Usually I don't have nor time nor patience to run a grand campaign, but finally I decided to actually finish a campaign regardless of time it might take or fights with my wife about how am I ignoring the family.
I picked England and started rockin Europe. I got great missions, get core on that, vassilize this, incorporate that, and so on. I was doing great and after fighting smart and thoughtful campaigns, by the 1470s I annihilated France, vassilized or annexed all other French and lowland states, vassilazed all western German states and annexed Swiss.
All was running smoothly, and then i got get a core on one Austrian province. It's needles to say that after so many conquests and gaining total domination over western Europe (except Spain and Portugal) I had bb over 40. Austria and Bohemia (HRE Emperor) was fighting the GH and they were gaining some territories in Eastern Europe. Austria had an alliance with Pomerania and Brandenburg.
My total continental force was 130K divided into 13 armies of 10K. As well I had 17K in England and Ireland but I had only 2 generals. All my vassals had a total force of around 65K. Pom and Bran had a total force of a little under 30K, Aus had 40K while 30k was dealing with GH, Boh had an army of 60K and almost 45K were dealing with GH.
I declared a war on Austria with all my allies, Pom and Bra declared war back and Boh whom ass I kicked a few years earlier, decided to protect Austria. At the first stage all went really well , I landed 30K of continental army in Pom, my vassals sent a total force of around 25K to northern Germany, 90K of my continental troops with the rest of my allies went to Aus and Boh. As well I left 10K in France to deal with possible rebellions.
Aus and Boh left most of their troops in GH territories so I didn’t really struggled on both fronts. In the north Pom was overtaken by my troops, Bra was sieged by my vassals, their troops was beaten in 3 big battles, in this stage my northern front was 17K Englishmen's and 15K Frenchman's and lowlanders combined. In the south, small Austrian and Bohemians army was wiped out, most of Austria was sieged, all south and central Bohemia (by the way all Poland was under their reign) was under siege, the battles, attrition and sieges took their toll on Western European alliance. I had 50K left and my allies had 20K left. Regardless to say that due the huge territories in Austria and Bohemia the advance on this front was much slower than in the northern front. Pom felt under my rule and I forced them out of that war after ceding a province to me (to have a naval base in the Baltics) and vasslized them. After this peace agreement my bb went up and most of remaining HRE warned me. My own arrogance after a lot of successful wars in Western Europe and the current successful campaign pushed me into a vey bad decision to try to finish the war in a great victory disregarding possible consequences. I spread all my southern front all over Austria and Bohemia. Meanwhile Austria and Bohemia remained in steps of Ukraine, Romania and Hungary.
All kept running smoothly and my next step started the avalanche. I won all the sieges in Bra and most of the sieges in the Southern front, later those occupied territories saved my ass. I decided to take Bra out of the war. I vassalized them and took a province from them. My bb went up and needles to say that all my armies were at 50% strength at most, my allies weren't in a better shape. As a retaliation for my bb from HRE minors all of them declared war on me and my allies and somehow became a part of the big war. Suddenly all Europe as in total war. I tried to manage that crisis by moving my forces from sieges in central and eastern Europe, My vassals remained sieging Bohemia and Austria. While all my forces were moving west during one week time both Austria and Bohemia struck peace deals with GH. And suddenly I had 100K of HRE minors in central Germany (west to me) and 70K of Austrian and Bohemians heading home at full steam (east to me).
In 6 weeks I lost 95% of my forces and my allies were totaly wiped out. All continental empire left undefended. My luck was that I occupied parts of Austria (including CB province), so after 14 days I decided that now is the best time to get a peace deal. My control over Austrian and Bohemian territories gave me at that time a dissent war score, so I offered a minor deal of taking 2 Austrian provinces. Lucky me they agreed and those 3 provinces (2 Austrian and 1 Pomeranian) and 2 new Vassals price was a total annihilation of my army and my Vassals lost all they forces.
It was a victory but a Pyrrhic Victory was an understatement. It took me 1o years to rebuild my forces and going to point zero after that war.
Guys what was yours worst campaign because I am sure that some of you got a much worst wars.
I picked England and started rockin Europe. I got great missions, get core on that, vassilize this, incorporate that, and so on. I was doing great and after fighting smart and thoughtful campaigns, by the 1470s I annihilated France, vassilized or annexed all other French and lowland states, vassilazed all western German states and annexed Swiss.
All was running smoothly, and then i got get a core on one Austrian province. It's needles to say that after so many conquests and gaining total domination over western Europe (except Spain and Portugal) I had bb over 40. Austria and Bohemia (HRE Emperor) was fighting the GH and they were gaining some territories in Eastern Europe. Austria had an alliance with Pomerania and Brandenburg.
My total continental force was 130K divided into 13 armies of 10K. As well I had 17K in England and Ireland but I had only 2 generals. All my vassals had a total force of around 65K. Pom and Bran had a total force of a little under 30K, Aus had 40K while 30k was dealing with GH, Boh had an army of 60K and almost 45K were dealing with GH.
I declared a war on Austria with all my allies, Pom and Bra declared war back and Boh whom ass I kicked a few years earlier, decided to protect Austria. At the first stage all went really well , I landed 30K of continental army in Pom, my vassals sent a total force of around 25K to northern Germany, 90K of my continental troops with the rest of my allies went to Aus and Boh. As well I left 10K in France to deal with possible rebellions.
Aus and Boh left most of their troops in GH territories so I didn’t really struggled on both fronts. In the north Pom was overtaken by my troops, Bra was sieged by my vassals, their troops was beaten in 3 big battles, in this stage my northern front was 17K Englishmen's and 15K Frenchman's and lowlanders combined. In the south, small Austrian and Bohemians army was wiped out, most of Austria was sieged, all south and central Bohemia (by the way all Poland was under their reign) was under siege, the battles, attrition and sieges took their toll on Western European alliance. I had 50K left and my allies had 20K left. Regardless to say that due the huge territories in Austria and Bohemia the advance on this front was much slower than in the northern front. Pom felt under my rule and I forced them out of that war after ceding a province to me (to have a naval base in the Baltics) and vasslized them. After this peace agreement my bb went up and most of remaining HRE warned me. My own arrogance after a lot of successful wars in Western Europe and the current successful campaign pushed me into a vey bad decision to try to finish the war in a great victory disregarding possible consequences. I spread all my southern front all over Austria and Bohemia. Meanwhile Austria and Bohemia remained in steps of Ukraine, Romania and Hungary.
All kept running smoothly and my next step started the avalanche. I won all the sieges in Bra and most of the sieges in the Southern front, later those occupied territories saved my ass. I decided to take Bra out of the war. I vassalized them and took a province from them. My bb went up and needles to say that all my armies were at 50% strength at most, my allies weren't in a better shape. As a retaliation for my bb from HRE minors all of them declared war on me and my allies and somehow became a part of the big war. Suddenly all Europe as in total war. I tried to manage that crisis by moving my forces from sieges in central and eastern Europe, My vassals remained sieging Bohemia and Austria. While all my forces were moving west during one week time both Austria and Bohemia struck peace deals with GH. And suddenly I had 100K of HRE minors in central Germany (west to me) and 70K of Austrian and Bohemians heading home at full steam (east to me).
In 6 weeks I lost 95% of my forces and my allies were totaly wiped out. All continental empire left undefended. My luck was that I occupied parts of Austria (including CB province), so after 14 days I decided that now is the best time to get a peace deal. My control over Austrian and Bohemian territories gave me at that time a dissent war score, so I offered a minor deal of taking 2 Austrian provinces. Lucky me they agreed and those 3 provinces (2 Austrian and 1 Pomeranian) and 2 new Vassals price was a total annihilation of my army and my Vassals lost all they forces.
It was a victory but a Pyrrhic Victory was an understatement. It took me 1o years to rebuild my forces and going to point zero after that war.
Guys what was yours worst campaign because I am sure that some of you got a much worst wars.