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Thread: 17th century

  1. #61
    Humanist Senior Member Franconicus's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Don`t know what is going on here? First you kill my king, then you stop the show

  2. #62
    Kanto Kanrei Member Marshal Murat's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Excuse my ignorance.
    What the heck???
    "Nietzsche is dead" - God

    "I agree, although I support China I support anyone discovering things for Science and humanity." - lenin96

    Re: Pursuit of happiness
    Have you just been dumped?

    I ask because it's usually something like that which causes outbursts like this, needless to say I dissagree completely.

  3. #63
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Hm I misunderstood something. I was overworked and had a headache and stuff, then many things happened to coincide. I think now that it was just a coincidence. You can forget all strange things that have happened the last hours, I'll continue the interactive after all. Sorry for any inconvenience.

    Edit: oh and if those who this inconvenience struck want any compensation in the story plz send a PM, I'll work something out.

    Edit: could mods plz delete posts 50-63? thanks in advance!
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 08-28-2006 at 08:58.
    Under construction...

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  4. #64
    Join the ICLADOLLABOJADALLA! Member IrishArmenian's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Edit: Posted without reading above^. Delete this again, I apologize for all the work I am giving the moderators.
    Last edited by IrishArmenian; 08-27-2006 at 20:40.

    "Half of your brain is that of a ten year old and the other half is that of a ten year old that chainsmokes and drinks his liver dead!" --Hagop Beegan

  5. #65
    Nec Pluribus Impar Member SwordsMaster's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    The Courts and His Majesty the King of Spain announce:

    That Spain will not invade French territory in this time of turmoil, as long as the regent of the country shows no aggression towards us and he is a good Catholic.

    We also expect the French ports to be closed in mourning for the Monarch, and so advise our traders and captains to not make sail for France, until the ports are reopened, and use their zeal elsewhere to make the most profit for them, and the Crown.

    In the case of a breakout of hostilities in Europe, Spain will do everything possible to mantain the balance of power in Europe, and protect it from the enemies of Catholicism.

    We hope our merchants can make profitable deals with France once the borders are again open.

    Signed in Madrid, 1 of May of the Year of Our Lord 1610
    Managing perceptions goes hand in hand with managing expectations - Masamune

    Pie is merely the power of the state intruding into the private lives of the working class. - Beirut

  6. #66
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Currently waiting for turn decisions from England, France and Sweden before I can post the next chapter
    Under construction...

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  7. #67
    Humanist Senior Member Franconicus's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    All French noblemen are ordered to come to Paris immediately. There they can show their sympathy and loyalty to the King. King Henri will announce his testament.

    The Royal Army will guarantee the security.

    King Henri IV.

    =============================================

    Declaration of Notre-Dame de Paris
    Lords, people of France

    Le Bon Roi is dead! He has never been the King of the Catholics, nor the King of the Huguenots. He has always been the King of France. His government was guided by the love for God and the love for his people, the French. He was killed by the bullet of an assassin, a misguided fanatic. The murderer has been arrested and is waiting for his punishment.

    Before he died, King Henry gathered his noblemen for a last time and told them his last will. He handed his crowns to his son. Until his son will be able to run the government himself, King Henry appointed his old friend guardian, Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully. According to the wish of King Henri, Maximilien will become Catholic and receive the title “Maréchal de France”. May the Lord be with him all the time!

    The new king will be raised at Navarro, where he will learn the people and their life in the country. He will also be a recruit of his own guard, the Guard de la Gascoigne. After three years he will enter the Akademie Royale d’Agcriculture et Ingenierie, as well as the Akademie Royale d’Armee.

    Due to the will of King Henry the new government will continue with politics, based on love for and fear of the Lord as well as love for all people regardless of their rank and religion. Therefore freedom of religion and free competition between the faiths will be guaranteed. The government will increase the separation of the administration and the churches. This will strengthen the position of the nobility, the most important support of the nation. The final goal of the government is to improve the life of every French man and woman.

    The dolor about the severe loss has accumulated us here today; the dolor shows us that we are one people. Let us keep this unity to fight our enemies from inside and outside. The English are collecting their forces for an invasion. We do not have to fear them as long as we stand together as one.

    The murderer of our good king has been arrested; the backers are still free. They will be caught and receive their punishment. However, we all know the source of this evil; there are men, who press ahead the schism of Christianity for their own advantage. Those accursed miscreants, even worse enemies of Jesus Christ than the hordes of the Saracens, we all know them well; and so does the Lord. The court of justice is already waiting for them.

    Let us thank the King of Spain for his advice and support in this sad hour. We thank the Lord that He sent us this friend in the hours of darkness.

    Before we guide the King to his last rest, where the lords take the oath of loyalty for the new king and his government, let us pray for the soul of King Henry and the ask the Lord to save our country and to help our new king!
    Last edited by Franconicus; 08-29-2006 at 09:40.

  8. #68
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Currently awaiting turn decisions from Sweden
    Under construction...

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  9. #69
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    CHAPTER 4 - August 1st, 1610 AD
    ...this chapter will affect the events from August 1st, 1610 AD to March 1st, 1611 AD

    Outside Riga, Polish forces engage the Swedish forces in August. After a few initial manouvres, the Polish forces quickly note that the Swedish force has learnt from their mistakes in the battle of Kirchholm several years earlier. They don't fall for fake retreats, and are generally more disciplined. They don't abandon their fortified position and are not eager to break ranks to pursue the enemy. They are also close to their own ships, meaning the chase from Kirchholm, which cost the Swedish half their army last time, will not be repeated. Finally they are trying to keep their cavalry out of action in the early phase of the battle, which means the Polish troops will not be able to rout the cavalry first and then approach the Swedish lines. Knowing this, the Polish commander still decides to engage the force and attempt to relieve the siege. Riga is an important key city in controlling the trade with the Russians, and even if the Polish troops lose they're mostly hussars and capable of keeping losses down in a retreat. The battle begins with the Polish gun crews and infantry approaching the Swedish position. The Polish cavalry is mostly positioned on the flanks, with a small number of hussars in the center. The Swedish gun crews have an advantage in numbers as the Polish experience difficulties in bringing guns from inside the city out to the battlefield. However the main Polish strength lies in the hussar charge, which is quickly launched towards the flanks of the Swedish army. The Polish right flank splits up in half to engage the Hakkapeliitta, but the latter retreat out of the way behind the Swedish line. The Polish have to decide to either chase them and reduce the effectiveness of their charge against the Swedish infantry, or ignore them temporarily at the risk of being outflanked and forced into retreat. They choose the latter, and their fears come true within a few minutes, as the Hakkapeliitta charge an exposed part of the Polish pincer manouvre. Due to the necessary splitting of Polish forces, there are only 1,500 hussaria against 2,500 Swedish cavalrymen on this flank and they are split up and not organized to stand up to a charge from the rear so suddenly. They are forced to retreat to regroup and recharge the Swedish cavalry, but the latter have now withdrawn behind their line again, out of reach, trying to repeat the same manouvre as last time. A bit surprised by the unexpected moves from the Swedish general, the Polish commander decides to sound the retreat, certain that only 500-1,000 more men would have meant a crushing victory. The Polish have only lost 400 hussars but at least 600 horses, leaving 200 of the hussars without mounts, and they have also lost 100 infantry. The Swedish on the other hand have lost nearly 800 infantry and 300 cavalry. The Polish manage to sneak in some supplies to the Riga garrison during the course of battle, but are unable to put the 5 guns taken from the city back inside, however the garrison is still quite strong.

    Only days after the battle the Swedish fleet engages the Danish outside Riga. The Swedish admiral initially fight the Danish with only 3 ships, but at a crucial moment the arrival of 5 more turn the odds into his favor, and 2 of the Danish ships are sunk, while a 3rd is boarded and captured after a long fight, the rest managing to escape. Two of the Swedish ships have been damaged in the battle and must return to Stockholm, however the remaining force begins a naval bombardment of the Riga garrison to assist the besieging force. While the previous bombardment was unable to create any breaches, the ships manage to weaken the defenses near the coastline. The siege force is initially led to believe the rest of the siege is going to be easy, with the arrival of Swedish mercenaries and a small Russian task force by June, but soon get increasingly worried as more hussars assemble in the Polish camp close to the city. While the Swedish force has been reinforced by some 1,000-2,000 Cossack cavalrymen and a total of almost 1,500 infantry, the Polish seem to have been reinforced by what seems to be several thousand hussars outside the city.

    The siege of Smolensk ends in a bloody battle, as the Polish forces begin what is intended to be the final assault. The Russian garrison has redistributed their guns to be more heavily concentrated on the breaches, but while this increases the Polish casualties, the disease-struck and nearly starved garrison is unable to stop the Polish assault. Russian scouts arrive as the assault is nearing its end, seeing 7,000 hussars, 2,000 Polish infantry, 4,000 mercenary infantry, 500 mercenary light cavalry, 30 guns and 2,000 Ukrainian Cossacks storm through the breeches. The scout force consider launching a small attack against the Polish gun positions, but find it too heavily guarded by a group of hussars. Instead they retreat and return to Moscow where they report that the Polish have lost 1,000 mercenary infantry, 1,000 Polish infantry and a small number of men from each of the other troop types in the battle, while the Russian garrison lost 1,000 or more, with the survivors having surrendered, becoming prisoners. As soon as the city falls, a ruthless pillaging of the city begins, led by the Polish semi-irregular mercenary bands. After the battle 5 Polish former prisoners of the Russian Tsar arrive at the city. The troops are surprised at the Russians letting them go without any consequences. Is it a way of making Poland on more friendly terms for a peace treaty, or is it a sign to show Polish troops that the Russians are not cruel and that capture or defeat will not mean death?

    Danish forces begin an invasion of Sweden in May. The fortress of Älvsborg is quickly captured by a combined operation from the Danish fleet and ground forces, forcing the Swedish garrison to surrender after having killed less than 50 Danish troops. After the capture of the fortress, the Danish army regroups and begins a march towards Kalmar, which is put under siege while the countryside around the city is raided heavily in order to supply the large Danish army. A Norwegian operation engages and routs the Swedish forces on the Norwegian border, who suffer around 100 losses before retreating towards Stockholm, the Norwegians retreating back west into Norway.

    In the Holy Roman Empire, the Protestant Union has seen it necessary to settle their discussions about who should inherit Jülich-Kleve. It is agreed that the areas are inherited by Brandenburg. In the meantime, revolts break out in Bohemia as the Emperor calls back the right of the local population to practise their religion. Several Catholic bishops sent to the area are attacked, and by the end of the summer Catholic and Protestant forces comprised of local levies, retired mercenaries and soldiers clash in Bohemia, resulting in a victory for the Protestant force which quickly grows to a strength of some 15,000 men, with volunteers and mercenaries from the Protestant Union joining them. The Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph is dying, and there are already discussions for who should replace him by the winter, when the physicians expect him to be dead. The brother, Matthias, so far only has influence over troops of the Catholic League and a small army of some 15,000 Austrian troops of which at least 10,000 are needed for defense against the Ottomans and in Transylvania, while the Emperor has no own army to speak of.

    Unrest also grows in Portugal and France, however in nowhere the same proportions as in Bohemia. The rebel spirit among the Catholics is for a moment strengthened by contrary rumors of the king's death and survival, rumors of the king's involvement with the Protestant union, and fueled further by a Spanish statement of full support to the Catholics in France and asylum for any Catholic refugees that would have to leave the country if it would fall under Protestant leadership. The situation between Spain and England is severed by an English announcement of military support to the Huguenots in France in case of a civil war. However the rebellious spirit within France dies out - at least temporarily - after a few well chosen moves from the dying French king. He appoints his economical advisor Sully as chief guardian of his son, makes him convert to Catholicism, and respond to the Spanish statements of military intervention on the Catholic side by thanking for their support, and making further guarantees for the safety of the Catholics within the nation.

    In the meantime the unrest among the sailors in Portugal ends while there is unhappiness among the nobility about a new tax for servants intended to increase the efficiency of the Spanish economy, along with a tax for land not used for farming. The Spanish also copy the French system of "work rights" giving reduced tax to the buyer, causing some unrest among the poorer workers who are unable to buy these rights, but popular among the others as it reduces their taxes. It gives a temporary boost to the crown treasury, allowing the repaying of 22% of the debt by the end of the summer, but most of the gains are temporary, the annual income going to sink to previous levels again once the remaining 50% of possible "work rights" have been sold.

    In Russia, the civil war is again heated by renewed suggestions for accepting the Polish heir for Tsar. A little more than half of the boyars in the Duma decide to accept the offer while the other half supports Vasili. Vasili is forced to flee towards Niznij Novgorod while maintaining control over the Russian main army and having support from several of the boyars, while in the meantime the remaining boyars stay in Moscow with some 10,000 troops under their command.

    England reestablish their colony in Virginia while with the help of French ships beginning a blockade of the English channel. Several Spanish ships are confiscated accused of contraband, and pirates also attack several Spanish vessels. The Spanish pirate hunting force engages 3 ships of which one is captured but must be abandoned after its water intake is impossible to stop and it sinks. In response to the Channel blockage and the fact that some pirates have sailed under English flags, the Spanish pirate hunting force retreats to Lisboa to ask for further orders - whether to engage the Anglo-French and Dutch blockade ships or not. They also bring a report to the Spanish king that the Anglo-French channel fleet consists of around 35 warships. The Spanish garrison in Southern Netherlands is practically isolated by the blockade. The English make an official statement that they condemn the piracy but that the blockade will be maintained for a while.

    Spain also captured a few suspect English, probably agents, in Sevilla. They have not yet revealed what they were doing there. Several seem to have escaped from the area returning to England. A Spanish cannon factory is constructed in Breda.

    In the Philippines, Dutch ships conquer settlements from the natives, but avoid confrontation with Spanish ships. Omani Arabs raid Portuguese East African colonies and besiege several forts, however they are repelled after inflicting around 800 casualties on the Spanish garrison in the area, which is now dangerously small - only around 1,800 men.

    Work on building a French shipyard begins in Brest. France also forms a new elite corps of 1,000 soldiers, "Guard de la Gascoigne", used for protecting the King. Finally they establish a colony Nouvelle France at the mouth of the river Saint Laurent, where fortifications, harbor and trade centers are constructed. France announce that they are selling of 15 galleys from their Mediterranean fleet.

    Diplomatic discussions have taken place between France and Papacy and England, England and Netherlands, and Sweden and Spain, however no information apart from the official statements mentioned above have leaked out from these meetings.



    ENGLAND

    1. the blockade of the Channel, perhaps negotiate with Spain by PM
    a. maintain it
    b. end it

    2. your captured agents might leak out information. You could ransom them back on the promise of the Spanish not inquiring them (by PM). Some of the returning agents have however given you the information you wanted (I'll send it to you by PM).

    3. try to carry out the action that the agents gave you information for before it is revealed by one of the captured agents?
    a. yes, specify how many forces to send
    b. no

    4. colonies - the force in Virginia report that they have a good chance of expanding their current holdings by about 200% in the coming two years if only provided with 500 more troops. However in order to conquer positions in Bermuda or elsewhere in the Carribbean, you would need 2,000-3,000 more troops. While expansion near Virginia would be able to share a mobile central garrison, holdings in the Carribean would be isolated from the other garrison and would need a local strong garrison.
    a. send troops to be able to expand from Virginia
    b. send troops to be able to capture the Bermudas
    c. send troops to be able to to both
    d. send no troops and withdraw some ships from North America to engage them in what could possibly turn into a war with Spain, at the expense of not being able to improve English economy as much as colonial expansion would do

    5. choose a stance on aggressive French colonial expansion. The more the French expand, the worse for English colonies. How should the French expansion be kept down? Is a treaty for dividing the land necessary?


    FRANCE

    1. what stance to have in the Jülich-Kleve affair? What to do if the Holy Roman Emperor keeps the region now that the heirs have resolved their conflict, and what to do if he hands it over? Because Spain are allied to the HRE it might be useful to deal with the Spanish garrison in Southern Netherlands as a diversion.

    2. do you wish to support the Protestant Union in Bohemia with any mercenaries in their struggle?

    3. your recon fleet from North America has returned. It gives you the following maps showing which regions are held by British and which are held by Spanish forces:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spanish_Empire.png
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:M...g_Virginia.png

    4. colonial expansion. The garrison in Nouvelle France report that they would be able to establish a few more colonies both along the coast and further up the river with your permission, on the condition that some the 5 French warships currently in the region would stay in the area for quick transport of the troops between the regions in case of fighting with the natives. They also request 100 cannons for the fortresses they would construct
    a. send what they request, take the cannons from the French fleet and replace them over the coming 3 years from factories within France and abroad (possibly from Spain, negotiate this by PM)
    b. as a, but take the cannons from the French army garrisons and replace them over the coming 3 years
    c. don't send any more at this time due to the remaining internal problems in France

    5. choose a stance on aggressive English colonial expansion. The more the English expand, the worse for French colonies. How should the English expansion be kept down? Is a treaty for dividing the land necessary?

    6. risks of civil war. What to do?
    a. survey the troops to find out how large percentage of your current troops are Catholic, how many are Protestant and how many are loyal only to the king
    b. when recruiting new troops, try to recruit them mainly among Protestants
    c. when recruiting new troops, try to recruit them mainly among Catholics

    7. recruitment to the new Guard de la Gascoigne elite corps
    a. try to make sure about half are Protestant and half are Catholics
    b. try to make sure most are Protestants
    c. try to make sure most are Catholics
    d. try to make sure all are Protestants
    e. try to make sure all are Catholics


    HRE and AUSTRIA

    1. now that the Protestants have decided which of the two Protestant regions should inherit Jülich-Kleve, namely Brandenburg, you should according to your previous statements hand over the region to them.
    a. yes
    b. no, keep it even if it means a threat of a huge war with all Protestants within the Holy Roman Empire. While such a war would mean extreme opposition for you to face, it would also cause the mobilization of many Catholics to the Catholic League if Protestants would go on the offensive.
    c. yes, but also demand that Brandenburg allow free passage of troops of Catholic League through the territories to deal with "illegal revolts"

    2. the rebellion in Bohemia
    a. send Tilly with his current army of 5,000 men (not completely trained yet) to carefully campaign against the Protestants in the autumn and avoid battle except when he can find an isolated smaller force, but mainly concentrating on scouting out the strength and distribution of the enemy forces, then retreat to Catholic provinces over the winter and prepare for a campaign next spring
    b. as a, but also provide them with money for 5,000 mercenaries. You'll be able to support such a large force of mercenaries for 2 years with the finances of Austria. When you become Holy Roman Emperor you would get access to finances to support an additional 8,000 mercenaries for 10 years.
    c. as a, but also send the 5,000 Austrian troops to join the campaign
    d. as b, but also send the 5,000 Austrian troops to join the campaign
    e. do nothing until the Catholic League has more forces trained. Tilly would be able to train an additional 5,000 men in the coming year

    3. support from abroad. You're currently allied to the Spanish. It might be useful to request their assistance (by PM) to coordinate operations. While they're in economical debt at the moment and unlikely to be able to send any mercenaries or money for support, they might be able to support you with their large garrison in Southern Netherlands or the forces currently located in Italy.


    POLAND

    1. siege of Riga
    a. attack the Swedish force right away with your new reinforcements
    b. just stay back and attack the Swedish force in their rear in case they try to assault Riga
    c. try to sneak in more supplies to the garrison

    2. garrisoning of Smolensk. Smolensk is not likely to have problems with rebellion, but it might be useful to put a garrison there for strategic purposes. Specify how many of the troops currently in Smolensk to use as garrison and which of them should act as garrison. You have 1,000 hussars, 1,000 infantry, 3,000 mercenary infantry, 500 mercenary cavalry, 30 guns + 200 captured guns. You also have 6,000 Lisowczycy hussars and 2,000 Ukrainian Cossacks, however the latter aren't suited to garrison duty. It might be useful to as quickly as possible find a new target for the irregular mercenaries to besiege to prevent desertion.

    3. what to do with the remaining forces currently in Smolensk?
    a. send some to Riga, specify which
    b. form a field army of the remaining troops and march on to another Russian city, specify which
    c. as b, but only move around the army near Smolensk to intercept and engage Russian forces outside

    4. the offer of your heir as Tsar. If you accept you might also need to prepare troops for the garrisoning of Moscow from next autumn.
    a. accept, immediately have him convert to the Orthodox faith
    b. accept, but take advantage of the situation to seize Moscow for Poland and skip the conversion to Orthodox faith
    c. decline, but make peace with Russia instead (by PM)

    5. disband any mercenaries? They cost a lot but you can still support the current army strength for 1.5 years more

    6. what to do about the Russian captives?
    a. ransom them back
    b. offer them back as part of a peace treaty
    c. kill them all
    d. let them go


    RUSSIA

    1. what to do in the civil war? With you not too low popularity it's likely that the acceptance shown to the proposal of a Polish heir as Tsar is more due to a belief that you're unable to defeat the Polish than impopularity. If you can defeat the Polish or negotiate a favorable peace with them your position is likely to be reinforced. However now that you lost Smolensk, you're unable to give away Smolensk on condition of peace, which means you would perhaps have to give up other land to successfully convince Poland of accepting peace.
    a. go near Smolensk with your main army and engage any Polish troops leaving the city to defeat the Polish and gain more popularity again
    b. as a, but also take troops from the garrisons
    c. as a, but also hire 5,000 mercenaries to replace losses from the last battle
    d. as b, but also hire 5,000 mercenaries to replace losses from the last battle
    e. do nothing yet, instead try to recruit levies and form a strong opposition in Niznij Novgorod

    2. try to negotiate peace with Poland (by PM) by giving tribute corresponding to the wage of x mercenaries for y years (specify x and y), giving away land (specify which cities)?

    3. siege of Riga. You can still send more troops to reinforce Riga. It would however take a while for them to arrive. It's technically possible for you to negotiate that Sweden withdraw temporarily until you get your reinforcements there, but the reinforcements had better be very strong to convince Sweden. You can also choose to withdraw your troops that are currently there to reinforce your main army at home.


    SPAIN

    1. the blockade of the Channel
    a. send back the pirate hunting force to protect the merchant vessels, also have the latter travel in larger packs. If the English or French attack your forces after that, it would be a declaration of war from their part
    b. threaten the French and/or English to stop the blockade or face consequences
    c. weaken the garrison in Southern Netherlands to prevent it from being completely isolated and destroyed
    d. strengthen the garrison in Southern Netherlands further
    e. attack France and/or England right away, choose which targets (choose one or more) to aim for. Naval: French weakened Mediterranean fleet, navally bombard La Rochelle or Marseille. Cities possible to besiege for forces from Iberian peninsula: French garrisons in Navarre, Toulousse or Bordeaux. Raid targets for forces in Southern Netherlands: Calais area, other French northern coast possessions. Also specify how many troops to send.

    2. what to do about the captured agents?
    a. pressure them on information to find out what they were doing, then kill them to make an example
    b. pressure them on information to find out what they were doing, then let them go as long as they don't return to Spanish soil
    c. offer them nobility and land in the colonies if they change sides to work as double agents
    d. ransom them back to England in return for x English ships, the upkeep of x mercenaries or the equivalent of x% of your debts, on the condition that you don't try to pressure the agents on information and that they will be killed if they return to Spanish soil

    3. the economical problems. Do anything more? It's expected that the repaying speed will go down again next six months because most work rights have already been sold.

    4. reinforce the garrison in East Africa? Where take the troops from?


    SWEDEN

    1. siege of Riga
    a. board some of your forces on the Swedish ships and try a combined naval and ground assault on Riga right away, at the risk of having the ground force being assaulted to its rear by the Polish force, retreat if the assault fails
    b. just continue starving the garrison and defend against Polish relief attempts
    c. wait for a new attack from the Polish army, then if Sweden achieve a good enough victory assault the city after the battle
    d. abandon the siege right away and retreat with the troops and guns (specify where to send them)

    2. war with Denmark (choose one or more of the options below)
    a. use the Swedish fleet to raid Danish transports over Øresund
    b. use most of the Stockholm garrison and possibly also troops from elsewhere to engage the Danish army at Kalmar
    c. as b, but also have your fleet insert several troops from the siege of Riga to join the Swedish army
    d. scout the Danish force at Kalmar to find out it's exact strength, also launch raids against Danish supply lines near Lund
    e. negotiate peace with the Danish (by PM), this would free up troops to send to Riga immediately

    3. what to do about the captured crew of the Danish ship you captured?
    a. they could be useful for ransoming
    b. they could be useful in peace negotiations
    c. just keep them inprisoned in Stockholm for the time being
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 08-30-2006 at 14:36.
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  10. #70
    Crusading historian Member cegorach's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Hmmm... No offence by the Swedes - if they were wise - wouldn't engage the Polas in a battle, but rather dig in and try to repulse them behind fortified position. They lost every single battle since 1600 (always at least 2 times more numerous) and they will not be able to change that without better commanders and serious reforms.
    Also the Poles deployed in 3 waves and used light Tatar or volunteer cavalry to chase the enemy so attacking them from behind is possible only in dreams or with a completely incopetent commander leading the Poles ( there were no such at that time) - which was simply impossible.

    It took several more years to train Hakkapelitta and generally more agressive cavalry - this is the second questionable event in this description.

    Of course it is your game and you decide here, but the Swedes clearly had problems even in reaching a tie - and it wouldn't happen this way.

  11. #71
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Quote Originally Posted by cegorach1
    Hmmm... No offence by the Swedes - if they were wise - wouldn't engage the Polas in a battle, but rather dig in and try to repulse them behind fortified position. They lost every single battle since 1600 (always at least 2 times more numerous) and they will not be able to change that without better commanders and serious reforms.
    Also the Poles deployed in 3 waves and used light Tatar or volunteer cavalry to chase the enemy so attacking them from behind is possible only in dreams or with a completely incopetent commander leading the Poles ( there were no such at that time) - which was simply impossible.

    It took several more years to train Hakkapelitta and generally more agressive cavalry - this is the second questionable event in this description.

    Of course it is your game and you decide here, but the Swedes clearly had problems even in reaching a tie - and it wouldn't happen this way.
    Well I know the Polish superiority in battle, and it's probably my description that convinced you to believe I don't. The Swedish position in this case WAS fortified - it was the Swedish policy to stick to fortified positions and not engage the Polish in the open ever since Kirchholm - so the Polish attacked a fortified position with less artillery and infantry than the Swedish. Secondly, I hinted in the last chapter that the Polish in this battle knew the engagement would be even (due to these fortifications who were by no means "Caesarian" but not too weak either). Secondly the Polish didn't have that many troops in the area at this time in the game (which was historically the reason why Gustav Adolphus could capture Riga when the Polish were engaged with fighting to the south). Finally when I decide the outcome of the battle I make a measurement of the forces, their field fortifications etc., then using a dice to decide the actual result with a weighted decisions, i.e. if Poland has slight advantage 1,2,3,4 means Polish victory and 5,6 Swedish, or if it's almost certain victory 1-5 means Poland and 6 means Sweden, or if it's much stronger advantage 1-2 means crushing victory, 3-6 means victory etc. The battle description is just a possible explanation for what tactic could have been used to give that result, and is also simplified because the story already covers two normal pages and might be too much reading already as it is. As for the actual tactics I chose to claim were used, I don't think it's unreasonable that the commander from the battle of Kirchholm would have learnt about being careful with fake retreat manouvres, and also have learnt to stay in fortified positions and not chase the enemy headlessly. As for the cavalry tactics used, trying to stay back and seek a later engagement is always the best thing to do against a vastly superior cavalry enemy. That the Polish withdrew was because they couldn't gain speed and momentum to get through the Swedish fortifications with enough speed or good enough formation to completely break the line. The Polish weren't defeated in this battle, but they retreated because they knew pushing on to victory could be costlier than awaiting the strong reinforcements, especially as there was no risk of the city being captured. As I also pointed out, the Polish commander thought that just 20% more Polish troops would have completely broken the enemy with minimal casualties even despite the fortifications. I don't see how my story would be an underestimation of the Polish forces when taking all pieces of the story into account. As for Tatar and light cavalry, in this story Poland only has limited amounts of light cavalry in this region taking part in the battle. I can't reveal any more exact details about the exact strength of the armies without ruining the story (a bit uncertainty is part of the game).

    If you look at the battle of Kirchholm (quick cut and paste from wiki):
    Poland:
    1,300 infantry
    2,500 cavalry
    5 guns

    Sweden:
    9,000 infantry
    3,000 cavalry
    11 guns

    Tactics and end result: The Polish did fake retreat, the Swedish left fortified positions, broke ranks in chase, didn't protect their flanks, the Swedish cavalry was deployed evenly on the flanks without any striking power on either side and routed almost first thing in the battle running through own men, and end result was Swedish being slaughtered


    ...and compare it to this battle:

    Poland:
    500 infantry
    3,000 cavalry
    5 guns
    some logistical problems

    Sweden:
    near 10,000 infantry
    2,500 cavalry
    23 guns
    fortified position

    Tactics and end result: The Swedish stay in fortifications, the Polish have some logistical trouble, they try to attack through Swedish fortifications and nearly win because of their superior troops but retreat until getting reinforcements

    All armies have weaknesses, so also the Polish army of this period, even if it was the most effective per number of men during this period. To claim that the Polish would always win wouldn't make this game fair or any game at all, I might as well end the game and say Poland conquered all of Europe and all others lost. If you think I've made an incorrect judgement at least state your view on under which conditions the Polish would be defeated, which weaknesses they have, along with the strengths you already keep pointing out. As long as you only point out the strengths and say everything is an underestimation of the Polish it makes you sound like a very biased and IMHO not a reliable source.

    From summarizing my sources, it seems to me that the Polish strengths and weaknesses would be:
    + hussaria absolutely unmatched in open field battles, however both Kirchholm and Klushino figures need an adjustment due to not very clever leadership for the opponent. After the adjustments, hussaria are still vastly superior, but the figures are reduced somewhat, except against enemies who aren't aware of the Polish manouvering
    + if the enemy force is very large, the hussaria if only strong enough to break the enemy cavalry and have an edge to at the same time destroy enough of the enemy line will get their effectiveness multiplied due to the general mobility of an army centered on cavalry. This is true for all historical cavalry based armies
    + hussaria don't lose many men in the retreat in a battle in the open
    - hussaria seldom lose many men but often lose trained horses even in victorious battles
    - the lack of infantry and guns, which wasn't fixed until during the conflict vs Gustav Adolphus, gave some Polish problems with dealing with fortified positions
    - limited Polish economy didn't allow formation of larger army than they historically had, so they were often outnumbered in most battles, sometimes outnumbered too much, especially due to their large geographical extent often with wars on multiple fronts at the same time
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 08-30-2006 at 13:43.
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  12. #72
    Crusading historian Member cegorach's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    At this moment I am reading a new book about the campaign between 1600 and 1605. Fake retreat was unique to Kircholm - it didn't happen before ( Bialy Kamien, Kies, Kokenhausen etc) or later ( Klushino, Dynemunt) - Swedes were losing if engaging in a battle - every single time. After Kircholm they did fortify, march through woods and swamps, build camps sorrunded with swamps etc yet were defeated every time they decided to fight or had no option to retreat.

    Also Husaria never lost so many soldiers - 20 % is larger than at Warsaw in 1656 when their charge was unsupported and had to retreat all the time under fire.

    Far more realistic would be a situation when the Swedes refuse to fight and dig in even more than before and the Polish commander decides to wait for artillery and more infantry - this happened before Klushino when Swedes hid behind a fence which was destroyed by infantry and 2 cannons - obviously their fortifications at Riga would be far more advanced which means no option but to wait for artillery.

    Supplies could be 'smuggled' the way it happened at Smolensk in 1633 - a diversion took the enemy attention and a detachment of infantry reached the gate of the city.

  13. #73
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Quote Originally Posted by cegorach1
    At this moment I am reading a new book about the campaign between 1600 and 1605. Fake retreat was unique to Kircholm - it didn't happen before ( Bialy Kamien, Kies, Kokenhausen etc) or later ( Klushino, Dynemunt) - Swedes were losing if engaging in a battle - every single time. After Kircholm they did fortify, march through woods and swamps, build camps sorrunded with swamps etc yet were defeated every time they decided to fight or had no option to retreat.

    Also Husaria never lost so many soldiers - 20 % is larger than at Warsaw in 1656 when their charge was unsupported and had to retreat all the time under fire.

    Far more realistic would be a situation when the Swedes refuse to fight and dig in even more than before and the Polish commander decides to wait for artillery and more infantry - this happened before Klushino when Swedes hid behind a fence which was destroyed by infantry and 2 cannons - obviously their fortifications at Riga would be far more advanced which means no option but to wait for artillery.

    Supplies could be 'smuggled' the way it happened at Smolensk in 1633 - a diversion took the enemy attention and a detachment of infantry reached the gate of the city.
    I'll answer this by PM as it would reveal story elements that would ruin the story.
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  14. #74
    " Hammer of the East" Member King Kurt's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Due to holidays - I have had to do my turn without PMing so as not to delay the interactive. I have sent my thoughts to Legio so he will be able to hopefully answer PM queries on my behalf. I return next wednesday if you are desparate to PM me. this is my last holiday for a bit - honest!!
    "Some people say MTW is a matter of life or death - but you have to realise it is more important than that"
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    My first balloon - for "On this day in History"

  15. #75
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Announcement: King Kurt is going on Holiday or something so I will "be" England for this chapter if you need to make contact to England by PM. I.e. if you want to send diplomacy PM to England you send it to me instead of King Kurt, only for as long as he is away. He has sent me the instructions for what he wanted to do.

    edit: oops King Kurt's post above was posted while I was writing this
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 09-01-2006 at 11:29.
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  16. #76
    Humanist Senior Member Franconicus's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Declaration:

    His majesty's government of the Kingdom of France and Navarro announces that it will start a program of Christianization in Northern America. It will include the whole area north of the so called Hudson River Bay. France claims this territory, now called La Nouvelle France.

    France guarantees everyone, who wants to settle there and who respects the authority and the law of its majesty's government, freedom of religion and free land to settle.

    France will not tolerate violation of its rights in La Nouvelle France. However, it invites all other nations to make trade and cooperation contracts.

    Maximilien de Bethune, Duc de Sully, Marshall de France

  17. #77
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Currently awaiting decisions from HRE, Spain
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  18. #78
    Humanist Senior Member Franconicus's Avatar
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    Default Money

    Some notes about money.

    Thaler was one standard in the HRE.

    A Thaler was worth 120€

    For one Thaler you could buy
    - 12kg bread, 6 kg meat, 2 bottles of Champaign, 1 kg tabacco, 250 g tea,1 shirt, 1 pair of shoes
    - you could rent am appartment (2 rooms) including the food for 100-120 Thaler per year.

    The Gulden was usually 2/3 of a Thaler.

    A master artisan made 200 - 600 Thaler per year;
    a Prussian soldier 24 Thaler / year

    After the Kalmar war (1611-1613) Sweden had to pay 1 million Thalers compensation.

    Slave trade

    Slaves were shipped with 300-400 per ship. The gain was around 60%.

    In 1446 at the Senegal an old horse could be traded for 25-30 slaves
    In 1460 at the Gambia you could get 12 slaves for a horse.
    At the Kongo you could get 22 slaves for a dog!!

    In 17th centuries you had to pay 3-4 Thalers for a slave in Africa and you would get 30-40 Thalers in America

    ============================================

    The French Army
    The French may be said to have introduced the new era of warfare with Charles VIII's invasion of Italy in 1494. Until 1559 their struggles with the Hapsburgs dominated the military history of Europe. In the second half of the 16th Century, French arms were turned against each other in the religious wars of Catholic and Protestant Huguenot, but in the 17th Century, with the new Bourbon dynasty upon the throne, France emerged with reorganized forces and began to climb back toward dominance of European affairs.

    The Italian Wars

    Cavalry
    In some ways the cavalry still resembled that of Agincourt: the fully-armoured man-at-arms (gendarme) was still the pride and chief striking-power of France's forces. Like other such troops, the French gendarmes charged, in single rank (en haye) with the heavy medieval lance, backed up with mace and sword in melee, but they were more overwhelmingly aristocratic than those of other nations (even in the 1580s, when many persons "of vile condition" had joined their ranks, over 60 percent of them were still gentry). This probably gave them extra élan, but made them harder to control. (La Noue, in the 1580s suggested that their single rank formation was dictated by the refusal of any true gentleman to serve anywhere but in the front rank!). Their appearance emphasized their status: masses of multi-colored plumes, richly-embroidered velvet coats worn over armour, horse-armours of mail or plate (officially reduced to frontal armour only in 1534) covered with a bard often in the colors of the captain of the company. Their furious gallantry, and the French tactic of hurling in many companies together, came as a shock to the similarly-armed Italians, and won many battles of this period.

    The Ban and Arriere-Ban, strictly feudal cavalry, were used mainly in time of emergency (up to the early 17th Century), while the main strength of the Gendarmerie were the Compagnies d'Ordonnance, paid and semi-regular, though still gentry. They originally comprised 15 Compagnies each of 100 "lances". A lance contained, beside a Gendarme, two archers (really heavy cavalrymen, later referred to as Chevaux-legers, with at least half-armour, mail sleeves, light lance, and unarmoured horse, they may still have had a bow for dismounted use in the 1490s, later carried a pistol), a coutillier (who finished-off an enemy unhorsed!) valet, and page. Of these only the archers were combatants, possibly originally supporting the gendarmes in second and third rank, later usually formed on their own.

    Their proportion compared with the Gendarmerie was reduced to 3:2 in 1534 and probably later to 1:1. Gendarme companies fell to a usual strength of 50 by the mid-16th Century, but tactical units usually seem to have been about 400 strong. Additional gendarmes were provided by the Royal Guard (usually 100 Scots, 100 French, with 400 Archers, 100 of them Scots too) and by the companies of princes or great nobles, often over-strength.

    In the Italian Wars, Italian gendarmes and mounted crossbowmen or later arquebusiers, fought alongside the French, who also hired some thousands of Stradiots and introduced "Argoulets" in imitation of them: wearing cabacete morion, light cuirasse and mail sleeves, they were armed with crossbow—later arquebus—mace and sword. From 1529, arquebusiers a cheval were attached to support the Gendarme companies. In the earlier Italian wars—and the Wars of Religion—one third or more of a French army could be cavalry.


    a. and b. French musketeers circa 1640; note short saber carried by 'a', c. Scots Guard archer of Francis I's reign showing the type of dress and armament used on dismounted guard duty at court, d. French musketeer, mid-17th Century. Hat gray or black with gilt trim and red plumes. Tabard or casaque blue, cross and edge white, "flames" in angles of cross red for Gray Musketeers, yellow for Black. Jacket and breeches blue, trimmed gold. Boots black with red heels. Sword probably slung from embroidered shoulder belt. Cuirass under casaque. e. French pikeman circa 1640; note extremely large garters and shoe bosses, f. Guard Chevauleger, early 17th Century. Armour and horse trappings black. Sash white and gold, pennon black and white, plumes white (a 17th Century gendarme would be similar except for the lance); armour to knees. Note pistol holsters at front of saddle, g. French Gendarme of late 15th or early 16th Century. Horse bard is that of Francis I—probably blue and gold. The rider could wear only the "skirt" of his coat, leaving the rest of his armour (torso and arms) fully exposed.

    Infantry
    The native French infantry, in contrast to the cavalry, were considered unfit to take the brunt of the infantry battle. In the 15th Century a militia of 16,000 "Francs-Archers" had been set up, and some thousands of these were employed in the earlier Italian Wars period, but proved highly unreliable, being abolished in 1535. They were variously armed and probably still included some long-bowmen at the end of the 15th Century. The greater part of the French infantry however, were mercenary bands of "aventuriers", some of them, like the "Vielles Bandes de Piedmont" so constantly employed as to become virtually regulars. Gascons, who were considered (particularly in their own eyes) the best soldiers in France, predominated.

    The chief weapon of the infantry was the crossbow, not replaced by the arquebus until the 1520s, but there were also pikemen, for the French foot in the early Italian Wars emulated the tactics of the Swiss (who were called in to train them at times) "with the same discipline and method, though not with the same courage". Infantry bands or "ensigns" were 500 strong for Francs-Archers, otherwise 230-300 men.

    Fifty percent or more of the infantry of French armies, however, was normally mercenary; predominantly Swiss (exclusively in French service after 1516), otherwise Lansknechts, both at this period around 65 percent pike-men, 25 percent halberdiers and the like, ten percent arquebusiers. There were also Italians, mainly skirmishers.

    A new attempt at a French national infantry was made in 1531, when Francis I founded the 6,000 man "legions" of Normandy, Languedoc, Champagne and Picardy. As with the Compagnies d'Ordonnance, only a cadre was permanently embodied, the rest mustering only occasionally in peace. Composition varied but was around 60 percent pikemen, in burgonet, corselet and tassets, ten percent halberdiers and 30 percent shot, in morions. Though of dubious value, they were maintained or revived until the wars of religion, two or three more being added. Bands of around 1,000 were sometimes detached for separate service.

    Artillery
    The French guns made perhaps the greatest impression in Italy; Charles VIII's 36 bronze horse-drawn pieces were the first effective field artillery. By 1536 the French artillery train of some 40 pieces had over 100 gunners, conductors and craftsmen, 800 pioneers, 680 horses and a picked escort of four ensigns of foot. Guns were generally heavy—in the 1550s cannon, culverins or culverin bastard-calibres being standardized.

    The Wars of Religion

    Catholics
    For much of the period, the royal side so inherited most of the existing army. Their cavalry centered on the gendarmerie using their old tactics, though with unarmoured horses, supplemented by German reiters (heavy cavalry with pistols using "caracole" tactics based on firepower), and similar French pistoliers and mounted arquebusiers, now referred to as "carabins". They had the legions (except Languedoc, which mostly deserted to the Huguenots) and the much better "Vielles Bandes" of mercenaries; from these were developing the regimental organization which gave France her first permanent regular infantry units; by the later wars being of ten to 12 companies, and around 1,000 strong, but still often grouped on the battlefield in large "battalions" of up to 5,000. They also had the Swiss, hired Lansknechts in large numbers, and were lent Spanish infantry. Their armies, especially the cavalry raised by nobles, were very showily dressed, with plumes, gilt armour, velvet and gold embroidered mandelions and so on.
    Huguenots
    The cavalry were dependent upon the "squirearchy" of the Protestant areas, who produced a brave and Ironside-like horse, distinguished by the long-sleeved white casaques they wore over their armour in old fashioned style (their opponents nicknamed them "Millers"). They were mostly half-armoured, and armed with sword and pistols, and though originally formed en haye were taught under Henry of Navarre to form in squadrons six or seven ranks deep, charging home with the sword and using their pistols in the ensuing melee, highly-effective tactics. Again reiters were hired; some of them adopting the new tactics, and most of the lighter cavalry were arquebus-armed.

    Huguenot infantry, especially at the outset, were somewhat improvised, and even when their discipline improved, almost totally lacked pikes, being at first all arquebusiers, by the end of the wars nearly all musketeers. By 1587 they were taught to fire regular volleys, two ranks at a time, the front kneeling. They also had regimental organization, but seem to have often operated in smaller tactical groups, sometimes interspersed with cavalry. They were supplemented by smallish numbers of Lansknechts, some not-very-effective English and Scots, and at the end of the wars by the Royal Swiss.

    17th Century Armies
    Henry IV (Navarre) established the regular army in 1597 from both Catholic and Protestant troops. The French regiments, starting with "Les Vieux"—Picardy, Champagne and Navarre, and the Garde Francais, were made permanent, and new regiments such as Piedmont, Normandy and Lorraine added; 1,200 strong, one-third muskets, two-thirds pikes. By 1609 there were 20,000 French infantry, and 12,000 foreign, mainly Swiss.

    The basis of the cavalry were 4,000 regular Gendarmes, now half-armoured pistoliers, supported by sections of "Carabins", and there was a 1,000 strong "Cornette Blanche" of noble volunteers, a company of 200 Guard Chevaulegers, and a unit of gentlemen, the "Carabiniers du Roy" who in 1622 became the famous company of Gray Musketeers (a company of Black Musketeers was added in 1661—despite their name both were heavy cavalry, the colors being those of their horses).

    Under Richelieu, in the 1640s, the army was further overhauled and expanded, partly by the takeover of an army of 8,000 ex-Swedish troops previously led by Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (foreigners were reckoned worth three men—one more for France, one less for the enemy, and one Frenchman released for productive work!). Infantry began to operate in small battalions of 600 to 800, usually formed six deep, pikes (now perhaps as few as one third) in the center (regiments could form half, one or two battalions).

    Cavalry companies and cornets began to be grouped in regiments, but fought in "squadrons" of about 200. By 1660 there were 109 infantry regiments (30 foreign, mainly Scots and Swiss) and 30 cavalry regiments. Most cavalry were three-quarter or half-armoured pistoliers; there was at least one buff-coated dragoon regiment, and there were some irregular light cavalry or "Croats".
    Last edited by Franconicus; 09-04-2006 at 11:46.

  19. #79
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: Money

    Announcement: currently waiting for decisions from HRE. Also I've got an injury so I probably can't write next chapter until perhaps next weekend
    Under construction...

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    Humanist Senior Member Franconicus's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Sad to hear. Hope you will be fine, soon!

    By the way, Legio, this is an excellent interactive so far. Congratulations!


    May I ask for a favour? Could you give a status about finance, economy, colonies, army and navy, happyness. I started some programs to improve the situation and I wonder if they work. Furthermore I want to go one step further.

    Thanks!

  21. #81
    Nec Pluribus Impar Member SwordsMaster's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Quote Originally Posted by Franconicus
    Sad to hear. Hope you will be fine, soon!

    By the way, Legio, this is an excellent interactive so far. Congratulations!


    May I ask for a favour? Could you give a status about finance, economy, colonies, army and navy, happyness. I started some programs to improve the situation and I wonder if they work. Furthermore I want to go one step further.

    Thanks!

    Definitely seconded!
    Managing perceptions goes hand in hand with managing expectations - Masamune

    Pie is merely the power of the state intruding into the private lives of the working class. - Beirut

  22. #82
    Join the ICLADOLLABOJADALLA! Member IrishArmenian's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Get well soon, Legio.

    "Half of your brain is that of a ten year old and the other half is that of a ten year old that chainsmokes and drinks his liver dead!" --Hagop Beegan

  23. #83
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Thanks all, I'm doing better now after some rest. I've got all the decisions so I'll soon post the next chapter

    ===

    Re status, I'll provide the necessary info in the coming chapters, and if you have specific questions I can always answer them by PM. For some of the projects their effect will not become clear until after several chapters.
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 09-08-2006 at 11:17.
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  24. #84
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    CHAPTER 5 - March 1st, 1611 AD
    ...this chapter will affect the events from March 1st, 1611 AD to August 1st, 1611 AD

    The Polish army outside Riga makes another attempt at relieving the siege of the city by launching another attack on the Swedish force. The Polish shortage of infantry prevents them from fully supporting the charge of the husaria, but this matters little as the Polish have assembled impressive numbers for the battle: almost 10,000 husaria charge the Swedish fortified position. While the fortifications slow down the streams of cavalry headed towards the Swedish line, it is not enough to stop their onslaught. They send 2,000 men towards each flank of the Swedish infantry line, 2,000 for cutting off the likely Swedish retreat to the ships, and 2,000 on each flank in a second wave to engage the Swedish cavalry, which unlike last time - thanks to the Polish numbers this time - has no option of pulling back to hit the husaria later, but have the choice of either routing or charging. They are ordered to make a frontal charge towards the husaria, but the shining lances are enough to drive them into a rout before they make contact, abandoning the infantry, which is soon likewise driven back in a massive rout. The Polish victory is crushing - the husaria lose only 200 horses and 50 men, while inflicting 1,000 losses on the Swedish infantry, 50 on the Swedish cavalry. In the ensuing rout, the Swedish troops are unable to reach the ships directly and must instead flee north through the difficult terrain between Riga and their possessions in Livonia. Over 1,500 are killed and around 1,500 are captured in the rout. Many Swedish troops drown in their attempts to reach the ships. The Swedish ships follow them north along the coast trying to bombard the Polish pursuers but to limited effect. The Polish do not break off the pursuit until nightfall, when they return to Riga to overview the results of the battle. Over 2,500 Swedish infantrymen have been killed, 1,500 have been captured, along with all 23 Swedish guns, 500 Swedish cavalrymen have been lost, the remaining surviving only thanks to their early rout - or rather sensible retreat in face of the impossible opposition. In return the Polish troops have lost only 200 husaria horses and 50 husaria, and an additional 20 in the pursuit. Of the surviving Swedish troops that don't desert, half arrive at Swedish garrisons in Livonia a few days later, while the other half boards the Swedish ships further north along the coast, and are transported back to the northern Livonia and Estonia garrisons as well. The ships pull back to the harbor in Revala awaiting orders from the Swedish king. Later during summer, the Polish Cossack and Lisowczycy mercenary bands of 5,000-8,000 men begin a campaign of a series of 500 men raids on the Swedish possessions north of Riga in Livonia, entering smaller villages but unable to raid the larger garrisoned cities.


    Charging husaria

    In Sweden, Swedish patrols harrass Danish supply lines and scout out the Danish army. On the reports of the strength of the Danish army - 10,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, the king orders the Swedish troops from the garrison in Stockholm to march south and prepare to engage the Danish army outside Kalmar. The Swedish have almost equal numbers to the Danish army in infantry, but have only around 800 light cavalry in support. However the Danish army is busy foraging and are surprised by the sudden appearance of such a large Swedish army. The Swedish artillery begins a bombardment of the Danish position, followed by the infantry advancing on the Danish position. The Danish troops are quickly forced into a retreat after some 500 casualties and leaving all their 20 guns behind, but the Swedish light cavalry is unable to take any more advantage of the marginal victory and the Danish superiority in cavalry prevents the Swedish from pursuing them more aggressively. They begin a careful pursuit from a distance, taking them through the forests southwest of Kalmar and in the direction of Lund. The difficult terrain prevents the Swedish pursuing force from bringing more than 5 of their lightest guns, but the retreating Danish troops have no guns at all. Not sure what to do, the Swedish army awaits further orders from the Swedish king.

    In Russia the disagreement about whether to accept the Polish heir as Tsar continues to split the boyars. The slightly more numerous party in favor of the decision have taken control over the 10,000 man strong Moscow garrison and refuse to allow any of the supporters of Tsar Vasili into the city, while sending a request to the Polish heir to arrive this year with a proper bodyguard to help destroy the forces of Vasili. The Russian main army of some 33,000 men controlled by Vasili, who hasn't admitted the Polish heir as Tsar, begins a siege of the city of Smolensk that was recently lost to the Polish. After an initial assault is repelled and their scouting has surveyed the garrison, they begin bombardment and passive attempts to starve the garrison to death. The garrison consists of 500 husaria and 3,000 infantry, however the number of guns in the defense have been reduced since the Russians controlled the city. The breaches through which the Polish assaulted the city have been repaired, but are still a bit weakened. The Russians have as much as 60 guns and manage to open these weakened breaches already by March, and also begin bombarding other sections of the defenses. Around 100 Russian infantrymen and 700 Ukrainian Cossack cavalry mercenaries who survived the battle of Riga join the Russian siege force by March, reporting that all except them were captured, killed or have deserted. They suggest that the small number of husaria seen at Smolensk is explained by the fact that almost 10,000 husaria took part in the battle of Riga. Now that the Polish have secured Riga, they are likely to come back to Smolensk in full force.

    In France, the situation between Catholics and Huguenots remains tense, but not hot for the moment being. A group of Catholics have complained to Marshal Sully about a Huguenot church construction too close to Paris, against the rules of the Edict of Nantes, and they demand the Huguenots to dismantle the church. There's also a threat that the influence of Sully will be reduced by actions in Navarre, where the young heir is kept. Many Catholic nobles gather around the queen of the late king Henry IV, trying to influence her to (in the name of her position as queen) make decisions behind the back of Sully, despite the fact that he is the official chief guardian of the late king's heir. However the situation in France has improved in other aspects - French economy has been strengthened by the successful expansion of the French colony Nouvelle France. The colony expands well in both population, geographical extent and income for the French crown.

    In Spain, the debt repaying program continues. Around 30% of the debts have now been payed off. The raised taxes for unused land have made many nobles transform part of their possessions into farms, and increased income for the crown, but also stirred up unrest in many places in the Iberian peninsula among the higher nobility. A new commander has been found for a new tercio intended to be set up in Madrid. The Spanish army also reform their tercios to be issued more supporting cannons and cavalry than previously, however the reform will take several years to carry out and might result in a need to reduce the overall number of tercios to make the economy capable of handling the situation. The Spanish cannon factory in Breda in Spanish Netherlands is finally put into use, producing the cannons needed for the expanding Spanish fleet and reformed ground army. Meanwhile, the Spanish East India Company have laid down their first ship for the crown. An inspection by a Spanish admiral reveals that the ship is of very low quality and somewhat unstable, probably not fit for the high seas. The EIC leaders respond that they tried to point out the difficulties of combining East India trade with ship building at the time the company was founded and how difficult ship building skills are to acquire, however they promise their next ship will be better, at least after 5 ships they will have reached very high quality indeed.

    In the Holy Roman Empire, the Jülich-Kleve affair comes to an end. Emperor Rudolph dies during the winter and is replaced by his brother Matthias, who immediately ends the occupation of Jülich-Kleve, but in return demands that the Emperor keeps military access through these lands. Brandenburg accept the demand and the direct control over the region is quickly taken over by their administration. This ends the international tension in the region, but the internal problems for the Holy Roman Empire remain. Tilly, commander over the Catholic League forces, begin a campaign in Bohemia to crush the rebellion there. After some initial aggressive scouting and raiding he has engaged and routed some smaller forces, but had to withdraw to Catholic lands during winter, to prepare for a renewed campaign the upcoming spring.


    Tilly

    As a result of many national programs for becoming self-supporting in food, the food prices on the world market begin to decline. This hurts mainly Poland and Denmark whose economies depend heavily on food exports. In return France and Spain, with their improved local agriculture have some improvements in economy as a result of this development.

    The tension between Spain and England is temporarily removed by the movement of 20 English warships away from the channel, and the blockade subsequently being lifted in return for the Spanish crown returning the English spies they captured in Sevilla. However shortly afterwards the Spanish king makes a visit to Sevilla to greet the incoming precious metal fleet but is met by a shock - the fleet arrives scattered, damaged and it has lost one third of it's cargo. Of the 17 escorting warships, 3 have been lost, 2 heavily damaged and 3 others have taken light damage. The Admiral tells the Spanish king that they were attacked by an English fleet of around 20 warships and were forced to abandon the transport ships to form up and engage the English ships. However once the transports were abandoned, they were attacked by another force, however not under English flag, perhaps pirates. After the English force sunk 1 Spanish warship the Spanish ships begun to retreat, however the English warships ignored the transports and instead continued their pursuit of the Spanish warships until running out of ammo for many of their ships. The losses of precious metal will affect the economy a bit but fortunately for Spain not as much as the English had hoped, due to the survival of so many of the Spanish transports. The losses for the Spanish fleet are perhaps worse, in return they however mean less salaries to pay as long as no new ships are commissioned.

    In America, the English colonies expand rapidly. A position is established in the Bermudas, and the position in Virginia is expanded. However there's a slight shortage of settlers. A treaty between Spain and France gives France part in the slave trade and thus breaks the previous monopoly on this transport. This frees up parts of the Spanish fleet in the African colonies for usage elsewhere.



    ENGLAND

    1. the 20 warship fleet. It has limited ammunition left and 4 of the ships have taken damage. It is currently somewhere northwest of the coast of Portugal
    a. retreat through the Channel, at the risk of the damaged ships lagging behind and making it necessary for you to abandon them to save the remaining ships
    b. sail around Britain to the north to avoid Spanish ships in the Channel from intercepting it. This would allow you to safely bring also the damaged ships home to port

    2. the situation with Spain. England has by the attack on the silver fleet declared war on Spain. How should the war proceed? Naval attacks? Trying to coordinate Dutch and French troops to attack Southern Netherlands? Should (by PM) French and Dutch armies and navies be made to coordinate operations against the Spanish?

    3. colonies - there are currently 5 English warships in the Bermudas and 2 near Virginia.
    a. keep them where they are
    b. send 6 of them to hunt down Spanish ships in the West Indies, and 1 ship to transport material and troops back and forth between Virginia and the Bermudas as needed
    c. send all 7 of them to hunt down Spanish ships in the West Indies, temporarily exposing the colonies to a risk of isolation and limiting the ability to move troops in the case of an emergency.
    d. send some of them home to England, specify how many

    4. apart from the 20 ships from the raid force, you currently have 8 warships in the channel and 5 near London of which 3 are during summer time used for escorting merchants to trade with the Russians at Archangel. How should these ships be moved now in response to possible Spanish actions? You also have 2 new ships possible to commission for your war fleet. You can for instance opt to skip the Archangel trade this summer, or send it unescorted. You can also opt to send the ships to the eastern parts of the Channel while negotiating with the Dutch and French to assist in patrolling the channel, and once they agree send the ships to the western edge of the channel to patrol it in one big group. Or you can keep all ships back like that until the 20 ship fleet has returned and is capable of joining them. Or you could use all ships for harassing Spanish transport ships in the Channel right away.

    5. some unrest in Britain and Ireland has been spotted. The current troops strength in the British isles is a bit low after the expansion in the colonies.
    a. recruit 500 mercenaries, this would be a limited burden to your economy
    b. recruit 2,000 mercenaries, this would be a heavy burden to your economy
    c. recruit 5,000 mercenaries, this would be a very heavy burden to your economy, but if you increase tolls and taxes the burden would be reduced, however the unrest likely to increase
    d. recruit no troops yet, but send spies to find out how problematic the unrest is


    FRANCE

    1. the English-Spanish war
    a. declare neutrality and abort the joint Channel fleet cooperation with England. If you continue it you would be forced to assist the English and thereby become an enemy of Spain. However if either side attacks you, you may want to have a plan ready for responding to attack.
    b. declare allegiance to the English side
    c. declare allegiance to the Spanish side

    2. the Huguenot church construction near Paris - another problem standing in the way of balancing between Huguenots and Catholics - or a good opportunity for choosing sides in the conflict if desired. The Catholics have dangerously close relations to Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, however the Huguenots in return are like a state within the state, having rights to maintain garrisons of several thousand men at the expense of the crown, severely limiting the crown's ability to assemble larger numbers for the French army.
    a. demand the Huguenots dismantle the church, in accordance with the Edict of Nantes, and also punish those standing behind the construction according to the Edict
    b. demand they dismantle the church, according to the Edict of Nantes, but don't punish the guilty
    c. tell the Huguenots that they may construct the church if they in return accept a reduction of the garrisons in Huguenot territories and handing over these regiments to the crown, then mix these regiments with Catholic regiments to make sure they don't remain Huguenot controlled regiments
    d. allow the construction in this single instance but promise to punish any further actions of this kind from the Huguenots
    e. extend the Edict of Nantes to give the Huguenots right to construct churches and hold mass also in Paris and the vicinity of the city without restrictions

    3. if you under no. 2 chose an option that would cause riots or revolts, what should the response to revolt be if any would take place? Your advisor reports that while the keeping of mostly Protestant regiments in Huguenot strong territories limits the risks of local confrontations between French forces and local population, it also means the risks of a larger-scale nation-wide conflict increase as the segregation between Huguenots and Catholics increases. However your advisor also claims that keeping a Protestant commander in Protestant territories and a Catholic commander in Catholic territories has turned out to be a wise decision and has worked out as well as you had planned.
    a. don't do anything
    b. begin an innocent-looking small scale project to move regiments with many Catholics to Huguenot territories and regiments with many Huguenots to Catholic territories. Also try to mix the regiments with each others. Make this a small-scale operation that isn't easily noticed by the masses, with the result hopefully being a stronger unity within the French army in the long term. The end result should be more mixed regiments and only a slight numeral advantage of Huguenots in Huguenot territories and slight Catholic advantage in Catholic territories.
    c. as b, but do it more quickly to achieve results quickly
    d. only make sure that newly recruited regiments are mixed in this way

    4. in the case of hostilities between Huguenots and Catholics, what should the plan be?
    a. respond quickly, punish all participants on both sides in the conflict before the conflict grows in size
    b. choose a side, specify which
    c. choose sides with the side that seemed to be the one that didn't attack first
    d. have no plan made in advance, demand that in the case of unrest the military leaders report to you before acting, even if this means a much delayed response and that the problems could grow out of proportion before you can intervene

    5. French economy. There is a good chance of improving French silk trade at this time. Processing silk into fabric and having silk worms locally in France instead of importing them from abroad would be very profitable. It has already been carried out to some extent but could be extended further. This would mean some competition with English wool industry but there would be limited overlap due to the luxury status of silk whereas wool fabric is used by the poorer. The main customers of the silk would be French, Spanish and German nobility, possibly also with limited amounts sent to Nordic countries, Poland, Russia and Italy
    a. increase silk production by having 6 ships from your fleet carry the needed equipment to France this year
    b. don't do anything now, the fleet might be needed if Spain becomes hostile

    6. any troop redistribution in response to the political situation abroad?

    7. Jülich-Kleve. Is it acceptable to France that the Emperor has demanded unrestricted military access through Jülich-Kleve on handing it over to Brandenburg? Should France intervene in any way?

    8. what to do about the Queen?
    a. send her some proper "protection" against the nobles. This "protection" will pretty much mean keeping her as a prisoner and not allow any visitors inside
    b. move the Queen to Paris where you are, even if this could be used by Catholic nobles as an excuse for revolt, treason or similar
    c. do nothing


    HRE and AUSTRIA

    1. your operations in Bohemia have so far engaged and routed some smaller rebel forces, but had to retreat during winter. You have the 15,000 forces you sent in last Autumn ready for operations again. According to the recon from last Autumn, the rebels have some 2,000 men in Prague, 10,000 in the countryside and 6,000 besieging a small local Catholic force of some 2,000 men. It seems like the Northern Protestants are giving logistical support to the rebels by some 5,000 mercenaries of which 3,000 are already in Bohemia, the other 2,000 being on the way to reinforce the rebels.
    a. immediately march on Prague and put it under siege and try to commit the rebels to a crucial battle
    b. first relieve the Protestant siege of the 2,000 Catholic local militia forces, then together with them march for Prague and besiege the city
    c. try to follow and engage the 10,000 enemies in the countryside. If they retreat too far to be able to follow, besiege Prague
    d. try to follow and engage the 10,000 enemies in the countryside. If they retreat too far to be able to follow, retreat to your homelands
    e. do nothing yet. Tilly will then be able to complete the training of the 5,000 Catholic League forces, and possibly recruit an additional 2,000 more to the end of the summer

    2. recruit any more troops for operations in Bohemia? Now that you have become Holy Roman Emperor you will be able to support some 8,000 additional mercenaries for up to 2 years. These troops could be used in Bohemia. You could also request troop support from Poland or Spain (by negotiating with either or both of them by PM)

    3. diplomatic relations with England and Spain?
    a. declare the HRE neutral for the moment
    b. declare your support for Spain and join the war on their side. You can specify any operations you wish to carry out to support them, or you can leave that until later.
    c. declare your support for England and join the war on their side. You can specify any operations you wish to carry out to support them, or you can leave that until later.

    4. diplomatic relations with France? The French threat of intervening with the Jülich-Kleve affair shows that France is more than willing to attack Holy Roman Empire possessions. Securing the border against France by promises, threats or anything else could be in order. Or you could just remain friendly to France for the time being, to go hostile after building up your military strength. Or build up in preparation for any attack from them, and attack France only if France attack first.
    a. try to temporarily strengthen the relations (communicate with France by PM) by improving trade etc.
    b. do nothing

    5. stance in Swedish-Danish and Polish-Russian war (if you send support to one of these countries they can recruit around 3,000 mercenaries for 2 years, if you send support to two of these countries they only get around 1,500 mercenaries each for 2 years)
    a. do nothing
    b. send monetary support to Denmark
    c. send monetary support to Sweden
    d. send monetary support to Poland
    e. send monetary support to Russia

    6. do you wish to make any other statements or reforms now that you have just been elected Holy Roman Emperor? Is there anything from former Emperors you wish to change? Is there any promises you wish to make to the HRE population or local rulers? Will you give them guarantees for how you balance between strengthening the Catholic League and your Habsburg possessions (Austria, Hungary and Bohemia) by enforcing your power and military strength as Emperor, while on the other hand not causing impopularity by looking like you wish to decrease the power of the local rulers?


    POLAND

    1. what to do in response to the declining food prices? A program for improving Polish trade is one possibility, however Poland has hardly any merchant class at all at this time, only a large high nobility and a large group which owns no land at all. Where do you wish to start in dealing with all these potential problems? Peace with Russia would make Riga a potential source of much trade income by giving you a share in the trade with Russia which is otherwise almost a monopoly held by Sweden. Good trade opportunities are necessary for a strong merchant class to be formed, and a strong merchant class would help weakening the dominant nobility and the position of the Sejm in favor of the king.

    2. relieving the Russian siege of the Polish garrison in Smolensk
    a. specify how many of your troops to send. Note that even the semi-irregular mercenary bands are interested here, as the defeat of a 33,000 man strong Russian army would give them plenty of chance for pillaging from the dead. The surviving forces from Riga would arrive before the Russians could open any more breeches, while the pillaging troops in Livonia would take longer. Replacement horses for all the husaria who lost theirs in the last years will also be available a bit later
    b. send none

    3. responding to a Russian assault of Smolensk if it happens before you can get any reinforcements there
    a. try to send out the husaria the back way and have them escape so they aren't lost. It might demoralize the infantry however
    b. as a, but use the husaria to harass Russian guns, isolated regiments etc. to cause as much harm as possible, then withdraw the husaria to join the reinforcements if you sent any, or retreat to Polish heartlands otherwise.
    c. have all Polish troops remain inside the city and try to hold back the attacker. Defeat is likely, but the battle will be costly for the Russians if they assault right away

    4. if the Russians attack Smolensk and if they would successfully take the city before your reinforcements would arrive, what would you do?
    a. besiege the city
    b. if the Russians leave a garrison of 2,000 men or less, assault through the breaches (the Russians won't be able to repair the breeches)
    c. if the Russians leave a garrison but retreat with the other men, pursue the other men as far as you can, then besiege Smolensk when the pursuit must be broken off

    5. following up the truly crushing victory at Riga
    a. improve Polish roads, infrastructure and garrisoning in general in Livonia. This would be a necessary step before any lasting conquest of Swedish possessions further north could take place
    b. don't follow up the victory any more at this time
    c. continue pillaging and plundering Swedish possessions (this can't be combined with sending the raiding forces to help you at Smolensk)
    d. send some troops to support the Danish invasion of Sweden (any troops you send here would be unavailable to you at Smolensk if you would need them there)

    6. what to do with the Swedish prisoners taken at Riga?
    a. kill them
    b. let them go
    c. ransom back
    d. ransom back on some peace condition (negotiate with Sweden by PM about this), if the Swedish refuse then kill

    7. Polish infantry recruitment. The previous battles have proven the worth of the husaria, but also shown that the lack of infantry causes some trouble with dealing with fortified positions
    a. suggest to the Sejm a reform for increased infantry conscription to allow the formation of an infantry force of at least 10,000 men for usage anywhere. This would be more difficult for the Sejm to accept and would have some effect on Polish economy.
    b. suggest to the Sejm a reform for increased infantry conscription to allow the formation of an infantry force of at least 5,000 men for usage anywhere. This would be likely for the Sejm to accept and would have fairly limited effect on Polish economy.
    c. don't bother about infantry at this time, it'll only be costly for the economy and isn't needed yet


    RUSSIA

    1. siege of Smolensk
    a. assault Smolensk now. It will be a costly battle in terms of casualties (maybe 5,000-7,000 losses), but also an important propaganda victory in Moscow if you could defeat some Polish troops
    b. assault once some more breaches have been opened. The battle will be less costly but chances are great that Polish reinforcements will be able to get there before the assault takes place - or worse: during the assault
    c. just wait and continue besieging Smolensk, and try to prepare for a defensive battle against Polish relief forces
    d. abort the siege and pull back, it isn't worth the risk

    2. if you opted to assault Smolensk, and in doing so would be successful in capturing the city, you won't have the breeches repaired properly until the end of summer, meaning you need a strong garrison to defend it if it is besieged by Polish troops. What would you do to follow up the assault if successful?
    a. leave the entire army inside, even if it means risking to have all besieged by Polish troops
    b. leave a small garrison inside and then pull back home with the rest
    c. abandon the city and pull back right away, the siege was intended mainly to kill the isolated Polish garrison

    3. the situation in Moscow
    a. if you picked 1d, use the main army to besiege Moscow to defeat the illoyal boyars and the local garrison of 10,000 men
    b. don't do anything about Moscow, let the Polish heir come to Moscow to make the Polish forces overextend when leaving a garrison in Moscow to protect the heir, and have him stir up unrest against him and thereby increase the support for you

    4. possibly have negotiations with Sweden, Poland and Denmark by PM... Or others as well... If you chose to assault Smolensk, you would be in a better position of negotiating with the Polish - giving Smolensk to them in return for peace as long as they don't renew their demands to have their heir as Tsar, for example.


    SPAIN

    1. regarding the low-quality ship made by the East India Company
    a. dissolve the company and retake the ships to the Spanish fleet
    b. give them another chance, and commission the new ship for the Mediterranean fleet
    c. give them another chance, and commission the new ship for the Mediterranean fleet, but in return decommission 3-5 of the more outdated oar-driven galleys
    d. give the EIC another chance, but scrap this ship
    e. arrest the responsible in the EIC and prosecute them for high treason
    f. do b,c or d (specify which) but also send in spies into the EIC to find out more about the situation, at the risk of having your trust in the company lowered
    g. commission the ship and despite it's faults use it for the Atlantic fleet to be able to strike the English hard and soon (see 4c below)

    2. regarding the unrest among the higher nobility in the Iberian peninsula
    a. withdraw 2 tercios from Southern Netherlands (now that the Jülich-Kleve business is resolved) and keep them in the peninsula for a while
    b. form an elite bodyguard of 500 soldiers even if it would damage the economy (and be a sign of admitting that you know you've done something that should anger people)
    c. do nothing for the time being

    3. the economical debt
    a. continue as it is
    b. disband some troops
    c. raise taxes even higher despite the unrest

    4. the naval aspects of the war with England. What ships should be assembled for operations? You could choose combinations of these, i.e. first use a smaller force for one operation, then reinforce them with other ships that become available later. The options are just a few of the many possible suggestions. The 2 heavily damaged ships will not be possible to use until next chapter, however the 2 lightly damaged could be used. The more ships you bring back from the colonies the more problematic the situation will be there. You currrently have around 35 ships away in colonies and for transports (a smaller precious metal fleet heading for China where the silver price is higher, among other things). Around 10 of the ships are patrolling outside colonies in South America and the Carribbean, and around 10 are escorting the silver fleet to China. The remaining ships are in the Indian Ocean, Africa and the Philippines etc. The Mediterranean fleet is not counted in these 35 ships. It has another 5 high-quality ships and also several oar-driven galleys (however the galleys are no match for English ships in the Atlantic). Remember when moving ships from the colonies that the American colonies must be guarded from the around 7 English warships in North America.
    a. immediately collect the 6 warships from the pirate hunting force and the undamaged 10 ships from the precious metal fleet escort for operations, also commission the 1 venetian ship you bought making for a total of 17 ships. When the 2 lightly damaged ships are repaired (when the English 20 warship fleet has been resupplied) put them into action as well
    b. as a, but also use the 2 lightly damaged ships right away
    c. as b, but also use the EIC ship
    d. bring back 20 ships from the colonies (specify from which colonies) before carrying out any operations at all (they would be home after the English 20 warship fleet has retreated to port and resupplied)

    5. what operation should the fleet in no. 4 carry out? The English 20 warship fleet is short of ammo and a quickly launched operation would be able to reach at least the middle of the English Channel before having any risk of meeting the English 20 warships resupplied.
    a. try to pursue the English 20 warship fleet. It is far away but weakened by it's shortage of ammunition. This option can be combined with carrying out other options after the pursuit ends.
    b. raid English merchants heading for East India. These are independent merchants not owned by the English crown but they pay taxes to the English king. It would be considered by merchants both within and outside Spain as a brutal crime if you would attack them, but it would hurt the English a lot indirectly to do so
    b. save plans like 5a for emergencies, instead assemble the fleet to strike any English ships, ports and similar in the western half of the English channel then retreat
    c. launch a land invasion of Britain. If the western part of the channel is unguarded you could land some of your best tercios, with proper cannon support. At this time of the year they would be able to live off the land. The disadvantages of the operation are the difficulty of keeping up contact with them as long as the English fleet is strong, and that many troops seem to be needed at home due to unrest.
    d. France might be involved in this, or want to get involved. Destroy and capture as much as you can of the French Mediterranean warfleet. However if the French didn't want to get involved this would mean making an enemy of a neutral country.
    e. as d, but instead attack the French channel fleet. It is small and should be easy to damage severely before English ships could assist them. However if the French didn't want to get involved this would mean making an enemy of a neutral country.

    6. the ships in America
    a. gather them for defense against English raids even if this limits trade temporarily
    b. don't gather them unless they are attacked. If they are attacked, try to use them defensively if any were lost, otherwise use them aggressively against the English 7 ships in the area.


    SWEDEN

    1. the Danish army you pursued
    a. try to engage it once more before it reaches Lund where it can be reinforced by perhaps 2,000 cavalry, 30 guns and 5,000-10,000 infantry or whatever strength the Danish could possess there. After the battle retreat north if more than x Danish troops survived (specify x), otherwise lay siege to Lund
    b. retreat north right away - at all risking to lose much of the Swedish 10,000 man army now is out of the question after the bloody defeat at Riga
    c. retreat a little bith north, meet up with surviving troops from the siege of Riga (see no. 2 below), scout Lund and if the reinforced Danish army leaves Lund engage it if the Danish reinforcements are smaller than the reinforcements you received
    d. as c, but also move 20 guns through the difficult terrain. They will arrive by the time you would engage the Danish army, if you lose the battle you will probably be unable to bring the guns with you in the retreat

    2. movement of surviving troops from the siege of Riga. Currently they have all moved to Swedish possessions in northern Livonia and in Estonia. You previously had 1,000 men garrisoning this area, and the arrival of the survivors from Riga has brought 300 landsknechts, 3,900 Swedish infantry, and 1,700 Finnish cavalry to the area. Do you wish them to remain in these parts or support the operations against Denmark? Or do you wish to move them to Kalmar or Stockholm where they can help in defending against Danish troops? Note that the Polish forces have poor infrastructure in Livonia and near Riga so at this time they can't succeed in any invasion of Swedish Livonia and Estonia as long as the Swedish garrison there has at least 1,000 infantry and 100 cavalry. As for the Polish raids on the southern parts of your possessions, they have some 5,000-8,000 troops and there's nothing you can do to stop their raids other than negotiating peace or hoping they'll move to the Polish-Russian front. While the raids are only about 500 men strong at the time, they are cavalry based and can retreat quickly in the face of Swedish opposition.

    3. peace with Denmark?
    a. immediately negotiate peace on the condition that Denmark hand back Älvsborg fortress to Sweden (by PM)
    b. not this turn, maybe next (if you picked 1a, 1c or 1d, that means the negotiations would happen after the Danish army has been engaged. If you win that battle, your chances of a better deal in the diplomatic discussions would increase, however if you lose your position would become worse)

    4. reforms for the Swedish army. It's clear after the battle of Riga that Swedish mercenary infantry based forces are difficult to command due to command language problems, and that the Swedish native infantry forces have too little training and are too few to be any better. An army that is both larger and more efficient is needed. Swedish economy is improving thanks to the many requests for Swedish copper and lately also iron. Which of these reforms would you like to carry out at this time?
    a. increase the conscription ratio in Sweden and Finland (this would lower local farming income but increase the size of the native Swedish and Finnish infantry force)
    b. build a cannon factory for creation of cannons, both heavy pieces and light mobile pieces (this means a high starting cost but the factory gives a possibility of, in the long term, selling weapons abroad for great profit - allowing you to sell complete products rather than raw material iron)
    c. make sure that every village has regular assemblies for training of the local conscripted infantry to improve the quality of Swedish infantry in general
    d. spend more effort into making the fleet stronger than into making the ground army any stronger (this can't be combined with a). You could perhaps strengthen your fleet by 10 ships in the coming 6 years by trade and construction of a shipyard. There are Dutch refugees in Sweden who have some experience in building the modern high-quality manouverable ships

    5. diplomacy with Poland and Russia. Possibly discuss peace/cooperation by PM

    6. naval operations? Your 2 damaged ships have been repaired now, giving you a total of 9 ships, 2 in Stockholm and 7 in Revala
    a. begin a new blockade of Riga using the ships currently in Revala, even if it means a risk of Danish ships attacking with superior strength - Gulf of Riga is a deathtrap
    b. begin a new blockade of Riga using the ships currently in Revala but also bring all ships from Stockholm there, even if it means a risk of Danish ships attacking with superior strength - Gulf of Riga is a deathtrap
    c. withdraw the ships from Revala to Stockholm, the risk of renewed Danish attack is too big
    d. raid Danish transports in Oresund
    e. use the troops currently in Revala to invade the Danish island of Saaremaa to improve your position in future negotiations with Denmark. While there's a risk of Danish ships intervening, the location of Saaremaa is at the mouth of the Gulf of Riga, making it easy to retreat if needed (possibly at the cost of losing a few ships though). Specify home many troops from Revala should be used for the invasion. The Danish strength on the island is limited to some 500 men in a fortfied city. Naval bombardment, guns and siege would be enough to take the fort, however the besieging Swedish forces would probably need Swedish ships to supply them over the winter and the stronger Danish fleet with it's good transportation capabilities could attempt to insert a stronger force on the island unless in trouble at Lund... Hiiumaa is currently Swedish territory.
    Map (Gulf or Riga, location of Saaremaa): http://data.ecology.su.se/mnode/Euro...0Riga/MGOR.HTM
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 09-08-2006 at 17:30.
    Under construction...

    "In countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Norway, there is no separation of church and state." - HoreTore

  25. #85
    Humanist Senior Member Franconicus's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    The Royal Government of France announces the foundation of the French Atlantic Trade Company. This company will receive previleges in the trade between the French colonies in Africa and American and the motherland.

    50% of the share will be held by the crown in return for the previleges. The rest can be bought by French noblemen and rich subjects. The King Himself declares that He is the first who is buying a share. He buys five percent.

    Maximilien, duc du sully, marechal de France

  26. #86
    Thread killer Member Rodion Romanovich's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Official statement from the Papacy:
    "The Holy Father condemns the English war against Spain and advice all true Sons of the church to assist Spain in her struggle against this Protestant aggression and also advice England to declare peace with Spain and give compensation for all damages caused so far."
    Last edited by Rodion Romanovich; 09-08-2006 at 12:39.
    Under construction...

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  27. #87
    Bopa Member Incongruous's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    The Holy Roman Emperor believes it is in the best wishes of Europe for the Great Catholic powers to convene at some time in the near future. He suggests the Great holy city of Roma itself, for cummunion which may baptise Europe and reddem it from its past and present sins.

    Decree of his most Holy and Imperial highness Matthias Holy Roman Emperor of the German nation, protector of the Catholic Faith.

    Sig by Durango

    Now that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm.
    -Oscar Wilde

  28. #88
    Join the ICLADOLLABOJADALLA! Member IrishArmenian's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Bopa, could you delete a PM or too? I cannot send you any.

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  29. #89
    Bopa Member Incongruous's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    Ggetting to it right now!

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  30. #90
    Imperialist Brit Member Orb's Avatar
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    Default Re: 17th century

    For the Hell of it, I'll take Denmark. I don't expect to be really active because of other things.


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