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This looks to be a good one - and my first Avindian AAR (bar, of course Tukhachevsky.)
All I would say, having no experience of the game (damn earlier version of the Clauswitz engine not working in Mac!) is that, having watched the P'dox multiplayer live stream, Gibraltar is supposedly the hardest fort to siege in the game. The Spain player spent three years with forty odd thousand men and artillery outside before he took it - and that was only because of a naval attack by the French (he said something about not being able to siege effectively unless you have a naval blockade.)
I don't know if your game will be the same, as they modded the scenario to get straight into a war, but the navy in Gib' was commanded by Nelson, which was rather problematic for the Central Powers.
I'd advise to give the series a watch if you have time - it could prove quite useful [link]
Looking forward to some action!
All I would say, having no experience of the game (damn earlier version of the Clauswitz engine not working in Mac!) is that, having watched the P'dox multiplayer live stream, Gibraltar is supposedly the hardest fort to siege in the game. The Spain player spent three years with forty odd thousand men and artillery outside before he took it - and that was only because of a naval attack by the French (he said something about not being able to siege effectively unless you have a naval blockade.)
I don't know if your game will be the same, as they modded the scenario to get straight into a war, but the navy in Gib' was commanded by Nelson, which was rather problematic for the Central Powers.
I'd advise to give the series a watch if you have time - it could prove quite useful [link]
Looking forward to some action!
I have been waiting for this, and I am glad that you finally have time 
Of course, subbed. I wouldn't miss it for the world...
Of course, subbed. I wouldn't miss it for the world...
Glad to have you along!
I may do that; thanks for the advice!
I have been waiting for this, and I am glad that you finally have time
You'd better be subbed.
I think Gibralter and Malta have special siege rules where you also have to have a naval blockade along with a traditional siege to be effective, which is a problem for anyone besides the British, who start with those two places.
It's not too hard as Spain to take the Rock. Patience and care are the keys. Even 1 transport ship counts as a blockade for the purpose of taking the place, however it's better to have 4 or 5 warships. Being friendly coastline nearby you can retreat from blockade to safe ports with plenty of warning when you see the RN heading down there. If the Brits send in only a couple of boats you can risk an attack, and unlike anyone else your ships will be getting repaired while you wait for the Brits to leave again. When you haven't got a blockade in place the event counter jumps up to 90 days plus, as soon as you get back in place it drops back to more normal siege timescales. You need to pay attention to the area but as Spain you're liable to be looking round that region for most of the time anyway.
I've used this tactic to take Gibraltar twice in SP games once as Spain and once as Russia.
I've used this tactic to take Gibraltar twice in SP games once as Spain and once as Russia.
Interesting. Back in the live stream Spain seemed like one of the stronger powers oddly enough. Here's hoping you can do the same!
This seems really awesome, I've been thinking about getting this game and this assures it, once I can afford it! It'll be interesting how well you can recover as Spain and become a Great Power to be reckoned across Europe!
Good to know; thanks for the heads up!
I hope so too.
Great!
Good start Avindian. Word to the wise, I've seen some people on the forums caught out as Spain when fighting as part of France's coalition - the AI will sometimes settle and grab provinces for itself. Once you have the upper hand against the Portuguese, it may be a good idea to settle early and ensure that you grab some of your dominance objectives, and then return to finish Portugal later in the game, once you are no longer part of the coalition.
Unless the war is declared before Portugal joins the British coalition, Spain can't make a seperate peace (junior coalition members can't make deals with each other). To be honest if you are going after Portugal you don't want to be in the coalition with France from day one.
Jumping on board. I have bought MOTE but not had time to play it yet. I hope to learn from your mistakes... I mean, successes.
Portugal isn't part of the British coalition, so that's not a worry.
Well, my first six months of play have gone very well, so that's something!
First gameplay update is scheduled for either Wednesday or Thursday.
Interesting, I've never followed a March of the Eagles AAR. In fact, I don't even know if it is a separate game
What's up with all the patience you are demanding? And don't say it's real life - If you're running three AARs at a time, that's not a credible excuse
What's up with all the patience you are demanding? And don't say it's real life - If you're running three AARs at a time, that's not a credible excuse
Interesting, I've never followed a March of the Eagles AAR. In fact, I don't even know if it is a separate game
What's up with all the patience you are demanding? And don't say it's real life - If you're running three AARs at a time, that's not a credible excuse
It is a separate game.
Just too exhausted yesterday to post, that's it. Don't worry -- this will get proper attention on Friday.
Chapter 1: Let loose the dogs of war!
Note: I'm going to use a format quite similar to that of my last Vicky 2 AAR, only highlighting each month instead of each year. I think it gives a nice sense of steady progression, while helping me organize my own thoughts.
January 1805
The British, cagily enough, attack Cadiz. My response is first to bring up reinforcements:
And then have the army in Cadiz hide in the fort.
On January 12, my troops are in position, so I DOW Portugal.
Immediate short term goals are to chase their own army, then with it eliminated, take out their forts. Denmark joins the French coalition on the 15th; that'll be the last new friend for France in a long time, as Brunswick joins the UK shortly thereafter.
I win my first battle the next day, overrunning the Portuguese garrison at Almeida. Russian joins the war on the 18th; I don't expect too much opposition from them in this game, at least not now.
At the end of January, I get a surprising victory:
This is partially because Portugal attacked me (for some reason), but I honestly don't know what I did right. A theme in this AAR will be "Avindian has no idea what he's doing.
" Still, I'll take it! I formally begin my attack on the British sieging Cadiz the same day.
Brunswick formally joins the war on January 29; I start trying to influence Prussia the same day.
February
A very nice way to start the month, don't you think?
I win at Cadiz, which means it's now time to chase around the Brits for a while. I hit the main Portuguese army hard simultaneously, inflicting 9000 casualties at a cost of under 700. I also choose my first idea:
Since, at least for a while, I'll be fighting with a lot of infantry, it made sense to me to choose this idea. The first Spanish idea, which increases reinforcement rate, will probably be my next. I join a scrap between the British and French navies on the 6th. Three days later, I eliminate the largest army Portugal has.
I retreat from the naval battle on the 10th; a lot of shots were exchanged, but no ships sunk. I notice I'm losing money (a little less than 6 ducats a month), so I take out a loan of 571 ducats. A lot of my money is tied up in raising my guards brigades. The Portuguese army is wiped out on February 14.
Now, I can use my manpower to go after their forts. Napoleon becomes King of Italy on February 18; good for him, I guess. I start increasing the size of my navy now, recognizing that I'll almost certainly need to beat the Royal Navy a few times if I'm going to defeat them and formally take Gibraltar. Speaking of Gibraltar, the British army is eliminated on the 21st.
My huge victory encourages France to guarantee my independence. I guess that's nice. Porto, the first Portuguese fort, falls on February 24.
March
The Portuguese fleet is two first rate ships-of-the-line lighter after a scrap on March 10. I decide to mix it up with the British again -- I've got 13 ships in my fleet to their 6, and I have more first rate ships of the line. Let's dance!
I win the battle, but I'm not entirely sure it was worth it:
I send the squadron to Cadiz; Gibraltar needs to be taken down sooner rather than later. Sicily joins the British coalition on the 21st.
April
Sicily joins the war:
I sink a lone British transport on April 13. Brunswick finds the day particularly unlucky:
At this point in the game, the only Redcoats I've seen were those from Gibraltar. They must be planning something, but what? Another British transport goes to the bottom on April 22. I am mystified as to why they keep sending single transports through the straits of Gibraltar, but I'll take it. To improve my navy even further, I order some more construction:
Almeida falls on April 25. Two Portuguese forts down, two to go! Piedmont joins Great Britain's coalition on the 27th.
May
A healthy chunk of the British fleet approaches, and this Gibraltar thing is getting on my nerves. There is only one thing to do. Assault the Rock!
Even if I lose my fleet (a possibility), the assault should still continue, so that's my gamble here. While this epic confrontation is going on, the third Portuguese fort falls, leaving only Lisboa. As expected, I lose the naval battle on May 6, but I win the land battle on May 7. Gibraltar is ours!
When Portugal finally surrenders, I'll have acquired five new objectives -- three for land dominance and two for naval dominance (for some reason, Gibraltar counts as land dominance, if I have the proper color coding worked out). Depressingly, the actual straits are not closed. Do I need the Moroccan province too, or can you not close the straits?
Piedmont joins the war -- on the British side, of course -- on May 17. With Portugal all but defeated, I start the long walk to Sicily (as I discover you also can't just walk to North Africa from Spain. EU3 and Vicky 2 have spoiled me.
) with a couple of armies from my attack on Portugal and the victorious troops involved in Gibraltar. Portugal, adorably, offers to concede defeat on May 24. Nice try, Portugal.June
Austria joins the British coalition -- but not the war -- on June 3. I hope that'll bring Prussia in on our side. For some reason, about 70k French troops are just sitting in Cartagena -- what on earth are they planning?? I get 25 idea points from Francisco Goya on June 8. Lisbon finally falls on June 14, and Portugal becomes my satellite.
That's it for this update! I'm going to try to play later on this weekend, with a new update for the middle of next week.