Re: 17th century
CHAPTER 8 - August 1st, 1612 AD
...this chapter will affect the events from August 1st, 1612 AD to March 1st, 1613 AD
After less than 2 years of war, Spain and England announce a peace treaty that ends their conflict. Many of the terms remain secret but among the official some notable terms include the English agreeing to pay off 10% of the Spanish debt, hunt down any English pirates, lift the Channel blockade, send 5 warships to replace Spanish fleet losses and allow Spanish purchase of 1 English warship a year for 3 years. They will also provide naval architects and merchants to assist Spain in the rebuilding of their fleet. England also agrees that southwest Ireland remains independent and won't be reoccupied after the war, unless attacking English possessions. There is fierce criticism from the Parliament against these peace terms, which in the opinion of English merchants don't match the outcome of the fighting well. Many influential English merchants, nobles and others claim the war couldn't have been ended at a worse time, when a breakthrough was so near - naval superiority having been achieved in the Carribbean, and the Iberian peninsula open for free raiding. The Spanish population is however pleased to see the king negotiating such generous and favorable terms for Spain. However, the Portuguese merchants are less than happy when the Spanish king immediately uses the peace for incorporating Portugal more closely into the Spanish Empire by giving it province status, as a step in an integration program which also removes tolls for travelling between the different regions in the Iberian peninsula. The event triggers a revolt, but the revolt was anticipated by the king, and when Portuguese forces assemble to strike the small Spanish Royal Garrison in Porto they are caught by the arrival of 2 tercios that have already been stationed close to the area. Another Portuguese force defeats the Spanish garrison in Lisboa after heavy bloodshed, but the Portuguese revolt still loses important momentum already at an early stage. It's suspected that some of the Spanish nobles have sent assistance to the rebels, but the rebels only control some limited territories around Lisboa by the end of the summer.
In Bohemia, the Catholic League forces under Tilly's command enter Prague after a long siege. The rebels, close to starvation, surrender in return for offers of free return home as long as they hand over their weapons. The Emperor in return also withdraws the prohibition on practising the Protestant religion, but in return introduces a law of conformity, which forces all subjects no matter their creed to attend Catholic mass once a month. Despite the important siege victory, the rebellion is still not over, with over 10,000 rebel forces still roaming the countryside of Bohemia freely, seeking further support from Austrian and Hungarian Protestants and the Protestant Union. The Emperor leaves 18,000 men in the province, while Tilly with the 8,000 troops from the Catholic League marches north towards Brandenburg, and Berlin, to put the city under siege. In the meantime, Wallenstein with his 5,000 man large army launches some successful operations towards nearby kurfürsts who have been supporting the Bohemian revolts.
In the Polish-Muscovite war, the Polish launch another attempt at besieging Pskov, this time with a force consisting of 3,300 husaria and 300 infantry with 18 guns, leaving Livonia with a very small garrison of only some 200 men. The Swedish immediately take advantage of this - proclaiming that the peace treaty with Poland was unjust and a result of Polish pressure and threats that prevented carrying out fair negotiations, a Swedish army of around 15,000 men (including both older mercenaries and forces created by the recent reforms), supported by the Swedish fleet, marches to lay siege to Riga. The forces are first landed in Livonia, then the majority takes the land route while one third is sent by ships to the city, where they join the others. In a matter of less than a week, the garrison is forced to surrender after the Swedish forces have suffered some 700 losses. To the east, the Polish consolidate their gains between Moscow and Smolensk, by assaulting and forcing to surrender several pockets of Russian resistance commanded by neither Vasili nor the Polish, but still resisting the Polish. The garrisons are quickly cleared and with negligible losses they capture and kill some 800 opponents while clearing and strenghtening the Polish supply lines between Moscow and Smolensk. The Polish siege force outside Tver tries to negotiate for the Russian garrison to surrender without a fight, but when it refuses the Polish forces instead of bringing more men or assaulting retreat to Moscow. Shortly afterwards, the Russian main army arrives at Tver only to find that the Polish have disappeared. Some 100 Russian auxiliaries in the Polish force also desert and join the Russian Tver garrison. Even if the Polish forces are still completely intact, their slowed down advance and the at least temporarily ended siege of Tver strengthens the position of Vasili at home somewhat, however the Moscow garrison remains unchanged and in Polish hands. It's difficult for the Russian scouts to assess whether the retreat from Tver is a fake retreat or a sign of Polish overextension, or how many troops are still at the Russian front and how many are in Transylvania, Moldavia, Livonia or other regions.
In early spring, the Ottoman army again prepares to strike deeper into Europe. The army used in the failed campaign in Moldavia is quickly moved to Transylvania, where the Ottomans have been engaged in cold conflict for a longer period of time. A Transylvanian pretender to the throne, named Béthlen, has tried to rally Ottoman and Transylvanian support for a campaign to take over the throne from the current leader Báthory. The Ottoman forces are joined by these forces, currently numbering 10,000 men, and begin their advance into the region with a force consisting of around 65,000 men and 47 guns. They quickly capture some smaller fortresses in the southern parts of Transylvania after quick assaults and peaceful surrender of some of the garrisons, then proceed north to seek an engagement with the Transylvanian main army of Sigismund Báthory. Báthory avoids battle for the entire course of the summer while raiding Ottoman supply lines and trying to keep control over fortresses in the central parts of Transylvania which the Ottomans can't immediately assault. The Ottomans instead try to pursue Báthory's forces, and in early August he finally sets up camp opposite the Ottoman force, which has lost over 8,000 men in the difficult terrain and have left some 20,000 troops further south, leaving only 37,000 men to fight Báthory's force. Báthory's force seems to consist of around 30,000 men, but they have a large contingent of some 5,000 Hungarian hussars, and 6,000 lighter cavalry forces, the rest being footmen, and some 15 guns. The Ottoman force consists of 6,000 Jannissaries, 15,000 Timariot cavalry, 400 professional cavalry from the standing forces, 6,000 of Bethlen's levies and some 4,600 Ottoman levy footmen with 10 guns.
In France, many of the administrative and military reforms of the previous few years are near completion, and several new reforms are launched to make the administation even more effective. These reforms include a group of "Royal Intendents" that will on behalf of the king oversee the work of governors to ensure corruption and inefficiency is is prevented, and with the approval of the king have the power to overrule and replace people within the administration. Another reform includes making so that the ships of privately owned French trade companies are, against normal doctrine, not excluded from military service. While this means a stronger French navy in wartime, it also means that in times of war, enemies of France can freely attack merchants without loss of moral high ground. The French military reforms have also progressed. The training and equipping of the colonial auxilia forces is ready, the training of the standing forces is nearly completed, but there is still a shortage of equipment. The national guard project has therefore only been implemented to some 30%. About 50% of the standing army forces have received modern guns (but not flintlock models), while 1% has received experimental flintlock gun models, the rest have recevied older firearms. There's also a shortage of artillery pieces at the moment. While the French army has been made a lot more cost-effective by these reforms, the replacement of all professional mercenaries with locally recruited forces has removed much of the experience previously present in the French army - only a small fraction of the new army has ever seen combat. The French military academies projects should compensate this to some extent in the long term, but the lack of experience might still be a problem in the near future. Near Paris, a large water power project is launched in order to get automatically powered machinery for several different French factories that are to be built in this area, one of which will mass-produce guns with the new flintlock mechanism, which most other countries have started experimenting with but not yet mass produced. The reforms are likely to increase annual French income and army efficiency in the future, but the French treasury has been almost completely emptied by these costly projects and there will be debts if any more costly reforms or other projects are launched in the nearest future (i.e. annual income is positive if no costly reforms are carried out).
The French colonial expansion continues, with an expedition being sent around Africa to form a trade base at the Cape of Good Hope, and another at the delta of the Ganges River to establish trade bases, while the Congo colony is further expanded. In Nouvelle France, the population has increased and now amounts to around 27,000. French expeditions continue to explore the river and send trappers higher upstreams, but there are skirmishes with and raids from the natives in response to this expansion, and a group of trappers are killed a few miles inland. In response to this, the French commander reorganizes his forces and prepares a more flexible defense, awaiting instructions from the king for how to proceed.
In Paris, Sully calls all noblemen to a meeting at one of the Royal Palaces near Paris in order to handle the segregation problems between Huguenots and Catholics. The king first holds a small secret meeting with the most influential Huguenot and Catholic nobles, then a larger meeting with the remaining nobles. He announces new taxes on soldiers that aren't part of the Grande Armee and another tax on fortresses that aren't controlled by the crown. The King announces that he reserves for himself a right to demolish any fortresses not paid for, and also freely confiscate fortresses chosen by the army and navy. 10,000 soldiers camp around the palace during these meetings for protection and prevention of revolt. However shortly after the meeting, information from the smaller, confidential meeting leaks out - probably from one of the Catholic attendants to that meeting. The nobles have apparently been shown some Spanish spies which were captured a few years earlier while in the process of doing reconnaissance at Marseille. As Sully shortly afterwards quickly marches a force of 10,000 men to try and quickly take over garrisoning of the most important Huguenot garrison at La Rochelle, the Huguenot nobles close the city and demand further negotiations, while the 10,000 forces outside set up camp outside (not a siege, people are still allowed to come and go freely) to await further instructions.
An alliance between France and the Savoy has also been announced this year. Savoy troops will apparently be organized after French pattern and come under French supreme command in case of war. There has also been French negotiations with Genoa and Florence, ending in making France, Savoy, Genoa and Florence a toll free area. Rumors state that the French tried to impose the same demands (which removes much of their independence) on Genoa and Florence as on Savoy, but withdrew these demands at the end of the negotiations. The Savoy treaty is likely to decrease the Spanish influence in the region somewhat.
The Dutch found a West India company this year, to explore possible settlements in South and West Africa. They also start exploring North America for possible settlements, after discussions with England and France.
The Netherlands also take the initiative in forming an international Protestant Coalition (i.e. not the same as the Protestant Union in the HRE). Sweden and Brandenburg join the Coalition quickly. Denmark initially hesitates to join, but eventually changes their minds and offer to hold a meeting for all Protestant nations, inviting Brandenburg, England, France, the Netherlands and Sweden. They wish to discuss the goals of the PC and the terms of membership.
English, French and Spanish "travellers" at the Suez all report back to their kings that they have spotted "travellers" from the other 2 countries in the area, and that they have been spotted by them. The situation seems embarrassing to all parts, as the other travellers look like they are there for similar purposes...
BRANDENBURG
1. what to do in response to the Emperor's force having set up camp outside Berlin? He has some 8,000 troops outside the city. You have some 7,200 troops at Berlin, 300 inside Berlin, 1,500 mercenaries in Bohemia, and your allies within the Protestant Union that could provide you with some more troops. Tilly, who commands the opposition, is a skilled commander, as he has shown in Bohemia
a. assemble all forces you have at home (7,500 men) and attack the Emperor's force immediately, before he can reinforce his army
b. assemble all forces you have at home (7,500 men), and also call in support from your allies in the Protestant Union to assemble an army to meet the Emperor in about 3 months from now, when winter is near and his supply situation and retreat will be difficult
c. just raid Tilly's supply lines and defend Berlin against the siege with the 300 men (but keep the other army close outside to prevent Tilly from assaulting), then attack him at some later time when his forces have been reduced. In the meantime assemble the Protestant Union forces to help you relieve Berlin
d. as a, but also call home the 1,500 mercenaries from Bohemia
e. as b, but also call home the 1,500 mercenaries from Bohemia
f. as c, but also call home the 1,500 mercenaries from Bohemia
2. negotiate assistance. You could try to negotiate for military assistance (by PM) against the Emperor from somewhere abroad. Denmark, Netherlands, France etc? If you request assistance from abroad, it might be a good idea to negotiate in advance under which terms the assistance will be sent - you don't want a liberator to liberate you from the Emperor and then become the new oppressor...
3. Poland
a. stay peaceful for now
b. launch your fleet to try and hunt down and destroy as much as possible of the Polish fleet. You have a marginal advantage and if you manage to win a crucial naval victory you would afterwards be able to operate almost freely against Poland in the Baltic sea, unless the Danish or anybody else assists them. But you probably need some 1,000 men loaded on your ships for boarding actions to be sure of victory in fighting the Polish fleet - these troops would then be unavailable at Berlin
c. launch an operation into Poland with 5,000 men, while the 300 men in Berlin continue to resist the siege there (at the risk of Tilly successfully assaulting), and send 500 men to raid Tilly's supply lines. This 5,000 man diversion on Poland, if successful, could force the Emperor to retreat from Berlin. Please specify where in Poland to send this operation to
4. the situation in Bohemia - the Emperor has around 18,000 men there, 5,000 men attacking other further south supporters of the revolt, while the rebels have only some 14,000 men including your forces. However the situation in Transylvania means a possibility of future assistance against the Emperor in these parts. The rebels raid the Emperor's supply lines and try to cause as much trouble as possible, but neither side is keen on a full scale battle at the moment. The Emperor is suspected to have thinned out his garrisons in Austria and Hungary - it might be a sign of overextension. This information could help you decide whether it's more important to keep the Emperor locked up in Bohemia, or sending the mercenaries back home to defend against Tilly
5. military reforms (d can be combined with a,b or c if needed)
a. make a reform for raising a homegrown standing force of some 2,000 men. This will use much of your treasury but will then cost the same as about 1,000-1,500 mercenaries. The reform will take 1-2 years or training of the troops, but in order to acquire the equipment you had better try to get a treaty to buy equipment from abroad. You could buy either weapons or steel from Sweden, for example. While the Swedish military is undergoing reforms, they should be able to spare some weaponry to sell abroad without slowing down their reforms (use PM)
b. make a reform for raising a homegrown standing force of some 5,000 men. This will empty your current treasury completely but in the future allow you to replace 5,000 mercenaries with a cost corresponding to around 3,000 mercenaries. The reform will take around 1-3 years. You could buy the equipment from abroad (use PM)
c. don't make any reforms yet
d. make a reform for a 5,000-10,000 man strong militia consisting of conscripted citizens. Getting equipment could be difficult but the force will not cost anything in upkeep except when called in
6. you have become a member of the Protestant Coalition, formed on the initiative of the Netherlands. You also have an ally in the Protestant Union, which is a pact between kurfürsts of the Protestant North in the HRE.
a. try to incorporate the PC with the PU, perhaps you can gain strong influence over both
b. try to keep the PC separate from the PU incorporate it with the Protestant Union, or you risk losing influence in the PU
7. do you wish to send anyone to the meeting Denmark offers to hold? They are willing to discuss the terms for membership of the PC (Protestant Coalition) and wish to hold this meeting to strengthen the cooperation and possibly also make other nations join it. Who do you wish to send to the meeting? You could send yourself, a general, an emissary, someone else, or nobody.
ENGLAND
1. your fleet. Your fleet currently consists of 46 warships and 186 merchants. Your production capability corresponds to a maximum of 4 warships and 4 merchants a year, of which 3 merchants are currently sold to France each year, and 1 warship a year handed over to Spain. However the warship production capability hasn't been built out fully yet. Currently it's still at 3 warships and 4 merchants a year, meaning +2 warships +1 merchant a year from England, while France and Spain get the rest.
a. continue producing with current capacity, and continue experimenting as explained in your PM, and continue selling as per the treaties
b. as a, but increase production capacity
c. as a, but also introduce a classification system for your fleet after the number of cannons and speed of the ships. This will give you a better overview over your forces' capabilities, and your spies can also describe enemy ships in the same terms
d. as b, but also with the classification suggested in c
2. any colonial actions besides continuing those suggested last turn? The actions suggested last turn are near completion, but not fully completed yet. The population of your colony in Virginia amounts to some 5,000, while the Bermudas colony is a mostly military and trade installation at present. Your Indian Ocean base has also been successfully established. Wrestling control over trade in the Indian Ocean might be a good idea for your next step in colonial affairs
3. effects of the peace. For each of these make some decision:
i. how to deal with the criticism from the Parliament? You could choose to ignore it for now, or call off the Parliament for now, or do something else
ii. parts of the Irish population are emigrating to Spain. Do you wish to take any action to prevent this?
iii. the Channel - while the blockade will be lifted, you might wish to put a customs duty on all traffic going through the Channel. Such a toll would have to either exclude ships under French and Dutch flag, or be agreed upon together with them. However it's obviously difficult to carry out such an agreement in practise because nobody can control that the other part is distributing the toll income correctly to the participants, unless the treaty alternates the right to take tolls between the countries each week or something like that
4. do you wish to send anyone to the meeting Denmark offers to hold? They are willing to discuss the terms for membership of the PC (Protestant Coalition), intially formed on the initiative of the Netherlands. Denmark wish to hold this meeting to strengthen the cooperation between the PC, and possibly also make other nations than the current members join it. Who do you wish to send to the meeting? You could send yourself, a general, an emissary, someone else, or nobody.
FRANCE
1. La Rochelle - an army of 10,000 men is currently camped outside the city. The Huguenots have put forward the following proposal: allow the Huguenots to keep their garrison of 8,000 men in La Rochelle - payed by the crown - to assure that the Huguenots aren't threatened if in the future a more Catholic king would come to power (they do have a point here, in that the heir's mother is Catholic and he can't avoid taking influence from her even if she's nearly imprisoned and the king is raised elsewhere). In return, other Huguenot garrisons will be replaced by Grande Armee garrisons or demolished, but the forts of Catholic nobles must be demolished or taken over at the same rate in the following few years.
a. accept their offer, this would limit bloodshed, while meaning a reduction of army upkeep costs corresponding to almost 10,000 mercenaries a year. It however undermines the absolutism.
b. continue negotiations but try to reduce their demands somewhat to mark the absolutism position, but settle with a proposal that is only slightly better than their suggestion, to try and avoid bloodshed, for example that they keep 8,000 men in La Rochelle for the coming 30 years, so that the king gets a chance to demonstrate that he will keep his promise of keeping the Huguenots safe, but then that garrison is removed as well. Point out that the Edict of Nantes granted garrisons for only a limited time, and that according to the Edict the payment for these garrisons should have ended long ago.
c. continue negotiations, but suggest they can keep their garrisons. They will not be payed by the crown however (according to the Edict of Nantes), but still be allowed, as long as they hand over La Rochelle to the crown
d. end negotiations, leave La Rochelle, and state that the payment for Huguenot garrisons will end. If the Huguenots threaten your ship production at the La Rochelle docks or otherwise cause unrest and revolt, send an emissary to explain that the king will be forced to go to war with the Huguenots if they don't stop that, and that the king has remained peaceful so far to show that he will not intend to hurt Huguenots who don't exceed their rights
e. end negotiations, leave La Rochelle (if the Huguenots become hostile they have reinforcements closer than your 10,000 men, and your supply routes to La Rochelle would be easy for them to cut off, making a siege infeasible at this time), and outlaw the Huguenots once the troops have regrouped, stating that according to the Edict of Nantes they shouldn't get payment for their garrisons any more. Assemble around 20,000 men (or perhaps more) for a campaign to step by step take over one Huguenot forts after another. This would be good training for your new army, and the campaign would probably take less than 3 years to complete. Your economy would perhaps be brought to a small debt, but only a very small one which could be repaid only a year or two after the end of the campaign
2. there is a small problem with anti-Spanish sentiments after the information from the small meeting leaked out. What should be done? If you don't show harsh measures against Spain, it could make the unlawful of the Huguenot nobles gather support among the innocent Huguenot masses, making the situation with the Huguenots, in their eyes, turn into a desperate last stand against Catholic oppression, even if they doubt it's Sully's attention they might think that'll be the effect of it (because while Sully is formerly Huguenot and the king is raised by many Huguenots, his mother is still Catholic and you can't keep her completely away from him - and given that she's held nearly as a prisoner she's likely to feed him with anti-Huguenot opinions the few times they meet). However if you show harsh measures against Spain, it would obviously worsen your relations with Spain, at a time where your armed forces perhaps aren't ready for such a war
a. officially deny the existence of the spies. The nobles won't be fooled by this, and they might come with proof that you're lying, but maybe they won't be persuasive enough to arise the masses
b. confirm it publicly, but state that negotiations have been carried out with Spain to ensure that no attack will happen. Point out how strong the new reformed French army is, at the risk of having many question your decision to not invade Spain
c. confirm it publicly, but state that negotiations have been carried out with Spain to ensure that no attack will happen. Point out that the current French army, in the middle of reforms, is weak, and Spain now at peace with England, but that Spain still hasn't attacked, at the risk of causing fear of a Spanish invasion which will fuel Huguenot resistance towards your decision to remove their payed garrisons rights
d. as c, but revoke your decision to remove Huguenot garrison rights, or reduce them only by a small amount
e. neither confirm it nor deny it, but make some vague statements over how gloriously Savoy has become an ally of France, distancing her from Spain, to which she is tied by marriage. Try to use time to end the anti-Spanish sentiments
f. make no statements for the moment
3. the king's mother. Should the young king be forbidden to visit his mother? Or should the mother be pressured and more closely watched when the king visits her? He doesn't visit her often nowadays due to his education, but the occasional visits are perhaps filled by her feeding him with hatred towards the Huguenots. Your previous orders to lock up the king's mother has hardly improved the situation in that particular aspect, but it has however prevented any further conspiracies with Catholic nobles
4. your military reforms
a. continue them as before, making it likely that your entire standing army will be ready in around 1 year. They will not have flintlock guns as standard issue firearm
b. make sure the remaining units to be equipped receive flintlock firearms. This will delay the reforms by 4 years or more
c. continue the reforms as usual (as in a), but then afterwards launch a secondary program to replace all firearms with flintlock firearms. This will be more costly, but you will be sure that your armed forces will be ready for action at full strength for the entire period
5. the HRE war against the Ottomans. If the Ottomans control free passage through Transylvania, they'll be able to threaten Europe in a completely new way. The biggest limiting factor to their expansion so far has been the terrain. On the other hand it might be a good thing if they threaten the Emperor and Poland. Maybe Béthlen could be convinced to block any larger Ottoman attacks but still continually raid and harass Hungary and Austria from his position, if he with Ottoman help defeats Báthory
a. send money for x mercenaries for y years to the Emperor
b. send money to Báthory and other anti-Ottoman, but pro-HRE Transylvanians
c. have discussions with Béthlen (i.e. Silver Rusher)
d. don't do anything
e. try to negotiate something to make the Ottomans abort their expansion
f. try to make both parts engage as aggressively as possible into this, so that both sides suffer heavy losses, with France and other neutrals coming out as victorious
6. do you wish to assist the Protestant Union and Brandenburg in some way in their defense against Tilly's siege? You might have to negotiate with Spain to allow you free passage through the Southern Netherlands or otherwise assure yourself of Spanish non-interference into this operation - otherwise it might be a quite risky business both diplomatically and militarily, unless the Spanish attack you during the passage and you get a good excuse for an attack on Spanish possessions needed to ventilate the French anti-Spanish sentiments if you can't ventilate it in other ways. The Protestant Union might have difficulties helping you supplying your forces in the HRE if you don't forewarn them some time in advance that you will send assistance to them. If you don't forewarn them, you might end up getting supply problems, and the Protestant Union might not like the terms on which you help them (but the latter could also be used to your advantage in some cases - waiting until the PU is close to defeat, then come in as a hero will allow you to demand more from them).
7. your Royal Intendents have found some 16 people they suggest are not handling their tasks well (corrupt or ineffective). They need your approval before replacing them. At least 5 of them seem to be among the Huguenots that are standing behind the La Rochelle incidents, the others are various Catholics and some neutral Huguenots. Which of these groups of people should be replaced at this time?
8. the Netherlands and Brandenburg and the silk treaty violations... Might be of interest to consider the possibilities here
9. do you wish to send anyone to the meeting Denmark offers to hold? They are willing to discuss the terms for membership of the PC (Protestant Coalition), intially formed on the initiative of the Netherlands. Denmark wish to hold this meeting to strengthen the cooperation between the PC, and possibly also make other nations than the current members join it. Who do you wish to send to the meeting? You could send yourself, a general, an emissary, someone else, or nobody.
HRE and AUSTRIA
1. Tilly's siege of Berlin. Brandenburg seems to have 300 men inside the city, and some 7,000 or more outside, while you have 8,000 men outside the city. The city defenses have so far only taken limited damage under your cannon bombardment
a. assault before winter. The city has a garrison of some 300 men, so they should be easy to defeat even without weakened defenses. However the forces outside the city will be problematic - if they attack your rear while you assault you are in trouble and might suffer huge losses and suffer a defeat
b. abort the siege and try to engage the opposing army. Hunt and pursue it for a month at the most, and if it can't be put to fight during that time retreat south before the winter. However if the army can be defeated crucially, go back to Berlin and continue the siege. Tilly will then assault immediately if he thinks the odds are extremely favorable, otherwise continue starving the garrison
c. as b, but if you win a crucial victory still retreat south during the winter
d. retreat immediately, the danger of enemy reinforcements is too large. The retreated troops could be used in Bohemia, or to assist Wallenstein, or to assist Báthory in Transylvania (please state where you wish to send them)
2. the situation in Bohemia. The rebels probably have less than 15,000 men left in Bohemia
a. leave 2,000 men in Prague, while sending the remaining 16,000 men to try and hunt down the rebel forces. Now that you control Prague you have excellent supply lines and a greater chance of being able to force the opponents to fight you. Wallenstein continues his operations elsewhere
b. leave 2,000 men in Prague, while sending the remaining 16,000 men along with Wallenstein's 5,000 men, for a total of 21,000 men, to try and hunt down the remaining rebel forces
c. ignore the rebels for now, and try to keep all supply routes open. Wallenstein continues his operations elsewhere, while you defend Prague with the 18,000 men. You could also send away part of these 18,000 men for operations elsewhere (to Wallenstein, Báthory in Transylvania, or Tilly - please state where you wish to send them)
3. the French threats of intervention. Removing the French excuse to go to war might be a good way of stirring up unrest in France again, if France would decide to intervene in the conflict. Another good thing would be to quickly defeat one of the enemies to avoid a multiple front war. Another interesting thing to note is that if the French control over Savoy increases as it seems to have done through their treaties, they might be able to cut off Spanish passage through the important Alp passes leading into the HRE from the south. If Spain can still be considered an ally of the HRE, this could be a bad thing. It also puts the Spanish garrison in the Southern Netherlands into a more problematic situation
a. try to make peace with Brandenburg - it will remove the French excuse to go to war
b. try to defeat Brandenburg crucially, but officially proclaim you promise to retreat as soon as the Brandenburg kurfürst is punished
c. retreat from Brandenburg - it might perhaps remove the French excuse to go to war
d. try to negotiate with Savoy (by PM - I play Savoy so contact me) to try and limit the French influence there
4. you are quite old now, but have no heirs. Someone must however be appointed to replace you as ruler over the Habsburg inherited possessions. In times like these when so much revolt, unrest and war is going on, it's probably necessary to settle the issue of succession before you die. Who do you wish to have as your heir (remember, this means heir to your Habsburg possessions which you have direct control over - the Emperor position however is appointed by election and is beyond your influence)?
a. Ferdinand II, your brother. He is ultra-Catholic and not likely to wish to show tolerance towards any Protestants
b. Tilly, your general. He is likely to wish to strengthen relations with Spain again
c. Wallenstein. You don't know much about him, but he seems determined to fight the Protestants aggressively
d. try to testament your Habsburg possessions to one of the Catholic League member kurfürsts
e. try to arrange a marriage with some Catholic League member kurfürst's daughter
f. try to arrange a marriage with some royal house abroad, specify which, and negotiate this by PM with that nation
5. the Netherlands and Brandenburg and the silk treaty violations... Might be of interest to consider the possibilities here
NETHERLANDS
1. you've scouted the Americas, Africa and India according to your treaties and wishes. Now it's probably time to send one or more expeditions to actually form a settlement in one or more of these places. Decide how many men to send and where to land them. As for already existing colonies, you have one small settlement in South East India, and a few small settlements in the East Indies, but the latter are held by the Dutch East India Company (but they have obligations to let the Dutch leadership exploit these regions as well). As for your West India Company, they've got some 5 ships but not yet enough men to establish a colony strong enough to be able to defend itself, and could need some 500 soldiers and 500 workers to build up something in Africa. In Africa, the French have already established positions at the Cape of Good Hope and Congo. In total you have enough men to launch expeditions to all these projects this turn - the main question is if you wish to spread out so quickly or whether you prefer to concentrate more effort into fewer colonies initially, and not expand further until they've become larger. If you wish to send troops to assist Brandenburg this turn, it might also be unwise to send away too many men from your homelands, especially when the Spanish still have their huge garrison in Southern Netherlands, that could perhaps wish to launch operations towards the free northern provinces
2. the HRE and the siege of Berlin
a. offer to send some 1,000-2,000 of your normal troops to assist the PU and Brandenburg (there will be a shortage of troops if you send expeditions to all of the colony projects you suggested so far at the same time you choose this option)
b. offer to send half of your Horse Guard to assist the PU and Brandenburg
c. offer money for 2,000 mercenaries
d. do nothing
3. do you wish to send anyone to the meeting Denmark offers to hold? They are willing to discuss the terms for membership of the PC (Protestant Coalition), intially formed on your initiative. Denmark wish to hold this meeting to strengthen the cooperation between the PC, and possibly also make other nations than the current members join it. Who do you wish to send to the meeting? You could send yourself, a general, an emissary, someone else, or nobody. Perhaps you wish to mark a leading role within the PC by making a counter-offer of holding the meeting in your homelands, trying to win the other nations to your meeting rather than the Danish one. If unsuccessful it could however split and weaken the coalition a bit.
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
1. Transylvania. Your campaign so far has been successful but not yet achieved any breakthrough. Now the enemy has shown up, giving you a chance for a battle before winter comes. You are currently low on supplies due to the difficult terrain up here, and must either decisively defeat Báthory or retreat south before October in order to not suffer excessive casualties
a. immediately assault Báthory's position with cannon support. Use the cavalry to strike his flanks, and then massively charge the Jannissaries into one flank while the other flank is pinned by the levies
b. stay defensive and send for some more guns from the south. Whether they have arrived or not (the reinforcements path might be raided) by the end of September, attack Báthory. The battle must be won, or a difficult retreat south awaits
c. retreat south and continue the campaign next year, or engage Báthory if he follows your retreat
d. something else, specify what
2. political treaties with Béthlen. For each of these decide what stance to choose:
i. who should control Transylvania? Béthlen, the Ottoman Sultan, or someone else?
ii. where should the border between Ottoman lands and Transylvania go? Should the forts you captured to the south be held by Ottomans in the future?
iii. what will be the exact terms of controlling Transylvania? If someone else than the Sultan is chosen, should he have any obligations to the Sultan? Should the status be one of protectorate (little Ottoman interference in politics), province (Ottoman influence over much of the politics), or ally?
iv. Béthlen wishes to put pressure on the Emperor by attacking Hungary once Báthory has been defeated. Should the Ottomans support this, try to prevent it, or be neutral in this matter?
v. how should an Ottoman path to Poland through Transylvania be created? It'll be difficult to organize such a path if someone else than the Sultan controls the region, but if the relations are friendly enough and the Ottomans pay plenty of money, another ruler could still provide an open path into Polish lands. Alternatively, you could work for a treaty where part of Transylvania is given to the Sultan, where he can build roads, forts and supply stations along the way, and pay the ruler of Transylvania to provide these supply stations with the needed supplies in case of an Ottoman war with Poland or the HRE. Remember that organizing supplies for a large army costs a lot, so whatever is offered in return for such help with opening a supply route will need to be a very good offer
vi. what duties will the Ottomans have towards Béthlen regarding assistance against the Emperor, Báthory and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, should any of them attack? What should officially be the policy of Ottoman interference in Transylvania politics? Some possibilities: a. neutral, b. support Béthlen in case of revolt, c. the Ottomans have a right interfere in Transylvanian politics if any decisions are made that would threaten the Ottoman possibility of sending troops through Transylvania into Poland or the HRE
3. the economical situation. Due to the war effort in Transylvania, and the 7,000 men that have been called in to garrison southern Moldavia to encourage larger-scale colonization near the mouth of Dnepr, and the fleet transports to keep both Moldavia and Transylvania supplied, you have larger annual expenses than annual income at this time. With your current treasury, you're capable of maintaining the current level of mobilization for around 5 years
POLAND
1. it's time to make political decisions regarding the parts of Russia that you hold, and Poland. Those of the Russian boyars that supported your heir will discuss with you the terms for your heir taking over the Tsar title. Below when I use the word Russia it means the parts of Russia held by your heir. These are the different subjects in which you need to make suggestions:
i. where to draw the border between Russia (held by your heir) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
ii. the power and influence of the boyars - will the duma be assembled regularly or when called together by your heir?
iii. how to keep the boyars generally happy with your heir - this probably requires that you can offer them something that assures them of keeping their influence, but at the same time they mustn't get too powerful and you wish to limit their abilities of overthrowing your heir, or forming Russia into a strong competitor to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
iv. what duties will the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth have in defeating Vasili's forces before that matter is handed over exclusively to your heir and his Russia? What duties and rights will the Commonwealth have in assisting the Russian Tsar in defeating revolts (it can be expected that even if Vasili is defeated there will could be many revolts in the coming years) in the nearest future?
v. when will Polish garrisons leave Moscow and be replaced by Russian garrisons only (but after this your heir will still be allowed to have a bodyguard force, which could still be Polish, as long as it's independent and not under the command of the Polish crown)
vi. order of succession in Russia - heir of previous Tsar taking over, or the Duma getting the power to elect a new Tsar whenever a Tsar dies? You could also suggest that Russia comes under the power of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth if/when your heir dies, at the risk of being perhaps too offensive
vii. would you like to try to marry your heir to some woman from a Russian boyar lineage, to reinforce his position?
2. military operations. For each of these, decide what you wish to do, if anything:
i. the siege of Pskov. Defenses not yet weakened much, and the garrison's supply situation is still good. Your own forces haven't suffered any notable losses to disease and starvation during summer, but a few dozen up to perhaps a few hundred could be lost during winter. The Swedish conquest of Riga hasn't cut off your supply routes, but weakened them, and future Swedish operations might cut off the supply routes. You can choose between trying to assault, continuing the siege hoping that the Swedish won't cut off supplies, or return to Livonia and engage small Swedish forces there and harass their supplies if they try to make any further advance from Riga (their supply routes from Riga would be weak if they choose to advance far from the city), or to retreat right away and try to move the retreated troops to help at Moscow, or to retreat to Livonia, receive reinforcements from Moscow, and strike the Swedish force aggressively if it advances from it's position in Riga, while being strictly defensive at Moscow (Moscow is difficult for Vasili to assault even against a small garrison, and the defenses there are undamaged, but the population might be disloyal to you there)
ii. Riga and Swedish threats in Livonia
iii. operations from Moscow. Possible missions include besieging Tver, Novgorod or Niznij Novgorod, and defense and garrisoning of Moscow
iv. the threats of invasion from Brandenburg. You could send some troops in preparation for any attacks from Brandenburg. Currently there's some 2,000 infantry near the region that could be threatened, and you have around 3,000 men (of which some 500 are husaria) in the heartlands of the Commonwealth, but they shouldn't be moved north except in case of emergency because they're needed for garrisoning (however their current policy will be to quickly march south in case of siege, and they're likely to be able to handle an enemy force of over 6,000 men together, then retreat south for garrisoning again). Additionally you have the 5,000 infantry levies available to call in through your recent reform. If you're sure that Brandenburg is hostile and will attack you, you could perhaps even attack them before they attack you, by either sending assistance to Tilly in his siege of Berlin, or by sending your Lisowczycy mercenaries or some of your Cossack mercenaries to freely conduct raids in Brandenburg territory. You also have a small fleet at your disposal, consisting of 2 old warships and 5 merchants
v. send any assistance to Báthory in Transylvania to try and stop or slow down the Ottoman offensive there?
3. do you wish to send a small force or money to support a naval operation to found a colony somewhere? Seeing what colonies have done to improve the economy of other nations, and how the Spanish-Portuguese near monopoly on colonies has ended, it might be a good time to do so. You could also try to send a trade operation to acquire goods from East India or China, even if the tolls along the way - especially the Danish "Oresundstolden" at the entrance to the Baltic will reduce the profits. Sending an experimental voyage could however perhaps give you valuable information on whether the profits of such trade will be good despite the tolls along the quite difficult way. Negotiating a right to pause in harbors owned by countries such as Spain, France and Netherlands along the way could be useful for trade such as this
4. do you wish to improve your fleet or recruit or disband any mercenaries for your army?
5. the Emperor has considered sending troops to support you in case of an attack from Brandenburg. You could negotiate terms for this by PM if you want his assistance. You could also offer assistance back to him if you think he's trustworthy
RUSSIA
1. the events at Tver, and the successful Russian assault of Smolensk before Moscow was lost, shows that the Polish forces might be a bit overextended and have lost part of their momentum, then there's some threat of invasion on other Polish fronts from Ottomans and Swedish forces. The Polish army is unfortunately still intact, but at home you've strenghtened your political position thanks to the somewhat slowed down Polish expansion. Your political actions at this time could be crucial for gaining or losing support. The Polish political decisions in Moscow will also be crucial, see Poland's options. For each of these options below, choose what you want to do:
i. do you wish to form a new Duma, consisting of those boyars that are loyal to you? Forming a new Duma could be a good propaganda measure, especially if you call it in often and let the boyars that are loyal to you have a say on what should be done next. You could perhaps also include representatives from merchant and peasant classes into some form of Duma or similar institution, but they mustn't receive too much influence there if the boyars are to be kept happy. Not forming any new Duma to compete with the one in Moscow might be bad for you in the short term, but in the future give you a good chance of working more independently without having to take advice from boyars (i.e. grant absolutism or near absolutism for yourself)
ii. what should you threaten to do with those of the boyars that support the Polish heir in Moscow (obviously you can't punish them now, since they're in Moscow, which you don't hold)? While the threat being high could make them give up support to the Polish heir, indicating that those who change sides will be safe might also be important. You must also make some statement about what should happen with boyars that support neither you nor the Polish heir
iii. how use rewards and encouragements to Russians serving the Polish heir to make them desert him and join you?
iv. what should be done about the position of the poorest in Russia? They are a good source of levy troops, but strengthening their position too much wouldn't be popular among the boyars. On the other hand, if you under i) chose to punish boyars that support the Polish heir, one possibility would be that if you would confiscate the land of boyars supporting the Polish heir and give it to those boyars that support you, you could improve the situation for the poor while the loyal boyars would increase their power, at the expense of illoyal boyars, assuring you of support from both loyal boyars, and the poor, but in return decreasing the chances of the illoyal boyars changing sides, and their support for the Polish heir maybe increasing. You could also choose to make no changes here, and request your advisors to report what they think the result of each possible option would be
2. military operations. For each of these, decide what, if anything, should be done:
i. your Tver garrison has now received new supplies. You could choose to leave them in the city and move away your main army. Alternatively you could choose to, as a reward for the loyalty of the garrison troops, replace them with some fresh troops while letting the troops from the Tver garrison go somewhere else, for example join the main army, or just retreat to Niznij Novgorod and rest
ii. your main army is currently outside Tver. Where would you like to send it now? Seeing as some Polish troops are currently at Pskov, it's likely they were withdrawn from Moscow, meaning a weakened Polish garrison there (on the other hand you know little about the exact Polish numbers there). You could of course choose to just send spies to scout out Moscow for now
iii. the Ottomans tried to support you through Moldavia, but without much result. Perhaps you could use much of your main army, and your 10,000 men garrisons to the south, to launch operations against the Zaporozhian Cossacks to try and open a path towards Kiev. Perhaps you could even use Russian troops to threaten Kiev, or try to have small Ottoman and Russian forces converge and together form a fairly strong army outside Kiev. Or you could just order a few spies to try and find out information about the feasibility of any such operation
iv. assist Pskov in any way? The best supply routes to Pskov go via Tver, so it's essential for you to keep Tver under your control to be able to send more than some 5,000-8,000 men to help Pskov. If the route is open, the path is free for sending up to 20,000 men there. In return, you know that Polish supply lines from Livonia to Pskov are also quite weak, which means they might not be able to reinforce their besieging force much. Perhaps you could also choose to send some small raids of some 300 men towards their supply lines to Pskov
v. you could always offer the Swedish control over Pskov after the Polish war has ended, if in return they lift the Polish siege there
SPAIN
1. some peaceful Spanish travellers and merchants (i.e. not spies) in France have picked up signs of anti-Spanish sentiments. France has used the previously captured Spanish spies as a means of stirring up fear to be able to carry out a reform that removes the Huguenot rights to maintain garrisons payed by the crown. It was supposedly initially intended to remain secret that these spies had been captured, but against the will of the French leader Sully it leaked out publicly. To save his face, the French king might be forced into some form of hostility against Spain. It's probably in the interest of Spain to make sure peaceful relations can be kept, even if Spanish forces should be capable of handling aggression from the French army. What should be done?
a. do nothing
b. have negotiations with the French. Sully and you might come up with a solution that makes the French calm down, while still assuring you of your safety. Even if Sully wishes to avoid war (probably likely, considering that his army is undergoing a quite drastic reform and not ready for action against professional Spanish tercios), it's important in the long term perspective that the French people calms down, because Sully will one day be replaced by someone else
c. have negotiations with the French. Sully and you might come up with a solution that makes the French calm down and result in favorable terms to both of you. Sully might need some charade from your side to save his face, and in return you could demand one of the things you need most - money to pay off some 5% of the debt (which corresponds to around 1-2 years of French income). Such a money payment could probably be kept secret
d. suggest to the French king a marriage between the royal houses of Spain and France as a sign of friendship. You could always find someone suitable that is as closely related as possible to the Spanish king
2. the French interests in Savoy. Savoy has previously been quite closely related to Spain by earlier marriage between Savoy and Spain, resulting in almost free Spanish military access. If France intervenes here, they might see it in their interests to block any Spanish military access. The main reason why this military access is important for Spain is that it keeps open one of the most crucial Alp passes Spanish troops could use to reach the HRE. However as it is now, with the relations to the HRE having gone colder, the Alp pass might be of less importance to Spain than before. But - it also puts the Spanish garrison in the Southern Netherlands into a more problematic situation in case the Channel is blockaded in the future. If that Alp pass is cut off and the Emperor is unfriendly, the only ways of getting the garrison there back would be by trying to move it through hostile and neutral lands - perhaps through the Alps and Genoa and Florence, or perhaps through France. If they also gain influence over Genoa and Florence, your last desperate land path from Southern Netherlands will be lost
a. let the French have Savoy, and anything else, as long as they don't attack Spanish positions
b. warn them that they may not expand their influence any further in Italy, or they will face consequences
c. more diplomatically politely try to prevent them from expanding any further
d. try to demand that Savoy stil allows free passage through the Alp pass for any Spanish forces, and that the French accept this treaty as well. You probably need to offer something suitable in return for this
3. things to do after the war. For each of these, decide what to do:
i. the commander in Ireland - reward him by promotion or not?
ii. try to negotiate bases in Ireland with the southwest Irish rebels? You can choose one of three stances: negotiate it at all costs offering as much money as is needed, negotiate it at all costs using threats, negotiate it with a reasonable counter-offer (in money or protection) but abort the attempt if it fails
iii. rebuilding of your fleet. All your shipyards could be kept in action to producte 2 warships a year, and 1 warship a year from the EIC, for a total of 3 warships a year. You received 2 new ships (of high quality) that were produced this summer, and 5 additional ships coming from England, making for a total of 55 warships (of which 5 are of extremely high quality), several galleys, and 130 merchants
iv. your armed forces will continue their reforms if no change is made. These reforms include increasing the amount of cannon and cavalry support, and improvements of shore batteries, as well as reorganizing the command structure according to your suggested pattern. These reforms will take around 3 years more to complete
4. the Portuguese revolt. There's limited information about the size of the Portuguese forces, but it would probably be unrealistic to assume they'd have anything stronger than a force corresponding to around 2 tercios
a. leave 1,000 men in Porto and march down 1 and a half tercio (one of these tercios will be the one from Ireland, which now has some war experience and also plenty of cavalry and cannons - it's one of the few tercios which have already gone through the suggested reforms) to Lisboa to retake the city quickly
b. leave 1,000 men in Porto and send reinforcements of 1 tercio from Castile, then march south through Portugal, carefully leaving garrisons of around 500-1,000 men in all key positions, and make sure supply routes are kept open. They will scout extensively and retreat to fortifications if met by superior force, but probably not be able to secure all key locations until next year. Also concentrate on searching for the location of any larger Portuguese forces, survey their bases and approximately determine their strength
c. as a, but also send an additional tercio towards Lisboa from the southeast. It's probable that they'll have cleared all important positions down to Lisboa before the end of the year
d. as b, but also send the tercio you have to the southeast to converge on Lisboa with the forces from the north
e. as c, but also send yet another tercio from the southeast, meaning almost 4 tercios will converge on Lisboa
f. something else, specify
5. army cost efficiency reforms. Your current debt situation calls for more reforms to make the army more cost efficient. If 5% of the debts are to be payed off every half year in the coming years (not counting the foreign assistance from England - their assistance will bring even more income), something similar to the suggestion below must be done. Note that the debt repaying speed will increase even more after around 5 years, when many of your reforms start to get completed. If the debt is payed off quickly according to this program, the resulting encouraging of merchants and trade will increase repaying speed to perhaps 8% per half year around the time when about 20% of the debt remains to be payed off. The result would be complete removal of the debts in less than 5 years from now. The current army size (without forming the second new tercio you suggested, but keeping the first new tercio) reduces debt repaying speed to only 1% per half year (not including the English payments), but likely to increase to 2-3% when your reforms get closer to completion in around 5 years, then even more as the debt goes down to some 20%. That would mean debts completely gone in around 10-15 years
- reduce colonial troops to 1 tercio for the Americas, the rest being replaced by some 15,000 auxilia forces
- 14 tercios with cannon and cavalry support, and 8,000 Royal Garrison forces for Europe
- a national guard of some 30,000-50,000 conscripted levy forces could be formed for the defense of the Iberian peninsula, but not be called in in peacetime. For defense, it would compensate for the reduction of tercio strength (and the increasing French military strength), but this force would not be suitable for offensive wars. Equipping them should have low priority as long as the reforms for the more professional forces aren't ready
- the in PM suggested force kept
- the tercios would still have their improved cavalry and cannon support as suggested by your reforms
6. French situation with the Huguenots. Do you wish to send any assistance to either side? One way of showing yourself friendly to France could be to assist them if they decide to wage war on the Huguenots. However it could also be a bad idea if it strengthens the French army by uniting Huguenot, Catholic and Royal forces. You could alternatively send secret support to the Huguenots by mercenaries etc... Alternatively, if you disband some parts of your ground army, Spanish professional mercenaries would probably become available to the Huguenots, and they're likely to hire them even if you don't interfere. That wouldn't be a hostile act, and might weaken France.
7. your mission to oversee the administration, industry and agricultural production have suggested replacements of some 8 persons within your administrative systems. They have also made significant improvements to your war industry efficiency, which will help you finishing your reforms more quickly. Your economical situation has improved significantly by the end of the war, and your purchase of the EIC shares was successful. The shares got much more valuable suddenly, and you made a good deal there, and now control the company completely (even if some shareholdes feel a bit tricked by your quickly coordinated buying operation). After peace, rerouting of silver fleets and recommence of trade, around 63% of the debts remain to be payed off after last turn (with 59 after the English payed their 4%). Your cannon factories and other crucial industries are being moved to the Iberian peninsula now that the Channel blockade has ended. There's also a wave of Irish immigrants to your territories, which provide additional work force. Thanks to your quite impressive peace treaty with the English, your foreign politics position has improved, but your trade situation is still problematic due to the debt, and your affairs with the EIC and attacks on merchants during the war, but that is likely to improve once your debt goes down to some 20-30%, thanks to among other things your suprisingly favorable peace treaty with the English. Tell if there's anything you wish to change in these departments.
SWEDEN
1. Riga. What will be your next move? The Polish forces are still almost completely intact, but distributed differently. The question is whether they're overextended enough to allow for further campaigning into Polish lands
a. make peace with the Polish, on the condition that they admit your right to Riga and all of Livonia. This would certainly assure you of a near monopoly on the Russian trade if the position could be kept in the future and Danish attacks based on a desire to intervene against your powerful position could be held off
b. suggest the peace conditions under a to the Polish, and while the negotiation are carried out continue advancing and capturing all key positions you can in the vicinity of Riga, to make the negotiations with Poland more likely to succeed faster and with terms that are more acceptable to you personally
c. march to Pskov, where the Polish forces are besieging the Russian garrison. Relieve that siege and try to eliminate the Polish force there. From your spies' reports, it should be small enough to be possible for your large army to defeat, but if it's reinforced you might be in trouble, and if it isn't reinforced it might try to stay out of action and thus be difficult to catch. If you do relieve this siege, it would probably help the Russians immensely, and perhaps in return for such assistance you could convince Vasili to, once the war with Poland is over, hand over the city to you as thanks for the help, or in some other way reward you, or you could just consider it enough reward if your joint operations could destroy the small Polish force there
d. just defend Riga with a garrison of 4,000 men, repair all damages and keep them well supplied, if needed with help from the fleet. Move the rest of the forces to Keksholm, Karelia, and northern Livonia to defend against any Polish raids. In the meantime negotiate peace
2. your fleet during these operations. Last time you carried out operations outside Riga the Danish intervened, so it might not seem entirely unreasonable that they will do so again...
a. send the fleet home, making it difficult to maintain more than a small number of troops (some 5,000) to defend Riga, while the rest stay as reserves in your northern Livonia possessions
b. keep the fleet there, but with orders to scout the waters west and northwest of the opening of the Gulf of Riga to make sure no Danish or any other fleet intervenes. If any enemies are spotted, hopefully the scout ships can return and warn the others, and they can escape from the Gulf through the Straits east of Hiiumaa and avoid being trapped by any enemies
c. send one of your fastest ships to scout out Oresund. It could move to inform the Gulf of Riga ships if any Danish fleet is moving away from the Sound Straits and heading for Riga. Again if warned of any threats the fleet will escape east of Hiiumaa
d. don't bother scouting, as it'll slow down logistics and transportation of supplies etc.
3. do you wish to send anyone to the meeting Denmark offers to hold? They are willing to discuss the terms for membership of the PC (Protestant Coalition), intially formed on the initiative of the Netherlands. Denmark wish to hold this meeting to strengthen the cooperation between the PC, and possibly also make other nations than the current members join it. Who do you wish to send to the meeting? You could send yourself, a general, an emissary, someone else, or nobody.
TRANSYLVANIA
See the Ottoman options above! You're currently being supported by the Ottomans in your civil war/rising against Báthory. Your men provide important guidance to the Ottomans about the terrain, and also provide 10,000 men, constantly increasing as you've gained quite a lot of support against Báthory, and you expect to be able to muster some 25,000 by next spring if needed. Your tasks this turn will therefore be a little special:
1. discuss the terms for the cooperation with the Ottomans. It's obviously in your interest to get as much land as possible and an as independent position as possible from the Ottomans, however you probably also have to show your gratitude to their support in some way or another. But it could be a bad thing to allow the Ottomans too much free passage through your lands, as it would hurt the country to supply their large armies and they mustn't get the impression that they can demand too much early, or it'll be difficult to recall their privileges
2. have diplomatical discussions with the Ottomans, the HRE, Poland and other regions that could be interesting to have discussions with at this time. The HRE have a status of near emnity with you, but they have better relations to Báthory. You also have a good recruitment pool and a possible source of influence in Hungary and Bohemia, especially among Protestants there. The big question is what strategy to choose. You have some ways of threatening the HRE and Poland, by allowing free passage of Ottoman troops and by raiding their lands, but you can also in return for decreasing that support to the Ottomans make demands in return on the HRE and Poland, perhaps for them to give you some land (in particular the Bohemian and Hungarian pieces of land from which you can recruit troops and where the population prefers the religious tolerance they think you'll provide). It's important to balance well between the Ottomans and the HRE, or there's a risk that Transylvania will end up being divided between the HRE and the Ottomans
3. together with the Ottomans lay out military plans for the campaign in Transylvania against Báthory. You can always threaten send to away your guides for the terrain, which would be very problematic for the Ottomans, as a means of convincing them to do as you wish. As said above you can expect to have some 25,000 men by next spring. In gaining so much men for your side, you can expect the Ottoman assistance to become less needed, and it'll also become easier to make them leave, especially if you can defeat Báthory
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