is held by and army of 47,000 Samurai and their followers, whilst Clive himself leads a force in an attack on the capital, Edo. 51,000 Nipponese defend it and to the west and east are another 150,000. Naturally we have every confidence in Clive’s abilities, although we must confess to just a small flicker of concern…

Shikoku island is besieged by Exeter on December 10th. We blast holes in their flimsy fortress walls on the 11th and order an immediate assault to clear out the 5,000 defenders on the 12th. The island falls on the 21st, but an army of 100,000 from the mainland is crossing to re-take it. Our forces beat a hasty retreat to their ships in order to attack in a different location and take the defenders by surprise.

Clive lands in Edo and Townsend lands in Hokkaido on Christ's Mass Day. Townsend's 24,000 and 80 cannon take on 47,000 Nipponese. Clive's 24,500/5,000/100 face 55,000 infantry. 8,000 Nipponese die on the first day of the battle for Edo.

January 1758

Tax 2110d. General Amherst (4/3/3/1) now commands the Home Army, but we will transfer him to France to put his siege knowledge to better use on the continent. The heretics of Strathclyde see the light and now Catholicism holds sway throughout Scotland.

Good news from Nippon - Clive is victorious on the 2nd. All 51,000 Nipponese lie dead, have fled, or are captured, and the capital is besieged. On the 10th, the main Nipponse army turns east and heads for their capital. A suicide mission of 2,000 cavalry is sent from Shikoku island to delay them whilst the rest of the army continues to embark.

The 50,000 strong Nipponese army from Sendai province attacks Clive on the 12th. (Our Ob trade post is established on the 18th). Clive is victorious again on the 20th and once more the Nipponse army is completely destroyed. Even the 100,000 strong main force should not be beyond General Clive, but we would much rather annex the nation and recruit them for war elsewhere, so we will avoid fighting them if we can. Tomsk trade post is established on the 21st and we send a trader to Barabinsk. We are victorious in Hokkaido on the 22nd, although we have taken some 14,000 casualties in the process of securing our victory there.

February 1758

Our suicide force encounters the main Japanese army on the 1st and sends back reports that the Shogun commands some 19,000 infantry and 75,000 cavalry with 50 cannon in support. They manage to last five days and sell their lives dearly. The Nipponese army begins to move on Edo again on the 7th. We wait until the 11th and then send another cavalry force from Shikoku to delay them. Meanwhile, Clive orders an assault on Edo. The garrison commander surrenders at once and Clive marches north to Sendai.

March 1758

Clive arrives on the 3rd and sweeps away a 7,000-strong recruit army before laying siege. Our suicide force engages the Nipponese again on the 4th. On the 5th some kind of agricultural revolution apparently occurs, which boosts takes at home (+1 tax revenue in national provinces), which is nice.

On the 6th Clive launches an assault on Sendai and again the garrison commander surrenders immediately. Clive's fleet sails to the west of the main island to collect his army. Our second suicide attack lasts only four days. Exeter lands in Kyushu on the 12th to face 11,000 defenders, is victorious on the 20th and lays siege to the town on the 21st. Clive embarks and sends scouts to watch the main Nipponese army to see what they will do next.

April - May 1758

Our trade post in Barabinsk is established on the 19th and we send colonial missions to Demianka and Altai to form a new boundary at the western limit of our Siberian expansion.

Back in Nippon, the main Japanese army has made no move to re-take Edo. Clive will have to defeat them after all if Nippon is to be ours. We re-take the fortress in Maine on the 24th.

There is a revolt in Iceland in May and peasants take the fortress. Our garrison will defeat their rabble, but we may need to send siege guns to re-take the fort. Exeter and Townsend are ordered to assault Kyushu and Hokkaido, respectively, on the 3rd. Kyushu falls on the 5th and Exter takes ship to return to the mainland. Clive decides the best course is to gather his forces in Edo and destroy the Emperor's army in one strike.

June - July 1758

The assault on Hokkaido is thrown off and Exter is forced to sail north to finish the job. Exeter arrives in Hokkaido on the 16th of July, launches an assault, captures the fortress on the 17th and relieves Townsend of his command, returning to his ships to sail for Edo. The plan is to lure the Nipponese army back to their capital so that Clive can land and take the last province.

We fail to colonise Altai on the 18th but are successful in Demianta on the 19th and so send another mission to Altai.

The War of Omani Aggression – August 1758 – January 1760

August 1758

Our plans for Nippon are proceeding smoothly, but on the 2nd Oman (Turkey) declares war on us. Actually, it comes as a welcome excuse to immediately proceed with the plan for the conquest of Western Anatolia. A force under Colonel Merryweather marches on Thrace from Macedonia. Wolfe takes ship from the Cyclades, as does a second army under Colonel Cheltenham. General Cumberland invades Dhofar from Hadramut, Colonel Goring marches from Damman on Al Khaman and General Hastings takes ship from Indus to sail once more on Mascate. Ships will then collect our force in Mekkah and sail on Zanzibar. This time we shall take Oman entire. On the 23rd we lay siege to Thrace.

Meanwhile, back in Nippon, Exeter lands in Edo on the 28th. The Nipponese army makes no move and so as Exter marches to attack them in Honshu, Clive begins his landing from the coast.

September 1758

Cheltenham arrives off Cyrenaica on the 3rd and begins his landing. On the 8th the entire Turkish fleet of 12/48/1 attacks Wolfe's transports in the Aegean. Cumberland arrives in Dofhar on the 11th and lays siege. Wolfe lands in Smyrna on the 14th and the fleet returns to the safety of Hellas. Thrace falls on the 24th and once again the Sultan's Palace becomes a barrack block for English soldiers. Turkey offers a white peace on the 25th, which we naturally refuse.

October 1758

Goring arrives in Al Kharam on the 5th. In a brilliantly executed maneuvre, both Exter and Clive arrive in Honshu on the 6th and attack the Shogun of Nippon's massed cavalry army. By the 10th his 19,000 infantry are entirely destroyed and some 10,000 Nipponese cavalry lie dead.

Clive is victorious on the 16th, the entire Imperial Nipponese army is routed. He launches an assault on the province at once. The garrison commander surrenders at once and Clive takes Nippon for the English Empire!

Meanwhile, Cheltenham lands in Cyrenaica on the 11th and engages a local recruit force, then having defeated them but lacking artillery support for a long siege and worried about desert attrition, he launches an assault on Cyrenaica. Our Altai expedition fails again on the 18th and so one more is sent. On the 21st we lay siege to Mascate and launch an immediate assault. On the 22nd Cyrenaica is taken and Cheltenham marches on Quattara. Mascate falls on the 26th. 15,000 reinforcements are sent to Al Khalam whilst the rest of the army marches on Masirah.

Wolfe takes Smyrna on October 27th and now we wait only for Cheltenham to take Quattara so that we might dictate terms. On the 28th Turkey offers Cyrenaica and Smyrna and Oman a white peace - we refuse both.

November 1758

On November 4th Wolfe's scouts spy a Turkish army heading south through Anatolia, bound for the Turkish siege of Iraq. There are only 45,000 of them so he decides to intercept them and do some damage. On the 17th a fleet of 12/0/6 Turkish ships attacks our 6/0/17 off Cyrenaica. We lay siege to Masirah on the 21st and reinforcements arrive in Al Kharam on the 22nd. Assaults are ordered against both strongholds. On the 24th, Wolfe's (17,800/0/208) engages (25,700/13,800/55) Turks in Anatolia. On the 29th Cheltenham arrives in Quattara, sweeps away 2,000 defending troops and launches a full-scale assault at once.

December 1758

Al Kharam falls on December 2nd and our army withdraws to Damman. On the same day we launch an assault on Dofhar. Masirah and Quattara both fall on the 4th. We also send a trader to Qatar. Wolfe completely annihilates the Turkish army on the 9th, taking only 4,000 casualties in the process, and lays siege to Anatolia. Dofhar falls on the 19th and now all of mainland Oman is ours. An army is en-route to Zanzibar. We shall conquer Oman and add its territory to the Empire come mid February. We send a demand to the Sultan on the 20th that he surrender all three provinces, but he refuses. Let him come back to us when he is ready then. Our army arrives off Zanzibar on the 29th and begins disembarkation.

January - February 1759

Tax 2230d. Carlos III rises to the throne of Spain. Our admirals develop clocks to aid our ships in navigation (naval tech 40). Our Altai colony is established on the 17th. Our army lands in Zanzibar on the 8th of February to encounter 5,000/5,000 defenders. Our 14,000 infantry and 60 cannon sweep them away in 10 days of fighting and we lay siege to the fortress on the 18th.

Then grim news arrives from Anatolia. The brilliant General Wolfe has been killed by a Turkish assassin whilst personally supervising the siege. His name, too, will be honoured in the annals of the English Battle Saints for the part he played in the conquest of Georgia, the subjugation of Greece, the defeat of Portugal and of course the capture of Smyrna.

The Sultan then has the temerity to send us a settlement offer of just Cyrenaica and Quattara. We execute his envoy - not a step we would usually take, but just retribution for the murder of our general we feel.

March - April 1759

March is quiet as our sieges continue. Then reports finally reach us that the Turks have been besieging Kouban for some time and so we send our Georgian army to chase them off. They are engaged and defeated in early April and the siege lifted. Meanwhile the siege of Iraq is reaching a critical juncture (-5). Our armies in Aden and Oman begin forced marches north to intercept them and Cheltenham leads his forces eastwards from Alexandria.

Then on April 11th we capture Anatolia from Turkey for good measure. Surely now the Sultan must see sense and offer us the territory we want. We send a demand, but again we are rebuffed.

May - June 1759

In May our Generals report the development of Divisional tactics (land tech 50). Cheltenham arrives in Jordan on May 15th and is ordered to march straight to the relief of Iraq. Sutherland also marches in from Basrah, although with his artillery train he will arrive long after Cheltenham. Cheltenham arrives on the 30th and his 17,000/8,000 face 37,000/3,000 Turks.

In June we suffer a revolt in Limousin. By the 12th the valiant Cheltenham has whittled the Turkish force down to 12,000 men and a few hundred cavalry, at which point, Sutherland arrives with his 200 odd cannon. Our artillery blasts the heathen lines to pieces and by the time General Cumberland arrives from the south with 8,000 infantry reinforcements, there is no need of them - the Turkish force lies scattered across the Mesopotamian flood plain. Cheltenham is sent back west to Alexandria whilst General Cumberland takes command of the rest of the forces in the region and takes up station in Judea. Zanzibar falls to our forces on June 21st and we await only the Sultan's capitulation before annexing the nation of Oman. We send another demand to remind him of our terms which is rejected once more. Very well, we shall let patience be our guide.

July 1759

We suffer a revolt in Navarra, which our policing force will deal with once they have dealt with Limousin and then, on the 2nd of July, just as blessed peace is looking like a real prospect once more, France (Portugal) declares war on us.

The war of French Aggression – July 1759 - January 1761

This time France's armed forces stand at just 320,000 and we expect they will move at once for Orlenais. We therefore withdraw our garrison and wait for the French to vacate the territories we wish to take. Really, they are so boringly predictable sometimes. We are proved entirely correct when by the 12th the entire French army begins to march on Orlenais. That settles our objectives for this war - the capture of Hainaut, Artois and Luxembourg, each with a mighty fortress but each guarding a goods manufactory and so worth the effort of taking them. Colonel Northumberland marches on Hainuat on the 18th.

August 1759

Field Chief Judge Howe marches on Artois on the 5th. Orlenais is besieged on the 8th. Turkey offers just Quattara on the 10th, which we find positively insulting. We are still prepared to wait. General Amherst arrives in Cologne from Zeeland on the 16th, collects the army there and marches on Luxembourg. Hainaut is besieged on the 18th. The Limousin rebels are defeated on the 22nd and our army there marches for Navarra. Artois is besieged on the 27th. On the same day the French army clears Ile de France and Brigadier Washington marches on Paris.

September - October 1759

We sink another 10 French ships off the coast of Holland for a total of about two dozen in the last month. Luxembourg is besieged on the 11th and Paris on the 17th. It is now a race to see how quickly we can destroy the French fortresses, before they destroy ours in Orlenais.

October is quiet as our sieges continue in the French lowlands, although progress is made against all but Luxembourg.

November - December 1759

An army takes ship off Gascoigne and sails for Tago on the 5th. We defeat the Navarrese rebels on the 26th. Our army lands in Tago on December 11th, once again into the middle of a Spanish-led assault. We join in with a will. Tago falls on the 17th with the Spanish general claiming the victory. Portugal pays Spain 59d to send her armies home the next day and our own siege commences.

January 1760

Tax 2279d. We suffer a revolt of 27,000 peasants in the Mekong. Clive prepares to return with 20,000 men to defeat them, leaving the rest of his army in Nippon. Artois falls on the 28th and Howe heads east to Luxembourg to give Amherst a hand.

Then on the 29th the Sultan finally sees sense, offering us Quattara, Cyrenaica and Smyrna. We graciously accept. We then annex Oman and peace returns to the Middle East. The whole of Arabia is now ours and we also control the whole of North Africa from Sahara to Sinai to Keren. We send traders to Somalia, Mudugh and Mogadiscio on the Horn of Africa. Cheltenham splits his forces and sends half each to reinforce our armies in Judea and Jordan - ready for an eventual strike against Syria and Lebanon. Part of our force from Zanzibar is dropped off on the mainland to destroy some Portuguese trade posts there whilst the rest is to be returned to the Holy Land as well.

February 1760

The Sultan suffers further problems as the city of Azov falls to rebel elements on the 3rd. Colonel Northumberland takes Hainaut on the 17th.

March 1760

We suffer revolts in Corsica and Aragon, and for the first time in centuries, a revolt in a Home province - Kent. Our nearby armies will deal with all three in good time. On the 6th we burn a Portuguese trade post in Luanda and a French one in Acra.

Clive is, quite naturally, victorious in Mekong on the 11th after only three days of fighting, and loses only 800 men in the process of crushing the rebel scum.

Then on the 12th Denmark (Russia) declares war on us for a second time! The fools, do they not learn their lessons? Once again we call on our allies and all respond with a show of support.

The second War of Russian Aggression – March–October 1760

Our army of Jylland marches at once on Sjaelland. A swift war we think unless it seems likely that Poland is to make gains in the east, but currently all their forces are assisting the Swedes in the siege of Kurland. The Russians march at once on Tula. Burgoyne marches at once on Moscow. Our Memel garrison marches on Belarus, via Lithuania to avoid becoming embroiled in the siege of Kurland. We defeat the Kent rebels on the 24th.

April 1760

The rebels of Aragon are gone by the 3rd. We burn the Portuguese from Mombasa on the 9th. We lay siege to Sjaelland on the 12th. Then on the 18th we capture Paris yet again and Burgoyne lays siege to Moscow. France offers Hainaut and Artois on the 19th but we shall chance our arm and hold out a little longer we think. Our three East African trade posts are established on the 23rd-25th and we send another trader to Ogden as well.

May 1760

We take the Portuguese trade post in Kenya on the 9th and march on Malindi. We will not destroy these, but have Portugal surrender them to us, thus allowing us to extend our reach further down the coast towards our colony in Niassa. Indeed, Tago falls on the 15th. On the 16th they offer Kenya, but we are in no hurry and can wait until Malindi is ours as well and they offer us both. In fact, our Tago army takes ship for Cape Verde to see if we can take those islands as well.

France offers us just Hainaut on the 20th, which of course we refuse. Washington heads east to Luxembourg with 6,000 men to prepare for an assault. Orlenais is weakening so the rest of Washington's men march to rendezvous with our Orlenais army in Normandie for a possible counter-attack. On the 28th we lay siege to Belarus.

June - July 1760

We take Malindi on the 9th. Let the Portuguese come to us now and we shall take their offer and their land. We burn a Portuguese trading post in Natal on the 20th. Washington arrives in Luxembourg on the 23rd. The Corsican rebels are defeated on July 8th by a force from Romagna. They return to the mainland to deal with the rebels in Naples. On the 9th France offers Hainaut and Artois plus their colony of Douala in West Africa, which we seized en-route to their trade posts in the region. We refuse this time, but if they make the offer again we may have to take it rather than lose Orlenais. On the 18th we demand Kenya and Malindi from Portugal, having decided against attacking Cape Verde. They surrender their trade posts and we send more traders to the region, to the five provinces immediately to the south of Kenya. We take the French colony of Kribi on the 20th.

August - September 1760

Luxembourg falls on August 12th and Washington immediately marches to take command of the force in Normandie. Sjaelland falls on the 13th, which means we can end the Baltic war whenever we feel like it, but we think we will take Ostlandet first.

Romagna rises in revolt in September. Naples first, then we’ll deal with them. Alas, Orlenais falls on the 9th, and immediately the French army marches south-eastwards, away from Paris, which is where we anticipated they would go. Very well, we shall wait for them to leave and then re-take our citadel. French fools. Have they learned nothing from watching the mighty English Imperial Armies sweeping across their country?

The Naples rebels are defeated on the 24th. Tula falls to the Russians on the 28th. Swiftly, assaults on Moscow and Belarus are ordered (both are at -1).

October 1760

France offers Kribi, Douala and Hainuat on the 5th. Realising the error of our seizing their colonies, we refuse and then counter-sue for the three northern provinces, which France of course rejects. Very well, next month we shall settle for Luxembourg and Artois, isolating Hainaut and leaving it ripe for the plucking in 1765.

Burgoyne takes Moscow on the 8th and Belarus follows on the 15th. We demand Belarus and reparitions and the Tsar hands over the province and 41d. We then settle with Denmark rather than lose men in the mountainous terrain of Norway. They pay us 25d and a certain amount of honour is satisfied.

All five of our East African trade posts are established towards the end of the month. By the time Washington arrives to take command of the army in Normandie the French are already well on their way to Helvetia and so he marches on Orlenais. It is futile as we shall settle a treaty next month, but it is the gesture that counts.

Then on the 26th our beloved monarch George II dies and is succeeded by his son, crowned George III.

 

[unmerged(1996)]

October 1760 – A Change in Monarch and in Government

On October 26th, His Majesty appoints myself, Douglas Lord Fremont, as Prime Minister, following a scandal at court. I warn you my lords, the following may shock you:

My predecessor, James Peebles, has been revealed to be none other than the illegitimate son of the infamous Charles Cromwell and the late Queen Anne! How he kept this secret for so long is beyond me...

It would appear that he took his name from the town in Scotland whence he was spirited away as a babe and where he grew, raised in the sure knowledge of who his father was and believing his rightful place to be at the head of the English government. How he came to be the Lord Chancellor of England is a matter of record, but how no investigation into his background and parentage was carried out is a mystery. Rumours exist that he planned to assassinate the King and either assert his own claim or assume the title of Lord Protector, and worse – that he also planned to persuade his Majesty George II – who as we all know has been infirm of recent years – to declare the nation Protestant and thereby plunge us all into Civil War and Anarchy! Needless to say, that has all now been thwarted, and this glorious Imperial nation of ours will now be safe in my hands.

His Majesty George III – a strong-willed and noble gentleman, commands me to finish the latest wars, then avoid conflict long enough to annex Sweden and then have at France and Russia once more.

A French advance force besieges Helvetia on November 3rd. His Majesty elects to wait before settling with the French to see if they improve their offer and so takes no action on the 5th. On the 13th we lay siege to occupied Orlenais.

December 1760

We suffer another revolt in Corsica, and one in the Cyclades. Armies are near to hand to deal with both.

January 1761

Tax 2291d. We develop Naval tech 29 - Carronade. On the 5th France offers us their colony in Kribi in exchange for an end to the conflict. We scoff at their pettiness and demand instead the surrender of Hainaut and Luxembourg, which they have no option but to acquiesce to. Thus our holdings in northern France are expanded once more. With the conflict at an end we look once again to our African colonial aspirations and send colonists to both Nampuia and Transkei.

We appoint Governors in all six Nipponese provinces and begin raising more troops. The next stage of our expansion in the Far East quite obviously calls for an all-out attack on China – it being the only independent nation remaining east of Turkey - and so we will need plenty of men to undertake the task, as the country is vast, even if their fortifications are poor.

Interlude

February – December 1761

Our Mtawa Trade Post is established on February 11th. We send a trader to Luanda on the 9th of March. On April 1st our Generals report the development of Gribeauval Guns (land tech 51). On the 19th, Turkey enters the French alliance. Ah, superb. All our enemies lined up in a row...

Our Nampuia trade post is established on April 22nd. A revolt in Sochi in May shouldn't prove too hazardous for the garrison to handle. Our Transkei trade post is established on the 5th. We send a trader to Zaire on the 23rd. We celebrate the opening of the Luanda trade post on June 16th and in July we send a trader out to Cabinda, extending the reach of our West African territories.

On July 18th or allies Austria invite us to enter into a Royal Marriage which we readily agree to (rel to +58). We send a personal gift to the King of Sweden to let him know we still look favourably on our loyal vassals (+131 to +200).

In August troops from Italy arrive to subdue rebellious Corsica. They defeat the rebel army in short order and lay siege to the castle. Our Zaire trade post is established on August 26th and in September we send a trade mission to Mayumba and on the 30th we establish our trader in Cabinda.

We interrupt our African policy in November when we realise that no-one is currently seeking to exploit the gold-rich Yukon territory, and so a colonial mission is sent. We establish a trade post in Mayumba on the 29th. The peasants of Sochi try their luck again in December, but it is found wanting - as is their skill at arms - and their rebellion is put down by the 13th.

January – December 1762

Tax 2458d. Catherine II and Peter III rise to the throne of Russia. A joint Monarchy? What an idea! A new centre of trade opens in Iraq, which of course belongs to us. Although it covers but a small area and has to compete with Kurland just over the border and several other CoTs in the area, we send merchants out to dominate the new market as a matter of principle. We also capture Corsica from the local rebels but suffer a fresh revolt in Artois, which Howe is on hand to suppress.

On the 20th, Colonel Broom, with 12,000 men and 180 cannon, arrives in Taiwan. He was last seen off the coast of Portugal but has been re-deployed to assist in the attack on China, the preparations for which are moving apace. In February we send a trader to Muni. In April we learn that our mission to Yukon was a failure and so, undaunted, we try again. We also establish our Iraqi monopoly. The market is actually worth some 358d, so no small-change after all. Our trade mission to Muni also fails and so another will be sent next month.

On April 26th Spain settles a peace with France, taking the African colonies of Kribi and Tassaret, thus blocking our own smooth expansion around the continent, but no matter - we do not begrudge our allies their successes. Another trader is sent to Muni in May. In July we suffer a revolt in the Languedoc, which our Bearn garrison will clear up, and send a trader to Nouadibuh on the African West Coast. Soon all the available territory in Africa will be claimed - until the next war, that is...

Our Muni trade post is established on July 21st. Both our Yukon and Nouadibuh ventures fail and so in September we send another mission to the Alaskan coast. The Peasants of Hainaut revolt unsuccessfully in November and we try again for Nouadibuh.

January – December 1763

Tax 2460d. Wonderful news as Wessex, the last bastion of heresy in England, sees the light of the true faith and re-embraces the Holy Catholic Church. We suffer a second rebellion on Hainaut which will be crushed as swiftly as the first, we are sure. On the 4th we successfully establish ourselves in Nouadibuh, but we fail yet again to establish a foothold in Yukon on the 30th and so another attempt is made.

Artois rises in February and Howe, fresh from crushing the rebels in Hainaut, returns south to face this new uprising. In March Lyonais revolts but our garrison is on hand to deal with the rebels there. Our Admirals announce the development of breakthrough tactics (naval tech 42) and promptly decide they can develop no further, which I for one find hard to believe. What of these steam engines our industrialists have developed? Could they not be turned to some military use on board our ships? Unable to develop further? Presposterous!

In March we send a trader to Leone, which the French seem to have missed. In April Spain invites us to provide a member of the nobility to marry one of their spare princesses, which His Majesty is happy to do (rel to +89). Our Leone trade post is established on the 15th of May and now the whole of Africa has been claimed and divided between the European powers. Again we must swallow the bitter pill of failure in the Yukon and send another mission on June 30th. We send a trader to nearby Nanaimo in July, as the territory is currently unclaimed.

In September we send a trader to Kara Kum, seeking to expand our Middle Eastern holdings. The peasants in Hainaut seize the fortress there in October, damn them. We send Howe to root them out.

Our missions to Nanaimo and Kara Kum are successful in November and - lo and behold - so is our mission to Yukon. We decide not to seek to expand there for fear of the native population's intentions toward out people, and send a trader to Turkmenistan instead.

January - December 1764

Tax 2482d. A new explorer, by the name of Byron, presents himself in Anglia. As the concept of an explorer is a rather redundant one by now, we tell him to report to the main fleet in Kent and see if he can find something useful to do there. Stanislas A. Poniatowski is elected head of the Seym in Poland.

We send traders to Amou Daria and Emba. There's a revolt in Azerbaidjan in February, which our Georgian garrison will deal with. Our Turkmenistan trade post is established on the 5th. In March we establish our trade posts in Emba and Amou Daria and send another trader to Ust Urt. We also suffer a revolt in Artois - a minor inconvenience I can assure milords.

In April the peasant of Orlenais are foolish enough to rise against Washington's force of 88,000 and are defeated in but three days. In May exceptional demand for Nubian slaves nets us an additional 976d (random event). We decide the time has come to spend some of the treasury surplus and so commission a naval equipment manufactory in Bristol and a Weapons Manufactory in Strathclyde.

In May our Ust Urt trade post is established and we decide to move our holdings across the river Irtych in Western Siberia and so send a trader to the province of the same name. Howe re-takes Hainaut in July and we send a trader to Novosibirsk. The Irtych trade post is established at the end of the month.

The peasants of Belarus manage to seize the fortress in August, forcing our army in the region to besiege it once the rebel rabble army is defeated. We send a trader to Tchany in September and our Novosibirsk mission is a success. We decide to develop Tindore (pop 414) into a full city and so send a colonial mission in November. Our Tchancy trade post is established at the end of the month, bringing us ever closer to Russia's eastern border.

January – December 1765

Tax 2466d. A conquistador by the name of Hamilton presents himself for service in Roanoke. We thank him but explain that there really isn’t much conquistadoring left to do, and give him command of the Roanoke army instead. Cumberland dies on January 12th. We send a colonist to expand on our trade post in Timor. There is another revolt in Azerbaidjan in March. We are growing close to the time when we must decide whether to wage war with China and then wait for France and Turkey to attack us, or seek to annex Sweden and then see what develops afterwards. I will need to ponder on this matter at length. Tindore expands on April 9th and more colonists are sent. We re-take the fortress in Belarus on the 18th.

Then in May our Generals report the development of Square Formations (land tech 52) and announce that without someone actually developing an improvement in either gunpowder or the horse, there really isn’t much more they can do. There seems little to do now but divert all funds to the treasury and watch as over 1000 ducats per month begins to roll in. We shall use the funds to develop our industrial infrastructure for the long-term benefit of the nation. Manufactories for all, methinks...

Saunders dies on May 9th. Timor fails to expand in July, but we are happy to try again. Tindore expands in September and 1,000 locals flock to join the colonists, boosting the colony to city status. We decide to expand other colonies in the region to boost the value of our trade centre in Edo, now the richest in the world. Mindanao and Luzon are next. Timor becomes a colony on December 29th.

January – December 1766

Tax 2477d. Goods Manufactories are commissioned in Alleghany, Carolina, Savannah and Biloxi. We have decided to wait until Sweden is safely annexed before attacking China and so this year will see our final preparations to that end. Luzon and Mindanao both expand in February and further colonists are sent. Kouban rebels in April but the dissidents don't last long against our Sochi garrison. We decide to spend some of our monetary surplus on lavish state gifts for grateful Poland (+39 to +119), ungrateful Spain (+52 to +69) and delighted Austria (+13 to +200) and also send a personal gift to the King of Sweden (+174 to +200).

Timor expands in early June and Mindanao follows suit in July, although we are not successful in Luzon. Nevertheless, we send more colonists to both locations. Kouban revolts again in August, not having been sufficiently punished before, obviously. September brings disaster as the natives of Luzon massacre our settlers. We would send fiery retribution their way but all our troops are preparing for the invasion of China, and so we will extend the olive branch instead and seek to re-establish trade links. Timor expands again in November and Mindanao follows on Christ's Mass Day.

January – July 1767

Tax 2486d. Admiral Hood takes command of the Mekong fleet. We re-establish a trade post in Luzon on the 10th but decide not to challenge the locals' sovereignty until we can back up our claim with troops. Again the peasants of Belarus seize the fortress there in March. Timor expands again at the end of April. In May we send a warm letter to the King of Sweden to prepare the ground for the proposal of union between our nations. (+194 to +200).

Then on the 2nd of June, the Act of Swedish Union, ratified by the treaty of Stockholm, is passed in Parliament, and the Swedish nation of 19 provinces becomes a full and welcome addition to the English Empire. In total, 746 ducats worth of taxable revenue will be added to the treasury and we gain the full benefit of ten Swedish manufactories. English governors are appointed in those provinces which lack such an official and the Swedish armed forces are reorganised to prevent nationalistic rebellion. We also gain Sweden's territories in western Africa, including a city in Casamance along with a fleet of (19/0/6), and one additional trade post in Recife.

Our next objectives, I don’t mind declaring, will be the invasion and subjugation of China and the conversion of Denmark from an ally of Russia into a friend of the Empire. A state gift begins the process (-151 to +96).

Hainaut rises in July and Howe is again called on to bring the peasants under control. We decide the time has come to string against the Chinese Emperors and so our forces in the Far East begin to take ship in preparation for the assault on their land, and massive amounts of infantry are levied throughout Nippon and the Mekong peninsula. Troops are also raised in India for a long march through Burma to China's southern border. The city of Cumberland is founded on Mindanao island in July.

August 1767

By August 15th, the three Nipponese strike groups are poised to begin the assault – their weapons primed and their objectives firmly in mind. Clive, who will command the overall campaign, is still en-route, but nevertheless, the order to begin the attack is given and England declares War on China.

 

[unmerged(1996)]

The Anglo-Chinese war of 1767-68
The Third War of Russian Aggression 1767-70
Another Portuguese-instigated Anglo-French War 1767-70

August 1767

Funding is switched towards maintaining stability at home for the time being to forestall any dissenting voices in the council of Lords and again we go to war.

Immediately our fleet in Korea Bay is attacked by 25 Chinese War Junks, but our ships are stronger and better armed and so we shall prevail.

Then on the 29th, Russia Declares War on the English Empire for a third time. Our allies flock to our banner, although unfortunately, Denmark remains loyal to her Muscovite ally and so will have to be punished after all. Burgoyne makes a swift strike against Moscow from Novgorod and our Jylland army is ferried across the straits to attack Sjaelland.

September 1767

Swedish rebels in Bergslagen and Skane take their chances, but we have freshly-raised troops in the region who should be more than a match for the peasant scum. Not wanting to neglect our colonial drive we send missions to Sabah and Selatan.

The Chinese fleet is finally defeated on the 7th. We in turn lost four warships and a few thousand troops, but we still have an army of 40,000 to land in the Centre of Trade in Tianjin - it is our primary objective as it will immediately cut off a large part of China's revenue.

All progresses smoothly until the 28th of September, when Portugal declares war on us. She is supported by France, but Turkey refuses to fight. No matter, the Sultan will give in to temptation before too long we suspect. Our armies in Western Europe mobilise for yet another attack on France. This time Mainz, Pfalz and Baden are our targets, to link our German and Italian territories, whilst Washington marches straight for Paris and Howe is held in reserve.

On the 22nd we assault the peasant-held fortress in Belarus and take it in three days, thus freeing our army for a strike against neighbouring Polotsk. Tianjin is besieged on the 27th and Clive's fleet arrives from Mekong and the great General prepares for an attack on the Chinese capital, Beijing. Back in northern Europe, Sjaelland is besieged on the 29th.

October 1767

Burgoyne arrives outside the walls of Moscow on the 4th and lays siege. Our Indian armies begin the long march eastwards on the 5th and fresh troops from Nippon are ferried over to China. A land army of 25,000 moves from Tang Noah into Yunnan province. Tianjin is assaulted on the 6th and falls by the 8th, the army moving north to attack Liaoning. Assaults are therefore launched against Hainan and Kyongju. The latter falls on the 11th and our army moves north into Yalu. Hainan follows on the 12th, whilst on the same day the Chinese fleet is eradicated in Korea Bay, at which point a fleet is sent to transport our army to the mainland.

Clive lands in Chiansi on the 17th, bombards the walls for a day and then launches an immediate assault. The Chinese capital falls in two days and Clive splits his forces, sending one half north to Hepei while he takes the other half south to Henan.

Back in Europe, Paris is besieged on the 21st and Bourgoyne sees off a minor Russian counter-attack. Our armies in Pfalz and Baden encounter French opposition on the 26th whilst Mainz is besieged at once.

Then in China, Liaoning fortress is besieged on the 29th, whilst in Russia, Polotsk is besieged on the 30th, and on the same day we capture the Danish capital in Sjaelland. This time there will be no easy settlement for Denmark, for we have decided to annex them entire. Our victorious army prepares to take ship for Gotland.

November 1767

A Danish offer of a white peace is laughingly rejected on the 4th and we annihilate a Portuguese fleet of 17/0/6 in the Skagerack. Liaoning fortress is assaulted on the 5th. We are victorious in Baden and lay siege to the fortress there on the 6th. A mob of 17,000 Russian recruits is wiped out by Bourgoyne on the 8th. Liaoning falls on the 9th and our forces turn southwards, into Liaotung province, where 10,000 Chinese troops are waiting to die on our bayonet points.

We drive off the French and besiege Pfalz on the 10th and our army arrives in Hepei. Again we bombard and then assault immediately. France counter-attacks our siege army in Baden but we drive them off after only two days' fighting with minimal casualties on our part. Hepei falls on the 16th and our army moves deeper into China. Yalu is assaulted on the 17th after a days' bombardment again. 19,000 troops land in Hejiang on the 18th but lacking artillery support are forced to settle in for a siege. Yalu falls on the 19th and we march north.

Clive arrives in Henan on the 21st and o0nce again launches an immediate assault. 25,000 English troops from Tang Noah arrive in Yunnan and lay siege on the 22nd. On the 29th Henan falls to Clive and Liaotung is besieged, and then assaulted on the 30th.

82,000 Frenchmen attack our siege army in Baden. We may have to temporarily withdraw...

December 1767

We are indeed forced to withdraw from Baden on the 6th after taking heavy losses. Reinforcements are already on the way to rendezvous in Thuringen for a fresh attack.

Liaotung falls on the 8th, and our army swings back west to Tinajin, where 10,000 Chinese are making a nuisance of themselves and counter-sieging our garrison. On the 9th our Hainan army lands in Guan Dong and on the 10th another lightning assault is ordered. The defenders surrender after just one day and our army moves on to Fukien. 32,000 Nipponese recruits land in Shantung on the 16th.

In France, Howe marches to besiege Luxembourg in case we have further problems with Baden. On the 19th Clive arrives in Jiangsu and sets about destroying the 21,700 strong defending force, which he accomplished by the 22nd, assaulting the fortress on the 23rd. The province surrenders the very next day and Clive moves south. Hunyang is assaulted on the 25th - no Holy Day of rest for our loyal troops. On the 30th we assault the fortress in Kirin province.

January 1768

Tax 2124d. An explorer by the name of Cook reports for the King's duty in Anglia, but we have no use for him. We lose control of Alleghany and Tindore to rebels. The former will face the wrath of the Roanoke garrison, but the latter will just have to wait.

Hunyang and Kirin both fall on the 2nd. One force marches north to Heiongjang whilst the other marches south to assist Clive. The French seize and burn our trade post in Dakar so we send our garrison from Casamance to deal with them whilst sending a new trader to replace the one we lost and a small French army lays siege to Brandenburg – how they think to gain a strategic advantage by such a move I really have no idea.

We burn Portuguese trade posts in Natal and Inhamabane and send our own people in their stead. On the 12th Howe lays siege to Luxembourg. The French seize Belle Isle on the 17th whilst on the same day we defeat the Chinese army in Tianjin, although they did put up a harder fight than we were expecting. Our forces take ship to sail down the coast.

46,000 French recruits from Paris sally forth to attack Washington but are completely annihilated by our veterans. Heoingjang and Fukien are besieged on the 27th but the bombardments are ineffectual and so the assaults are delayed.

February 1768

Our forces land on Gotland to find a Spanish General on the scene. We withdraw rather than waste troops in a lengthy siege, and prepare to sail west to take Denmark's Norwegian territory, hoping the Spaniards won't let us down. On the 2nd and army of 80,000 arrives in Baden and renews the siege. Howe withdraws from Luxembourg - he will sail for Gotland and wrest command from the Spanish commander there.

Clive arrives in Hangzouh province on the 3rd and assaults on the 4th. The fortress is his by the 9th and he marches on Hubei. We burn the Portuguese trade post in Zembela on the 12th and again send our own replacement. The Russians besiege Belarus and Livonia. 26,000 troops from Nippon land in Kiangsi and engage the main Chinese army of 31,000. Washington takes Paris on the 20th and marches to relieve the siege of Orlenais. We are victorious in Kiangsi on the 26th as the main Chinese army is crushed and a mere 14,000 survivors flee the field. Clive arrives in Hubei on the 28th.

March 1768

Clive launches his assault. The province falls on the 6th. Assaults are also launched in Heiongjang and Fukien. We suffer a very minor setback on the 7th as France seizes our colony in Ivoria, but soon we shall take a huge swathe of their territory from them and it will matter not at all.

Fukien falls on the 12th and we march on Hunan. We launch assaults on Shantung, Hajiang and Yunnan. Heiongjang falls on the 15th and Shantung follows on the 18th. On the 20th, Washington's 85,000 men willingly lay into the French army of 102,000 in Orlenais. However after three days it becomes clear he has set himself an impossible task and so he withdraws to Paris. Meanwhile, Yunnan and Hejiang both fall, and then on the 24th we capture the fortress in Mainz from France.

April 1768

Hunan is besieged on the 7th and assaulted on the 8th. Clive arrives in Kiangsi on the 12th and launches an immediate assault, taking the town by the 14th. The defenders of Hunan fight bravely but are ultimately overcome by our superior firepower and the last Chinese province surrenders on the 19th.

The Emperor of all China bends the knee to General Clive and China is absorbed into the English Empire. It has taken us just eight months of lightning campaigning to bring the mightiest nation of the east under our control, thus linking our territories in Alaska to our lands in the Far East, India, the Middle East and Africa. It is now possible for a man, should he be foolhardy or brave enough, to walk from the furthest tip of coldest Siberia to the far west coast of Africa without his feet ever leaving English soil. A magnificent achievement. Truly we can now say that the sun never sets on the English Empire!

May 1768

We immediately appoint Governors in all 22 conquered Chinese provinces and then turn our attention back towards the war in Europe. Trade posts are successfully established in Natal and Inhamabane at the end of the month.

May brings revolts in Gastrikland and Azerbaidjan, but in both cases nearby garrisons are well placed to deal with them. Then on the 5th Bourgoyne takes Moscow and turns westwards towards Tver. On the 8th we besiege Danish Ostlandet and on the 11th Pfalz falls to our armies. We decide to assault much-weakened Baden and on the 18th we land an army in Trondelag. The assault on Baden goes badly until we achieve breakthrough on the 21st and take the fortress on the 22nd. Now we just have to wait for France's surrender. On the 30th Bourgoyne lays siege to Tver.

June - December 1768

Our Zambela trade post is established. France offers only Baden and Mainz on the 3rd, which we refuse to countenance. We send traders to Amour and Nakhodka in Siberia. On the 10th we repossess our Belle Isle colony.

In July we capture Polotsk from the Russians and march on Welikia, but suffer rebellions in Nyland, which our nearby garrison will deal with, and Orlenais, which the French siege army can deal with for us...

Howe besieges Gotland on the 8th. Welikia is besieged on the 26th. In August the natives of Yukon massacre our colonists, which could explain why the gold mines there were unattended by any foreign power when first we arrived.

On September 2nd France offers just Baden for peace, which we find positively insulting. We re-take Eskimalt shortly afterwards which may persuade them to make a better offer.

Bourgoyne takes Tver on October 1st and marches to assist in Welikia. Trondelag falls on the 18th and we march at once for Narvik. 16,000 cavalry reinforcements arrive in Paris and Washington heads south for another go at the Orlenais siege army.

On the 1st of November France surrenders Martinique and Senegal to Spain. We establish a trade post in Amour but fail in Nakhodka and so send another mission, as well as one to neighbouring Olga. Narvik is besieged on the 24th. Washington descends on the French in Orlenais on the 26th and completely annihilates their entire army by December 8th. Russia offers Polotsk and France offers Baden on the 10th, neither offer being deemed acceptable. We suffer a temporary reverse as we lose Belarus to the Russians on the 17th.

January – December 1769

Tax 2859d. Howe takes Gotland on the 11th and sails for the mainland. The French burn our trade post in Nanaimo on the 30th.

February brings a revolt in Svaeland which Howe sails to put down on his way to Jamtland. The French burn our Recife trade post on the 18th. Welikia falls on the 26th and Bourgoyne marches to re-take Belarus. Trade posts are established in Nakhodka and Olga in late March.

In April France again offers just Baden whilst Russia offers Polotsk and Wekikia, but we have to finish our conquest of Denmark before we can accept any offer from them. Narvik falls on June 25th. There is a revolt in Estonia in July. On July 5th Bourgoyne re-takes Belarus and marches on Smolesk, just to make a point to the Russian foe.

The French burn our trade post in Leone on the 17th. There is a revolt in Ingermanland in August. Howe takes Jamtland on the 22nd and marches to finish off Ostlandet. Russia offers just Welikia on the 24th. No deal. Languedoc and Nice rise in revolt in September and we lose control of Bangor to rebel factions. France offers just Baden and Mainz on the 3rd. Howe arrives in Ostlandet on the 28th. There are revolts in Karelia and Aden in November. We send a trader back to Leone. Hainaut revolts in December.

January – December 1770

Tax 2884d. The New Year brings revolts in Georgia, Moravia and Madurai. We re-establish our trade post in Leone on the 22nd and capture Smolensk on the 28th. Then, Ostlandet finally falls on February 8th and Denmark is ours. We offered them our friendship, but they instead chose to fight against us and so now they must live as conquered subjects. Denmark is formally annexed and added to the English Empire and now the whole of Northern Europe and Scandinavia, from the Austrian border to the Arctic, is ours, save for the French presence in western Norway, that is. They won’t be there for long.

Washington takes Luxembourg on the 24th to add an extra bargaining chip to our table. Excellent.

And now we play the waiting game. Towards the end of April France takes Salvador but it will swing the balance but little in their favour. In June France again offers just Baden, the arrogant fools! There are revolts in Apulia in July and Sudan in August. Again in September France offers us just Baden. No word from Russia.

Nyland and Novgorod revolt in October, Karelia and Novgorod again in November. We shall have to sue for whatever we can get soon or face a rising tide of war-weary rebellion. Then on December 14th Russia finally offers us Kola, Welikia and Smolensk, which we find acceptable. France offers us Baden and Mainz - not the three provinces we were hoping for, but it does establish our corridor between Germany and Italy and so we accept their paltry offer in order to put an end to the war fatigue. Peace is once more restored, and rest assured that there will be ample opportunity to take the rest of northern France before too long...

We now look to the reorganisation of our victorious armies in China. A garrison of some 40,000 infantry and cavalry is to be left in Beijing to guard against future rebellion should it raise its ugly head. 32,000 troops are shipped back to Edo to guard Nippon against the same eventuality. Clive - now known to his men as Lord Clive of the East - and the rest of the forces in the region are ordered to return to Europe to prepare for future campaigns against our three remaining enemies - France, Russia and Turkey. Of the Indian troops we raised - but in the eventuality did not require, some 20,000 will remain in Mekong, another 20,000 will take up station in Delhi and the rest will march to join our forces in the Middle East. We plan to push northwards from Judea in our next campaign against the Turk.

We also look to the economic development of China, appointing tax collectors in all newly-won provinces and spend some additional funds on improved fortifications in Nippon. Probably an unnecessary expenditure as there are no enemies left in the region.

We now have in excess of 65,000 ducats in the treasury and an additional 1,450d or so being generated every month. With the aim of spending some of our vast surplus in mind, we also commission various manufactories in our New World territories, 8 in total, and send a slew of colonists to boost the numbers of some of our mid-level territorial settlements.

No respite – Another War with Turkey, January 1771 – March 1772

January 1771

Tax 2973d. There is a rebellion in Livonia, which will keep our Swedish army busy for a while.

Then on the 10th the Sultan finally remembers where he had hidden his courage and declares war on our great Empire. This time it is France who is disinclined to support their ally, no doubt eager to avoid a swift repetition of their previous thrashing. This leaves us with just Portugal to deal with in addition to the Turk. Nothing much to worry about, then…

We call on our allies and Poland feels the need to make their excuses, but Spain and Austria are keen to have another crack at the infidel. We forgive Poland, of course, and invite them to rejoin our alliance. We are more than a little surprised when they refuse. Why? Surely they can't be thinking of joining with France and taking arms against us? There are only two positions to take in the politics of the age - either they are with us, or our formerly good friends are against us...

In any case, we mobilise our forces in the Middle East, striking against Bulgaria, Lebanon, Syria and of course, Thrace. A swift conflict with an entirely satisfactory end, we predict. We also send a contingent from Tangiers to take the Cape Verde islands while General Washington marches to Picardie, there to take ship for an assault on Tago, if the Spanish don't beat us to it yet again.

February 1771

Vastergotland and Trondelag both rise in revolt, but Howe is on hand to put the peasants back in their place. Our forces arrive in Thrace on the 12th, defeat a Turkish army and then lay siege to their capital yet again. On the 14th Bulgaria and Lebanon are besieged, and Syria follows on the 19th. Two of our colonies in New England expand towards the end of the month.

March 1771

We suffer a serious revolt in Novgorod - 61,000 armed peasants storm the citadel. Bourgoyne wisely decides to allow a couple of months of winter attrition to take its toll before sweeping in and annihilating the scum. Our other three colonial missions are successful in mid March. A 17,000-storng Turkish recruit army attacks us in Syria but is swiftly destroyed. Admiral Hawke dies at sea and is buried there.

April 1771

Regretting the breakdown in relations with Poland we send them a state gift - a magnificent gem-encrusted sceptre that once belonged to the Nipponese Emperor and in a flash it is as if our recent disagreement never occurred (-23 to +200).

May 1771

We suffer minor revolts in Buriat and Tampico and a slightly more serious one in Caux, but all will be dealt with in due course. This time when we invite Poland to re-join the Grand Alliance they do so without hesitation. Washington lands in Tago on the 15th, defeats the defending army on the 18th and begins pounding the walls. Our expeditionary force finally sets sail fro the Cape Verde islands after being delayed by late orders...

June 1771

Revolts in Smolensk and Vasterboten will be dealt with by Bourgoyne and Howe, respectively. We expand our colonial settlement in Kola to full city status and set about appointing a Governor and commissioning fortifications. Then on the 6th, France joins an alliance with Russia, which we have no objection to at all. Thrace falls on June 14th. Bulgaria and Lebanon are not too far from being conquered either, and indeed the Lebanon is ours by the 16th.

July - August 1771

Bulgaria falls on the 16th and we wait now on the larger fortress of Syria to surrender. Cape Verde is besieged on the 18th. Attrition is high so we may have to assault sooner rather than later. Tago falls on August 19th and Washington returns to France. On the 27th, Clive of the East returns to Normandie and is given a hero's welcome before taking up station in Orlenais, ready for the next war with France.

September - October 1771

Tangiers and Morocco rise in revolt, forcing Washington to change his plans. While the Tangiers garrison sails for Cape Verde, Washington will deal with the rebels. A senior Spanish general arrives to take command of the siege of Syria, so our forces march away and leave him to it. We strike against Anatolia instead. We suffer revolts in Kabylia and Isfahan in October. Again, they will be dealt with in due course. Anatolia is besieged on the 11th.

November - December 1771

Merry hell breaks loose, with revolts in Welikia, Savannah, Gotland and Hannover. All will be dealt with. Reinforcements arrive in Cape Verde on the 30th and an assault is launched. In December another batch of revolts occurs in Picardie, Jalisco, Caracas and Smolensk yet again. Our Cape Verde assault fails by the narrowest of margins - only 569 of the original 5,000 defenders survive and we shall finish them in February.

January 1772.

Tax 2946d. More revolts - Meath, Alleghany, Svaeland and Mainz. Good news though as Anatolia falls on the 11th and now we only have to wait for the Sultan's surrender to expand our Middle Eastern holdings yet again.

February 1772

A bad month - Trondelag, Smaland, Kabylia and Agra all rise in revolt and will have to be sternly dealt with. The sooner we finish Portugal and the Sultan can be persuaded to capitulate, the better...

We renew the assault on Cape Verde and the defenders surrender at once. We demand the handover of said islands, plus reparitions, from the Portuguese and they are only too happy to agree to our demands and hand over 73d in addition to the province. We leave the conquering army in Cape Verde as a garrison against revolt.

March 1772

The fortresses in Welikia and Vasterboten are both seized by rebels. Howe and Bourgoyne are going to be busy again. All else is quiet until in April a fresh wave of unrest sweeps the Empire as Delhi, Osterboten, Hainaut and Eastern Pommerania all rise in revolt. This is becoming too much. If we have not heard from the Sultan by the end of the month, we shall settle this war and take Lebanon and Bulgaria before the civil unrest - in Sweden especially - becomes any more serious.

No word has arrived from the Sultan by the 30th and so we send our demand. His Ottoman Majesty readily agrees to surrender the two Christian provinces to our control. This means that Spain must relinquish her own control of Syria, but as we have ear-marked that province for our own dominion at a later date, we are none too unhappy about it. At last, England is finally and truly at peace once more...

 

[unmerged(1996)]

Interlude

April - May 1772

There is a lone revolt in Artois, which shall be swiftly dealt with. Time now to take stock of our situation, crush those rebellious elements who have recently sought to oppose us, and then look towards further colonial growth and economic development.

Chief Judges are appointed across China and Nippon, and Governors in Australia and New Zealand. Still we only manage to spend 2,000 of the 42,000d in the treasury. We continue to boost our colonies in New England with more settlers. We then commission manufactories in Friesen, The Hague, Zeeland, Flandres, Calais, and Picardie, which leaves us with a more manageable 10,000 or so in the treasury, as each new manufactory now costs in the region of 5,000 ducats to build. You would think they would become cheaper as our craftsmen grew more skilled in their construction, but no…

Then we look to the rearrangement and reinforcement of our European armies in preparation for the next campaign against Russia and France, which should occur before too long.

June – December 1772

We lose control of Isfahan to rebel forces, although we suspect this is more a random occurrence than a regional trend. July brings further Swedish discontent in Nyland and, most irritatingly, a Spanish scout force that for some reason has found itself in the depths of Siberia, incites the natives of Altai to revolt and our settlers there are massacred. A new trade mission is sent to re-populate the area. The shifting currents of trade have settled in the Far East with Tianjin emerging as the major Centre, worth some 1,400d a year - and there we are with a completely uncontested monopoly.

We gradually take back territory lost to rebel scum and there are no new revolts until Smyrna rises in October. We re-establish our trade position in Altai late in October. In November we lose control of Livonia and Delhi to rebels. Again, we think the Delhi revolt is some random aberration rather than any local nationalist push.

Lyonais rises in November, but Washington re-takes Tangiers, which is good news indeed. He will now take command of the Middle East, as Clive is garrisoning the forward position for the next attack on Paris. The City of Exeter is inaugurated in Tuscaloosa on December 8th.

January – December 1773

Tax 2933d. The city of New London is inaugurated in Yazoo. All is quiet, with troop movements and reinforcement continuing, until March, when Finland and Vastergoten rebel. We also receive word that The Ottoman Sultanate has been struck by a civil war. Scouts confirm that half the Turkish states - all bar one of their remaining Anatolian provinces - have rebelled against the Sultan. If only we were not beholden by our recent peace treaty with him, we would surely take advantage, but as the situation stands we shall simply enjoy the Turk's discomfort while it lasts.

We have native problems in Kara Kum when a scout party attempts to move northwards through their territory and they massacre both the scout force and the traders there. We send a punishment force north from Isfahan to show them the error of their ways.

Boston, Massachusetts is inaugurated on the 15th of May. In July we annihilate the natives of Kara Kum and send a full colonial mission. Trondelag rises in rebellion in September. Our mission to Kara Kum fails in October. We send another in November. The City of Wilmington is founded in Santee later in the month. Artois rises again in December. Our Far Eastern merchants have displaced a few Spaniards recently, which has not pleased their King and so we send a State Gift to appease him. However, it is most rudely returned to us (-34 to -34). An insult, I say! Austria is barely more civil when we demonstrate our largesse with a state gift to them (+30 to +33). I cannot understand why our allies have grown so churlish...

January – December 1774

Tax 3065d. A new Sultan has arisen from the chaos of Turkey's Civil war - Abdulhamid I now rules the Ottomans and we pray he will be just as ineffectual as his predecessor, who has singularly failed to re-capture even one rebel-held province. Our Kara Kum colony is established at the second attempt on the 21st. February sees a revolt in Baden. Osterbotten and Artois are troublesome again in March. We are quick to renew our Royal Marriage agreement with Poland-Lithuania when it expires on the 9th.

On May 11th, Louis XVI ascends to rule what's left of France. Welikia rebels in July but Bourgoyne scatters the 35,000-strong peasant force in under a day, merely by showing himself at the head of his army and causing a rout - without a single English life being lost.

Then on August 24th another Imperial Tragedy befalls us as Lord Clive of the East passes away in the midst of a regimental dinner. The Conqueror of Nippon and China, he too shall take his place amongst the greatest of England's Battle Saints and shall toast the Empire's future glory with Norfolk, Cromwell, Marlborough and all the others.

The city of Belle Isle is inaugurated on September 7th. Svaeland revolts again in November but Howe will deal with them presently.

January – December 1775

Tax 3102 d. Lt. General Cornwallis takes command of our troops in Smyrna and a Conquistador by the name of Carleton volunteers in Huron. Again though we have no exploring for him to do and so we send him to command the Belle Isle garrison instead, which we are developing to counter the French threat in the region. And speaking of the French, our peace treaty with them has almost expired. The time has nearly come to seize a further slice of French territory we think...

There is a minor revolt in Livonia in March, but as General Amherst and 45,000 men have just landed there it is almost immediately quelled. In April there is a revolt in Gastrikland - not a problem for Howe. Smyrna rebels in May and then both Gotland and Jamtland go up in flames in June - anyone would think the Swedes don't want to be English citizens...

Then on August 8th General Washington dies! Another disaster on an Empire-wide scale. We were counting on Washington to prevent the Spanish from taking Syria in the next war. Now we shall have to simply not invite them to participate. Although Washington's career has not been so glorious as that of Clive, his body is still interred with full Imperial honours in the Hall of English Battle Saints for his sterling work against France and Portugal.

In November we decide to found a city in Kara Kum and so begin sending further colonial missions.

January - June 1776

Tax 3142d. Once again we have a quite ridiculous surplus in the treasury of some 79,000 ducats and so we commission a new round of manufactories across our German states - 10 in all, now at a cost of around 7,188d each. Our inflation is not that high - a mere 1% or so, but the price of industrial development just keeps rising. We also send another state gift to Spain and this time his Spanish Majesty is more gracious (-76 to +6). Austria, too, is pleased with their state gift (+4 to +176).

Tavastaland rises in revolt in February but it is nothing our Swedish garrison cannot handle.

The Anglo-French War of 1776-77

By June, our diplomatic agents report that our peace treaty with France is no longer constraining us. And so, for the first time in many a year, England initiates a conflict against another European power - although I use the term ‘power’ guardedly in France's case - as our declaration of war is sent to Louis. Russia abandons her ally rather than face our guns. Very well, their time will come. We decide not to call on our allies in this instance - we shan't be long in defeating the French and taking the territory we require from them...

Money is spent on diverting the nobles at home - it won't be long before the few rumbles of discontent are quieted - and our military machine once again swings into magnificent action. Howe marches into Vestfold, General Amherst moves on Kurland, Colonel Wallis heads for Paris and General Murray attacks Cevennes. This should be a short and exceedingly sweet campaign...

July 1776

In July we suffer a very minor revolt in Casamance, which our garrison in Guinea is more than capable of dealing with. Late in the month we burn a French trade post in Wabana and replace it with a trade mission of our own. Paris is besieged on the 25th whilst Kurland, Vestfold and Cevennes all follow on the 30th.

August - September 1776

France enters the Portuguese alliance with Turkey on the 3rd. Armor revolts in September - war fatigue so soon? Our subjects must not like our aggressive stance...

We establish a trade post in Wabana and so burn the French from neighbouring Gander and send another trader there.

October - December 1776

A revolt in Artois and another in Karelia. Our Gander trade post is established on November 25th. Sjaelland and Smaland both rebel in December.

January - March 1777

Tax 2598d. Rebels seize Santee and there are revolts in Far Karelia and Trondelag. Meanwhile, Brigadier Tarleton assumes command of the army in Novgorod and Maria I rises to the throne of Portugal.

Paris is the first French stronghold to fall, on the 27th of January. The others are not far behind. France offers a white peace a month later, which we naturally refuse. Then on March 1st Cevennes and Vestfold both fall, which means that Howe can now mop up the rebels in Sweden and Norway. The Grampians rebel, which means the Home Army will see some action, and so too does New English Catawba.

April 1777

The Centre of Trade in Kurland falls on the 1st and now we must simply await the next French peace offer. If they give us all three provinces then good, but if not then we shall demand Kurland and Vestfold and leave them truly isolated in mainland Europe. We do not have long to wait. The ambassador arrives on the 2nd, with the formal surrender of all three provinces in hand, and all our war aims are achieved in record time.

Another War of Portuguese/French Aggression, May 1777 – October 1778
And another War of Russian Aggression, January 1778 – January 1779

May - June 1777

Then on May 2nd, an unexpected bonus - Portugal declares war on us. France foolishly agrees to support her ally, and thus we have a second opportunity to carve off another slice of their territory, which naturally we set to with a will. Disappointingly, Turkey decides not to participate once more and so we decide in turn not to call on our allies, to give the fools a fighting chance. Well, not really...

This time we have decided to take the Auvergne, Luxembourg and Franche-Comte and our armies carry out their orders accordingly.

On May 23rd we inaugurate a city in Kara Kum by way of a diversion. Luxembourg is besieged on the 28th. Our forces in Lyonais are plagued by a French counter-attack in early June, but nothing we should be greatly concerned with. The Auvergne is besieged on the 8th. A second, 45,000 strong French force attacks our Orlenais army at the end of the month but we drive them off.

July 1777

Limousin rises in revolt. Our army defeats the Sjaelland rebels and turns southwards towards Paris. Rebels seize Yazoo in August but shall be dealt with. The Home Army is victorious in the Grampians and then takes ship, bound for Tago.

October - December 1777

Revolts occur in Savolaks and Judea and we lose Bali to a rebel army. On November 1st we lay siege to Tago. We burn a Portuguese trade post in Pernambuc and send an English replacement, and then a French outpost in Iguata. Paris is besieged on the 21st of November, after the Norwegian fleet transports our Sjaelland force to Caux. The predictable first revolt occurs in Kurland in December, but Amherst is on hand to crush it utterly and marches to do so.

January 1778

Tax 2699d. Lord Admiral Keppel takes command of the Norwegian fleet. Flotilla admiral Collingwood rises through the ranks to take charge of the Naples fleet and General Clinton assumes the leadership role at the siege of Luxembourg. We take Franche-Comte on the 3rd. France offers us the province for peace the next day, which we naturally refuse.

Then on the 26th, Russia decides to flex her bearish muscles and declares war on us. We don’t see the need to invite our allies, and Bourgoyne is once again called into action. We strike at once against Tver, Moscow and Polotsk. Once Savolaks is re-taken from the rebels, we will move on Onega as well...

February 1778

We are successfully established in Pernambuc on the 2nd, and burn the Portuguese out of Recife, sending our own replacement. The Portuguese fail to establish themselves in Iguatu on the 12th so we steal a march on them and send a trader. That leaves a colony and two trade posts for them to surrender to us. Tver is besieged on the 20th and we begin raising additional infantry in the region to deal with the attritional ravages of the Russian winter. France again offers Franche-Comte on the 22nd. No deal.

March 1778

Polotsk is besieged on the 1st and Auvergne falls on the 2nd. The Russian Imperial Guard is defeated and Moscow besieged by Tarleton on the 7th. We burn the French trade post in Minas Gerais and send our own venturers forth.

Then on March 30th, Howe passes away at a ripe old age whilst guarding against insurrection in Svaelland. Another soul for the Hall of English Battle Saints...

April 1778

Tago falls on the first. Almost too easy. We will wait until France is once again on her knees, then allow Portugal to offer us our pick of their New Spanish possessions. Luxembourg falls on the 3rd of the month. Only Paris still resists, for a change, and even she is nearly taken. We burn the French trade post in Alagoas to ensure that France does not attempt to include it in her surrender terms...

We are established in Recife on the 13th and Iguato on the 28th. The blasted Portuguese sneak a trader into Alagoes - we shall burn him out in due course, unless they come to the negotiating table with an attractive enough offer in the meantime.

May 1778

There is a revolt in Pskov, which Amherst will deal with once Polotsk is his. Paris falls on the 2nd. Another lightning capitulation. The French burn our trade post in Nouadibuh on the 30th. They shall pay with three of their provinces. We are irritated when they offer only Franch-Comte and the Auvergne on the 2nd of June. They will have to give up more than that to reap the benefits of English mercy.

Another revolt occurs in Kurland, but again it will offer us no real difficulties. Our trade post in Minas Gerais is established in the 14th. Burgoyne takes Tver on the 25th, and Russia offers the province on the 26th, but we refuse, having much bigger fish to fry. We assault and capture Savolaks to free our Swedish army for the attack on Onega.

June - July 1778

On the 9th France offers us the three provinces we require of them and peace is restored - albeit temporarily no doubt. We take the Auvergne, Luxembourg and Franche-Comte with their goods manufactories and are well pleased with our work. Now to settle with Portugal and crush Russia. The Portuguese were successful in Alagoas and so we burn them out and send our own mission.

August - September 1778

Moscow falls on the 8th and Russia offers Tver on the 9th. We shall wait, we think. Tarleton will head north to take command of the siege of Omnega and hasten the process. A 33,000 strong Cossack cavalry force is massively defeated in Onega and the city besieged on the 2nd of September.

October - November 1778

Amherst takes Polotsk on the 2nd. Just Onega to go. Burgoyne wipes out the Kurland rebels on the 9th. We decide to make it easy for Portugal, and so burn their trader from Maranhao and then demand Diamentina and Tiracambu as prizes of war. They accept, of course, and now we have carved out a decent sized territory in Brazilia, with only one French city on the northern coast to spoil the map. We also decide to develop a city in Minas Gerais as a block to the French. Our Alagoas trade post is established on the 16th.

Tarleton's march north is delayed by the surviving Cossacks attacking Novgorod in November. Winter is upon us once more and so we decide to launch an assault on Onega. It will be costly in lives, but attrition will soon bite anyway... in the event it is in by no means as costly as we had feared. The Russians surrender in only eight days and now we await the emissary from the Tsar.

December 1778

Revolts in Tavastland and Livonia will not trouble us greatly. Our trade post in Maranhao is established on the 23rd, completing our New Spanish enclave.

January 1779

Tax 3202d. Minas Gerais becomes a full colony on the 1st. Then on the 16th Russia does the only sensible thing and offers us the three captured provinces. We accept and peace is once again restored. We send a colonist to Alga on the eastern shore of the Caspian. Now for Turkey...

The Anglo-Turkish War of 1779

January 1779

Our declaration of war is met with a look of resigned despair by the Turkish ambassador who knows full well that the Turkish forces are in no state to tackle the might of our armies, having failed to recapture their own territory from their own rebel elements. France abandons their ally, but Portugal decides to have a go. We have to admire their spirit, if not their wisdom. However, as there are now no Portuguese possessions outside Tago, we decide to let them stew rather than mount an expedition against their capital. We do not see the need to call on our own allies, and move straight ahead with our invasion plans.

The entire Turkish army of 78,000 is currently besieging rebel-held Syria. We decide to leave them to it and attack Konya, Adana and Aleppo, which will give us possession of the entire eastern shore of the Mediterranean, and we of course send a force into Thrace. Funds are again diverted into keeping the nobility amused, but this shouldn't take too long to resolve...

February 1779

The Tavatsland rebels are defeated on the 12th. On the 20th Col. Broom’s forces are waylaid by 10,000 Turks in Aleppo and he sets about driving them off. Meanwhile Cavendish arrives in Thrace, annihilates a small local garrison of 2,000 infantry and politely requests entry to the Turkish capital…

We inaugurate a city in Tiracambu on the 24th and commission a fortress there at once.

March 1779

There is a minor revolt in Livonia – only 19,000 or so – which Burgoyne will be pleased to deal with. Broom takes his time seeing off the Janissaries, not doing so until the 4th, at which point he moves onwards to Adana, leaving Maj. Gen. Hastings To take Aleppo in his wake.

France re-enters the Portuguese alliance on the 19th. There really is nowhere else for them to turn, mind…

April – May 1779

Vestfold and – annoyingly – Gotland rebel. The latter is irksome as it will require a naval operation to deal with. We successfully establish our Alga colony. The explorer, Cook, dies on the 3rd and we defeat the Livonian rebels on the 5th.

May brings revolts in Vesterboten and, oddly, Nice. Both will be dealt with in due course and forces are dispatched. The Turk has the temerity to send 9,000 men to besiege Kouban on the 13th. Our garrison of 29,000 in Sochi will see them off in short order.

June – July 1779

Corsica rises in revolt. Blast, another naval operation. The Turks flee Kouban on the 4th after our army but crests a rise behind them and fires a single cannon volley. The Vasterboten rebels are dealt with by the 23rd and Gotland is put to rights on the 28th.

Konya falls on July 7th, but at the cost of some 10,000 men lost to attrition. We establish a trade post in Omsk. Thrace then falls on the 23rd.

August – September 1779

We suffer rebel trouble again as Smyrna, Pskov and Luxembourg all rise, and a peasant rabble seizes the fortress in Smolensk. I think Burgoyne will actually enjoy re-taking that one…

The Luxembourg uprising lasts until the 3rd when our garrison wipes out the rebel force. Adana falls to Col. Broom on the 10th. Turkey offers Adana and Konya on the 19th, but we think we will wait until we have Aleppo in the bag as well. We are victorious in Pskov and Smolensk, although Burgoyne will have to endure the discomfort of a siege to re-take the town. None too soon, either, as Polotsk rebels in September.

Mind you, after a swift Assault, Hastings does take Aleppo, which pleases us greatly. The Sultan’s envoy is already on his way, we hear…

We finally take a crack at the Nice rebels on the 10th and defeat them by the 15th, freeing our army to sail over to Corsica. Meanwhile, we establish another Siberian trade post in Semipaltinsk.

October – December 1779

Revolts in Morbihan and Smaland. The Polotski rebels are crushed by October 28th. On the 29th the Sultan, sighing, hands over Aleppo, Adana and Konya and thus our latest objectives are achieved and peace once again restored. England now controls the entire Mediterranean sea, save for the coast of our great friends and allies, Spain. So perhaps the Mediterranean could be considered an English lake after all…

We celebrate our Mediterranean victory by commissioning refineries in the Cyclades and Crete. 8,996d each. Extortionate. Success brings its own problems, we see.

Rebels seize the city in Yazoo in November. We are sure there is a colonial army somewhere nearby to deal with them.

The Turk finally exerts some measure of control over his domains in November with the recapture of Syria, but still five provinces remain in rebel hands. Disgracefully incompetent of him, really.

The Morbihan rebels are defeated by the 9th and the Yazoo-ites are mopped up by the 22nd. We establish a trader in Nouadibuh on the 29th to give us one more slice of African coastline.

January – April 1780

Tax 2768d. Josef II becomes the King of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor. You would think it about time that particular honour was bestowed on our own glorious monarch, but perhaps it is better to allow our allies some measure of pride of their own. Flotilla Admiral Hughes takes command of the Eastern Mediterranean fleet in Judea, but will have little to do save perhaps patrol the Black Sea. And a new Centre of Trade opens for business in Isle Royal to further split the distribution of wealth in the New England markets.

We also suffer rebellions in Armenia and Aragon. Again, nothing in particular to worry about. The Armenians are crushed in February. Burgoyne re-takes the fortress of Smolensk at the end of the month as well. Bravo.

More Swedish trouble in March, with Vestfold and Jamtland both up in arms. We send armies to deal with them, and colonists to Alabama, Kentucky and Appalache.

Rather bizarrely, the Grampians rise in revolt in March. Perhaps a stag weekend got out of hand or something… the Home Army shall restore order.

Then, in April, our good friends and allies in Poland-Lithuania, spurred on we would like to think by our own example of strength at arms, declare war on their hated foe in Russia, and are swiftly joined in the fray by Spain, Austria and our good selves. To war once more, gentlemen! To war!

The War of Polish Retribution, April 1780 – February 1781

April 1780

Our generals swing into action – Tarleton leads his forces into Arkhangelsk, Amherst marches on Vologda and Burgoyne prepares to take Moscow yet again. We might have to be swift to take but two provinces, in case Poland has a similarly lightning campaign in mind. We would not want to lose out.

May 1780

Burgoyne’s 12,800/0/260 intercepts the main Russian of force of 20,000 Cossacks in Tula and proceeds to give them a thrashing. Their ‘Light Brigade’ is foolish enough to charge along a narrow pass right into the waiting guns of Burgoyne’s force, and they are slaughtered to a man.

June 1780
It hardly seems worth mentioning the minor rebellion in Auvergne. Instead we will focus on the siege of Arkhangelsk, which Tarleton initiates on the 5th. Moscow follows on the 12th. We are also pleased to report that a city is inaugurated in Alabama on the 15th. Vologda is besieged on the 30th.

July – August 1780

Bergslagen rises but will be dealt with swiftly as usual. Our Polish and Austrian allies are now besieging Belgorod, whilst the Russian sends recruit armies against the Poles in Tula. A second wave of rebels rises in Bergslagen in August. Damn their Swedish eyes!

September – December 1780

We defeat both the Bergslagen and Grampian rebels on the 18th. A Russian army of 12,000 dares to attack out 15,000/500/80 in Azerbaidjan, but none of them live to tell the tale afterwards.

Vologda falls on October 1st and Amherst marches south to relieve the siege of Tula. Russia offers a white peace on the 2nd, which we decline.

More trouble in Franche-Comte in November as rebel scum seize the fortress. General Murray’s 20,000 troops and 202 siege guns will rectify the situation.

The Russian winter begins to bit sin Moscow, and Tarleton orders an assault against the weakened Arkhangelsk on the 22nd before he too is caught by the blizzards. The town surrenders after only 5 days of fighting and Tarleton returns to friendlier climes.

The Poles have taken both Belgorod and Kursk by December 6th. Hurrah! On the 16th Amherst descends on the 31,000 Russians besieging Tula and destroys them utterly before marching back to take station in Tver.

January – February 1781

Tax 3255d. Our sieges continue. Polish, Austrian and Spanish armies march at will across southern Russia.

February 12th is another great day for the Empire. Not only do we inaugurate a city in Appalache, but Moscow falls to Burgoyne. We demand Arkhangelsk and Vologda from the Tsar, who readily acquiesces, and the Vologdan naval equipment manufactory is now ours. We shall observe the rest of the war from a position of biased neutrality and pray for an equally fortuitous result for our allies.

Poland, however, is not keen to fight on without the sheltering umbrella of our troops to support her and settle for just Kursk on the 13th. Personally, I think the Seym would have been wise to hold out for more, but still.

We celebrate our latest victory with a round of state gifts to all our allies, such is the vastness of our Imperial largess. They are much appreciated in the courts of Spain (-28 to +117), Austria (+96 to +143) and Poland (+192 to +200).

Interlude

March – December 1781

March brings rebellions in Kurland and Ostlandet and in April rebels seize the fortress in Vestfold. Troublesome lot, these Scandinavians…

We re-take Franche Comte in June, but Smolensk falls to rebel elements and Sjaelland also rises. Clinton dies at the end of June. His career has been a relatively unmemorable one, we fear, but his Majesty is pushing for all English Generals and Admirals to be admitted to the Hall of English Battle Saints and who would ever refuse the King?

More trouble in Sweden in July as Svaeland rebels against our gentle rule. The Swedish rabbles are defeated in late July and early August and Amherst marches on Smolensk.

A city is founded in Kentucky in October and the year ends relatively quietly – with the defeat of the Sjaelland rebels and recapture of Smolensk in November and only December rebellions in Tver and Anatolian Konya to mar the end of year celebrations.

January – December 1782

Tax 3235d. The New Year brings another Swedish revolt as the peasants of Vasterboten try their luck. Konya rises again in March and the rebels are defeated in two short days. Meanwhile our scouts report on further Turkish ineptitude over the border in Anatolia – an army of 40,000 besieges the town but then 30,000 march elsewhere leaving only 10,000 to undertake an assault – and fail. Madness.

Vestfold is recaptured in May and in the same month we inaugurate a city in Talahassee. The rest of the year is deceptively quiet, until the peasants seize the fortress of Karelia, drawing an army away from the Russian front, unfortunately.

January – December 1783

Tax 3307d. Trondelag rebels in March. April brings fresh troubles, with peasant armies causing aggravation in Vastergotland and seizing the fortress on Gotland island, and a scandal in the Exchequer that causes a run on prices in the commodity markets (random event, inflation +25% for nine months). Still, the treasury is exceedingly healthy – at some 65,000 ducats – so we need not worry about running out of funds. And in May, Sjaelland rises once more and this time the rebel scum seizes the fortress. We grow weary of this constant tide of insurrection and drama…

A city is inaugurated in Powhatan in mid May. In December we lose Ingermanland to rebels and there is an uprising in Polotsk.

January 1784

Tax 3295d. We commission manufactories in all five Irish provinces to boost industry in the region.

And then, at the earliest possible opportunity, according to the rules of war, we declare against France (Portugal)…

The Anglo-French war of 1784-85

Our available armies march on Paris and invade Alsace and Lorraine. We will also take Pfalz before we are done, but the force designated to its capture is currently dealing with the Sjaelland rebels, so we will have to wait we fear.

February – July 1784

Sjaelland is re-taken on the third and the army marches south to attack Pfalz. Our subjects do not like our warmongering ways, clearly, for Baden, Nice, Onega and Welikia all rise in March. Intolerable. There is another revolt in Smolensk in May and Madurai is seized by Indian separatists.

Paris falls on the 22nd of May. The French have besieged Orlenais, as usual, so we send our army from their capital to teach them a lesson and inflict some losses on them. We inaugurate a city in Sebago on the 26th and Lorraine falls on the 28th. Gen. Murray marches north to Pfalz whilst our army en-route from Denmark diverts to deal with the rebels in Baden.

France desperately offers Lorraine for peace on June 26th, but they are refused as a matter of course.

August – December 1784

There are revolts in Luxembourg and Bergslagen in August, which we shall deal with in our usual manner. We suffer our first minor reverse for many a year as our army in Orlenais is wiped out by the desperate efforts of the French siege force. We should have known better than to leave command to a lowly Colonel…

We lose Vologda to rebels in October, but Tarleton is already on hand to deal with them. We defeat the Baden rebels and send extra guns to assist in the siege of Lorraine. A city is inaugurated in Seminole, where this time last year only a trade post stood.

December is a bad month for rebellious uprisings. It would appear that we are unable to wage a simple war against our traditional foe without having to constantly watch our backs. This time, we lose fortresses in Vastergotland and Onega, and suffer uprisings in Kurland and Auvergne as well.

January 1785

Tax 2844d. Flotilla Admirals Keith and Nelson report for duty in Sjaelland and Alexandria, respectively. No new rebellions mar the New Year. Pfalz falls on the 25th and Murray takes 15,000 men west to deal with the Luxembourg rebels and sends his 202 guns south to help break Alsace. We have decided to adopt French tactics and throw everything we have at a single fortress…

February – November 1785

We re-take Vologda on the 3rd. Vasterboten rises once more in April. The French have possession of our colony in Nouakchott, which they obviously seek to hold against us, so we move a fleet to the region to transport troops from further up the coast tore-take it. A fresh revolt in Luxembourg in May is swiftly dealt with.

Alsace finally falls in June under the persuasion of 586 English guns, and now we await France’s traditional capitulation. Instead they burn our trade post in Nanaimo at the end of June. Vasterboten rebels yet again in July. There must be something in the water.

Then on July 29th, France sees sense at last and offers Alsace, Lorraine and Pfalz in exchange for an end to their torment, and the rich coal mines of the region are ours. Superb. We set about reorganizing our armies to police the captured territories, and also begin raising a new siege army on the borders of Paris. Once it is constructed, we will declare war on the Turk, and hope that France foolishly supports her ally.

Meanwhile, August brings rebellions is Savolaks and Belle Isle, damn the locals and their uproarious ways. We re-take Vastergoten at the end of October. There are revolts in Alsace and Tver in November, both of which are already heavily garrisoned.

Then on December 1st, with the new guns rolling out of the foundries of northern France ready to strike against Paris, we have at the Turk once more. Alas, France and Portugal both decline to honour their loose alliance. Perhaps they can be induced to join the fray at a later point…

 

[unmerged(1996)]

The Anglo-Turkish War of 1787-86
Another War of Russian Aggression, 1786-87

December 1785

Syria, Nussaybin and Kurdistan are our targets for this conflict, to provide an avenue of transportation from the Middle East to our Georgian territories, and we set to with the usual will. Naturally, Thrace is invaded yet again in order to provide the leverage we need on the Sultan’s peace settlement.

January – March 1786

Tax 2776d. There is rebellion in Emilia as war fatigue takes an early hold. February is likewise messy. Talahassee and Kentucky are seized by bands of rebels calling themselves ‘Americans’ and calling for independence from the Crown. Ludicrous. Hainaut also causes trouble and there is a very minor uprising in Sinai. March is quiet as our sieges continue but then in April more ‘Americans’ (where do they get that ridiculous name from?) rise in Connecticut and seize Massachusetts. There are also uprisings in Auvergne (again) and Gastrikland. Tedious. Very tedious. Byron dies in March. Oh yes, he was the explorer, wasn’t he..?

April – July 1786

Then in April, Russia declares war once more, perhaps seeking to catch us unawares. They are unlucky in the extreme, as Burgoyne, Amherst and Tarleton take the field once more and we invade Moscow, Vladimir and Kazan. We also march an army, recruited for this very purpose, into Karaganda in western Siberia – again, we quite like the idea of a corridor of territory to our Far Eastern holdings.

More ‘Americans’ rise in May in Alleghany (I have had a prisoner from Connecticut interrogated and he claims they are named after a fifteenth century pioneer by the name of Amerigo Vespucci – what rot. Why then are they not called Vespuccians?).

As usual Thrace is captured in good order on May 12th and Syria falls on the 24th, followed by Nussaybin on the 28th. We send more guns to aid in the siege of mountainous Kurdistan.

Franche Comte and Marajo suffer rebellions in June. Our advance force clears the natives from Turgai and Aralsk and marches on Karaganda, with reinforcements not far behind. Turkey offers Syria and Nussaybin on the 18th, but we can afford to wait a little longer, we think. Plans change in Eastern Russia as the Tsar sends an army to seize our colony in Alga, and the reinforcements planned for Karaganda are forced to divert, as is the siege army itself, not quite large enough to invest the fort as it is…

Bloody Norwegian rebels take the fortress of Vestfold in July. In August there are rebellions in Smaland and Moravia. Although outnumbered, our army is victorious in Alga on the 6th and sends half its forces to reinforce a siege of Karaganda.

August – December 1786

The Russians besiege Azerbaidjan in August, and there are further rebellions to contend with, in Normandie and Istria, and in Ostlandet, where once again sympathizers hand the fortress to the rebel scum. A small Turkish army besieges Kouban on September 17th. We are raising fresh troops in the area and so will deal with them presently.

October sees a rebellion in Pfalz and another in Casamance, but there is some good news as Moscow falls on the 4th. Amherst marches on Ryazan, in case we are unsuccessful in the east. Kurdistan falls on the 17th. The Sultan will capitulate soon, we are sure. Meanwhile, 53,000 Russians have abandoned the siege of Azerbaidjan and are on the move once more. We wonder where to…

November brings yet another revolution in Ostlandet, and the Americans re-emerge from their bolt-holes to take Kentucky once more. Must be all that damn bourbon going to their heads.

December is relatively quiet, with only a minor revolt in Yanam to concern us. Then on the 5th, the Sultan hands us Nussaybin, Syria and Kurdistan on a copper plate (we have long since plundered all his gold) and peace is restored to the region. The Russians take Alga again on the 22nd, having fooled us into thinking their forces were all engaged in the siege of Kouban. A force is dispatched to re-take the colony. Then Vladimir falls on the 29th, allowing Burgoyne to return to winter quarters in Vologda. The siege of Karaganda is progressing, so Amherst lifts the siege of Ryazan and marches south to intercept the main Russian army, which seems intent on relieving Moscow.

January 1787

Tax 2778d. Kurdistan rises in the New Year, forcing a return to action for our forces in the region, as does Karelia, which will give Burgoyne something else to do after all. We re-take Alga on the 8th, although the Russian occupying force has already fled westwards. Kazan falls on the 10th and Tarleton withdraws. Amherst catches the Russian army in Lipetsk and slaughters all 37,000 of them for good measure.

The next revolt does not occur until April, when Vologda rises against Tarleton – a foolish move. Shockingly, there is a revolt in Wessex in May, which the Home Army shall crush, ruthlessly. Karaganda falls on the 13th and now we but await the Tsar’s surrender.

In June we lose Arkhangelsk to rebels – Tarleton will rectify this. Marajo goes the same way in July, and there is yet attempt by the Danes to re-exert their independence in Sjaelland. In August Pfalz revolts, delaying our army en-route to Sjaelland.

Then on the 12th the Tsar resignedly ceded Kazan, Vladimir and Karaganda to our generals, and our land-corridor to the East is established.

Interlude and tiresome rebellion

It doesn’t take Vladimir long to complain about the new English taxes as the peasants rise in August, along with yet more Norwegian trouble in Ostlandet and Trondelag both. Just one rebellion in October and that in Adana. Jamtland joins the general rebellion in Norway in December.

January 1788

Tax 3400d. Carlos IV rises to the throne of our great ally Spain. This seems an excellent time to send state gifts all over the place: Spain (-21 to +79), Austria (+44 to +116) and Poland-Lithuania (+160 to +160… oh, fine, be like that…).

March brings a revolt against Tarleton in Vladimir – not wise – and Gotland rises again in May.

Then on May 9th, Poland once again declares a war of retribution against Russia and we once again leap to the fray. We invade Astrakhan from the East, Moscow, Ryazan and Tambow from the north. We shall take what we can and settle quickly, trusting to Poland to win her own victories.

Peasants seize Sjaelland fortress in June, which is irritating to say the least. The Austrians, with Polish support, take Belgorod on the 22nd. Then a quite shocking development, as the Poles settle a peace with Russia on July 17th for a measly194d in reparitions and we are robbed of our opportunity to gain further territory in the region. Curses!

There is a revolt in Estonia for Burgoyne to crush in September, but that will be not nearly as satisfying as defeating the Russians… and nor we fear will the rebellion in Smolensk that followed hard by in October. Another follows in Kazan in November. Then on the 26th, Poland declares war on Turkey instead, who for once are supported by France and Portugal, which at least gives us another opportunity to have at the Ottomans and the French without having to declare war ourselves… We shall have to be fast though – we mobilize and march at once, aiming form Thrace, naturally, and also Rumelia, Sivas and Trabzon. And in the west, we march on Paris, Berri, Bourgogne and Nivernais.

A city is inaugurated in Tennessee on the 9th of December. Something does not go according to plan as our army marching on Paris is ambushed and wiped out by a French General named La Fayette. The King demands this Frenchman’s head on a stick.

January - December 1789

Tax 3383d. Selim III deposes his father and takes command of Turkey in the midst of his nation’s war. Good luck to him, he’ll need it. La Fayette marches from Paris and attacks Col. Knox and his 16,000 men in Orlenais as they march to the siege of Berri. Knox is ordered to withdraw in good order and continue with his original mission rather than engage the Frenchman.

February brings a revolt in Alsace, but it is of little consequence compared to the reduction of the French fortresses and so we shall ignore it for now. A city is commissioned in Laurentia on the 14th. Thrace falls to Col. Manners on the 27th.

In March a Turkish army besieges Bulgaria, so we send Manners to sort them out and send them packing. April brings a revolt in Onega. Another French force besieges Maine on the 15th. Then on the 25th, the Poles exhibit a remarkable lack of backbone for a second time and extort 194d from the Sultan and end the war. Damn them and their reluctance to see the thing through!

Now we shall have to pick our own time to finish off the French but not alas until 1794. We must observe the Rules of War or face massive and widespread rebellion in the Empire we fear – and the taking of two or three additional French provinces is not worth the tedium of putting down countless rebellions we fear.

There is another revolt in Vladimir in July, but once again Tarleton will see to the peasant scum. Pfalz rebels in September and Trondelag in October and then again in November and then finally so does Tver in December.

January - December 1790

Tax 3378d. Leopold II is elected Holy Roman Emperor. Pfalz rebels in January. In February we lose the fortress of Luxembourg. Then on march 17th General Tarleton passes away from a coughing sickness, damning the Russian winter as he passes. This noble scourge of the Cossack will certainly be afforded a place in the Hall of English Battle Saints.

There is a revolt in Svaeland in June. All is then quiet until November, when Baden, Tavatsland and Pfalz all rise in rebellion. We re-take Luxembourg on the 23rd.

January - December 1791

Tax 3385d. An Admiral Vancouver takes command of the Home Fleet in London. There is another rebellion in Pfalz in February. A city is inaugurated in Susquhanna on April 8th. There is an uprising in Kazan in May. Tver rises in October and then Osterboten and Livonia in November. A city is inaugurated in Catskill on November 19th.

January 1792

Tax 3464d. Franz II ascends the throne of our good friends and allies Austria, and is elected Holy Roman Emperor. We wish him a long and most prosperous reign.

 

[unmerged(1996)]

Epilogue...

From the journal of Douglas, Lord Fremont, January 1st, 1792

My friends, it is New Year’s Day in the Year of Our Lord 1792. I have been keeping watch for this day, for it marks an anniversary, of sorts. On this day, 300 years ago, a man whose name I do not even know – for he did not see fit to record it here – began to keep a journal – a record of his time as Lord Chancellor of this great nation of England.

But how different was the England of then compared to the England of today! As my un-named predecessor wrote, Scotland was still an independent realm, and the debate of the day was whether to throw England’s enemies into defending our last colonial possession in Calais or to abandon it to the encroaching French and look elsewhere for our fortunes.

This man was bold enough, brave enough to suggest a somewhat radical plan of action – the invasion of Tunisia, as a prelude to a staged encroachment on the rich but divided Italian city states, in order to bring them under the rule of the English crown. Could he, I wonder, have foreseen the result of his actions? That one day, the English Empire would bestride the globe like a Titan, bringing under its sway peoples in so far and distant lands as Siberia, China, Japan, Australasia, Malaysia, India, Africa, The New World? Could he have foreseen that one day the might of English armies would lead to the conquest of all Italy? Persia? The Netherlands? Denmark? Georgia? North Africa? Egypt? Would he ever have dreamed that so many nations would readily join themselves to such an Empire – Brandenburg? Sweden? Saxony? Or that we would command an alliance of powers such as Spain, Austria and Poland-Lithuania and reduce the once-mighty French, Ottomans and Russians to such shadows of their former glory.

Somehow, I doubt that he could have known, but perhaps he might have dreamt such glories for England.

And to think back on the men and monarchs whose steadfast loyalty, bravery in battle and courageous spirit have brought such events to pass – Norfolk, Cromwell – Oliver, and aye, “Cruel” Charlie too, for once he was a brilliant man before his scheming and his vainglorious quest for personal aggrandizement brought his low – Rupert the Black Prince, Shirley, Clive, Washington, Tarleton, Amherst and Burgoyne. And what of the ordinary men – the soldiers, sailors, sergeants, officers and other, lesser generals? A more fastidious scribe than I has been keeping a record of the estimated number of lives lost in the service of the English Empire since 1492. It would appear that some five million, one hundred and ninety-two thousand foot soldiers have lost their lives, along with six hundred and fifteen thousand cavalrymen, some two thousand, six hundred and fifty cannon and over six hundred ships, but far the greater bulk of them warships, with their officers and crew. By my estimate that’s nearly six million souls, all told. Twenty thousand a year. A small price to pay for the greatness of the Empire today? I think that every man jack of them would agree with me that there is nothing finer than to give one’s life in the service of so great a nation as ours.

Ah, such days. I fear they are gone. For what is there left to accomplish now but the eventual subjugation of France, Russia and the Sultan? Perhaps our allies might grow jealous of our glory and seek to usurp us, forcing ourselves to defend our honour… but no. far more likely that the world will enter a golden age, where man will live in peace and harmony under the English cross of St. George, with liberty and justice for everyone. Well, every English citizen that is. Not foreigners. Or Subjugated Frenchmen. Or slaves…

And here I think I shall leave both my account and, aye, my post. For I am a man who feels his age now. It is time I think to lay down the burden of governing this great Empire of ours and let a younger, more vigorous man take up where I have left off. And so I bid you farewell, my readers. I am sure someone else will take up the pen again and continue the story of this England.

But not I.



THE END

 

[unmerged(1996)]

Notes on the Game

I enjoyed playing this campaign immensely, and I enjoyed sharing my experiences with you all even more. I can only apologies for the vast tracks of empty time and space that characterized much of the progression – or lack of it – of the piece, but Real Life being what it is…

Looking back on the game, I think it’s safe to say that had I known then what I know now about the way the AI reacts to certain situations, the way the game mechanics work, even the way that things such as attrition are carried out, I think it’s safe to say I would have played it very differently, and with very different results.

For a start, I probably would have played the IGC rather than the GC – the fact that I haven’t been able to annex France, Turkey and Russia has been especially frustrating, particularly in the last 100 years of the game. I feel sure that I would have accomplished all 3 by the early 1740s or so had the option been available to me, and then would have been left with the dilemma of whether or not to turn on my allies and go for the whole world – although I think the Spanish New World would have made this task difficult to say the least. Having said that, I more likely would have sought the diplomatic annexation of Austria and Poland-Lithuania at least, and though I doubt Spain would have played ball, it would not have stopped me trying…

Also, if I had played the IGC I may have been tempted to leave Ireland independent – and then I might not have had my Slightly Different idea of using Tunisia as a supply base to attack Italy from. And why Tunisia? Why not go straight for Tuscany or Lombardy? Well, I think Tunisia was the nearest – I had originally planned to take Granada before the Spanish did, but then I noticed that Granada does not have a port – which would have made things tricky…

And had I gone straight for an Italian state I could have spent the next fifty years defending it and fighting against the naval attrition of my re-supply fleets and loss of troops both – I most probably would have left Scotland alone, and Norfolk would not have become the hero he did.

The Long Peace might not have happened either. I might have fought a few more reparitions wars to bleed the coffers of the Italians as a prelude to their conquest. Or maybe if I had done so, I might have been more effectively attacked by France, or even lost Spain as a very useful ally. Although I have managed to beat the living daylights out of Spain in my Genoa game, so it shows they’re not invincible.

I think the major turning point though had to be the taking of the Netherlands. Without that presence amidst the Germans then the spread of the English empire across the Rhine might not have occurred until much later – by the time I had picked a fight with a minor nation and then taken on the Dutch and the French together, the game might have had a very different conclusion.

Still, it all turned out nice in the end. Very red. The world map I mean. Very red indeed…

Although I do wish I’d turned the Victory Points on before I started.



Ariel,
Manchester,
March 26th 2002.
One Year On.

 

[Misha]

Bravo!

Ariel,
It has been a pleasure to follow this thread for a year(!) now. Like you, I was relative newbie to the game when you started this AAR, & following the exploits of the English Crown, starting with the Tunisian Gambit, was part of my learning curve for this game. Your writing was always a joy to behold. Thanks for the ride - it has been long, & mayhaps a tad bumpy, but always well worth it.

 

[unmerged(3525)]

Well done. I suppose the general conclusion was to be expected but you did at least stick with the game and finish it and the AAR. A rare achievement. It might even have inspired me to finish my latest game over the next week or so.

I think you could have taken on the Spanish in the New World although attrition would bite and they'll probably have maximum level fortress in most provinces by the end of the game.

p.s. Annexing a country would still have left you in a war with its former allies.

 

[unmerged(6729)]

A Great AAR.
I am very happy that my friend told me about it.

 

[Barkdreg]

Can it really be? Ariel's AAR has finished, the very same AAR that made me buy EU, the AAR that made me discover the fun of writing stories. It's finished, a piece of history.
I doubt we'll ever see the likes of this AAR.

I like to thank you Ariel, for all the pleasant hours reading this AAR. I like to thank you for the times you made me laugh and the times you made me cry (well, allmost ).

But let us not be sad because this AAR is finished. Onwards and upwards, other and better.

I greet you Ariel.

Yours truly,
Barkdreg

 

[Pan Zagloba]

>applause< >cheering<

Congratulations on a magnificent effort!

Zagloba

PS. Onwards!

 

[unmerged(1996)]

Dear All -

Thank you very much indeed for your kind words. It makes me feel quite ashamed of the way I kept you all hanging on for a full solar cycle before finishing the thing...

Incidentally, I've noticed a growing trend of "Ariel's AAR made me buy the game..." type comments (including a couple of PMs recently). If anyone from Paradox is reading this, I'm quite happy to accept whatever royalties you may feel I'm due for my efforts. Or failing that, you could always offer me a job or something... I don't mind which...

Seriously though folks, I'll be back in a month or so with an EUII England AAR of truly epic proportions (he says, modestly...) so please feel free to tune in again round about then...

 

[Chas]

Congratulations and thanks for finishing it. It's been a great read.

Did you really declare war on France in July 1790? What happened?