1640-1650 King Filipe II, Part 2
A slight change of format for this update. With my
colonial interests ever growing, it becomes more and more tricky to report on
my expansion in a sensible and meaningful way that isn't just a picture of a random island. So in future, I will just put a
little section at the end of each update reporting important colonial matters,
and make a bigger report at the 50 year intermission.
Anyway, on with the show. In October 1641, the Ottomans conclude their war
with Yemen, taking the province of Asir
July 1642, and Kilwa finally likes us enough to
become a Protectorate. We now have protectorates running down the length of
East Africa
In September of 1642 the Ottomans embargo us. This
is looking ominous!
In the meantime, however, we unlock the final
Quantity Idea, reducing the cost of Artillery. This gives us the bonus for
completing the Quantity group, which is an increase in our force limits by
33%.... very useful!
Ah, now this is an interesting choice... diplomatic
technology unlocks trade bonuses and new ship types. A 10% reduction in tech
cost amounts to a year’s worth of diplomatic power with our current dimwit of a
King, and 10% increase on ship costs is manageable with our buoyant economy
In June 1645 our fears are finally confirmed. The
Ottomans declare war on Hedjaz, in order to link their southern Arabian
province with the rest of their territory. If we don’t oppose the Ottomans here
they will only get stronger and stronger. However, the Ottomans are military
tech 19, and we are only tech 16, as we have spent a lot of military power on
the Quantity Idea group in the last few decades. This puts us at a significant
disadvantage!
The Ottomans’ allies do not join their war, which is
good for us. We call our faithful allies, Morocco and Austria, to Arms. Both
say yes.... phew!
As Papal Controller we also have another ace up our
sleeve.... Crusade! We declare a Crusade against the Ottomans. This works
differently to a Crusade in Crusade Kings II, in that declaring a Crusade in
EUIV does not automatically send out a Call to Arms to all Catholic nations. It
does, however, give a big boost to any Catholic nations at war with the nation
that is the focus of the Crusade.
Austria is going to be our backbone in this war, as
they match the Ottomans in military tech level, and have the bonuses of
Crusading!
The first action comes in September, when our fleet
of 20 Galleases meet up with 6 Austrian Frigates and attack a small Ottoman
fleet. The Ottomans have a huge navy, bigger than mine, so trying to pick off
smaller fleets such as this one will be the only way to gain naval supremacy.
The good news is, however, that the Ottomans have no naval presence outside the
Med, so our transport and trade fleets will be able to shuttle back and forth
around our Empire free from worry.
The battle ends in victory, with only 1 Austrian
ship being lost, and the entire Ottoman fleet is sent to the bottom
By March 1646 our land forces are starting to come
together from around the Empire. Austria is marching all of its forces overland
towards Turkey, and so will take care of the northern front. Morocco is getting
its backside handed to it in the west, and I plan to take care of the Southern
front. I’m hoping that Morocco will be a big diversion for the Ottoman forces,
tying up a significant percentage in pointless battles and sieges. I will
engage and disengage as necessary to keep another big percentage of the
Ottomans tied down, whilst Austria does the heavy lifting, hopefully taking
Constantinople
We engage a small siege force in Aden with 36k
troops in March
Annihilating them for little loss. A good start!
That’s handy! In May 1646 we get a Royal Marriage
with the Incans, who have happily been converted to Catholicism by the
Castilians. I have a plan for them!
June 1646, and our main army of 48k troops is trying
to recapture Mocha, when a force of 72k Ottomans appears! We have defensive
bonuses and terrain on our side, limiting their advantage, but it will be a
close battle!
Unfortunately, sheer weight of numbers tells and we
are defeated, although they lose 5,000 more troops than we do
In August 1646 we take Admin tech 19, which has no
bearing on the war effort at all!
The second major naval battle of the war takes place
later in the month, with 67 allied ships facing off against 47 Ottoman
Unfortunately, halfway through the battle the enemy
receives 91 reinforcement ships, including 22 modern Galleons and 24 Galleases,
and our fate is sealed. This effectively ends our ability to contest the
Mediterranean. The Ottomans have won the naval war!
However, on land things are coming along nicely. The
huge stack that the Ottomans diverted into Arabia to deal with my troops has
left the door open for Austria to lay siege to half of the northern part of the
Ottoman territories, in the ancient areas of Thrace and Anatolia
Morocco is also doing its job, diverting the
attention of 40k Ottomans. We currently have 24k troops still in Portugal, and
are awaiting our transport fleets to arrive from the Indian Ocean to move them
into North Africa
Meanwhile, by October 1646, the Ottomans have split
their Arabian force, but have retained almost 70k troops in the area. Good, you
keep them there whilst I reorganise. In the meantime, Austria will rack up the
warscore
In December 1646, our plan for Inca moves into the
next phase, as they agree to become our vassal. This will enable us to annex
them diplomatically in about 10 years, giving us enough cored provinces in the
region to create Portuguese colonial Peru.
Our forces reorganise and advance back into Arabia
in the spring of 1647. By this time, the Ottomans have recognised the danger in
the north, and start to move their forces up to meet the Austrians. We charge
forward, picking off siege forces as we go. We engage a large force of 24k
Ottomans up on the Syrian coast in July
Giving them a beating, albeit a Pyrrhic one!
My advance gets the attention of the Ottomans, who
proceed to chase me down the Red Sea coast with 54k troops returning from
Anatolia
In April 1648, we manage to recapture Mocha before
the Ottomans arrive, and hightail it south to preserve our army
Our many land battles has given our armies a morale
boost
And this leads us to be a little bit cocky with our
24k army from mainland Portugal. Landing in Africa it engages in a defensive
battle alongside 8k Moroccan allies, against 44k Ottomans. Unfortunately, we
fight on a big wide open plain, where the enemy can use his superior numbers
effectively
We lose 15k troops (8k Moroccans and 7k Portuguese)
to 18k Ottomans, but retire from the field defeated
In Arabia in September 1648, we take the field for
another sortie, this time into Egypt
Unfortunately, we lose heavily and are forced to
retire. By this stage we have used up over half of our available manpower in
reserves
The Ottomans turn their attention northwards over
the winter of 1648, giving us enough time to regroup and recapture Mecca
By the start of the spring campaign in 1649, our
allied strategy has worked well. Although half of Morocco is in enemy hands,
their provinces are worth essentially nothing to the warscore. Meanwhile, the
Ottomans have had their initial gains in Arabia recaptured by my forces, and
the Austrian have gone to town in the north, occupying all of Thrace except
Constantinople, and half a dozen provinces in Anatolia
In May of 1649 Morocco capitulates to the Ottomans,
losing no territory, but annulling their treaty with us and paying a load of
cash. In a rage I forget to take a screenshot, as this strands 24k of my troops
in Tangiers, requiring me to divert my transport fleets to evacuate them.
As a result we are forced to implement our next
major sortie into Arabia, to divert Ottoman forces for long enough that the
Austrians can complete the siege of Constantiople. We engage in a defensive
battle in the Negev desert
Winning it decisively, losing fewer than 6,000
troops to the enemy’s 13,000
Our diplomatic tech level increases in July, and we
now have access to the same ship types that the Ottomans have
Over the next few months we hound the Ottoman forces
all the way to Iraq
Continuing to inflict heavy defeats. This is taking
a toll on our reserve levels, with our manpower down to less than a third of
our pre-war levels
WTF!?! I don’t believe it! Our heir, who, if you
remember, had really good stats, dies at the age of 16 in February 1650...
Our trapped Moroccan troops are recovered and sent
to west Africa, to deal with the Ottoman forces who have marched south from
Morocco
Whilst the battle is underway, Austria gets itself
into a war with Prussia, and decides to call it quits against the Ottomans in
June, taking no land, but forcing the Ottomans to release Albania, Bulgaria and
Trebizond as sovereign states.
This is my cue to send a peace offer to the
Ottomans, as I can’t fight the war alone! Fortunately, we have enough warscore
to force the Ottomans to cede Asir to me (the province that caused the whole
problem in the first place!) and also release Tripoli as a sovereign state.
They also give us a fair wedge of cash!
The Ottomans have been successfully defeated, albeit
it took the combined might of two of the world’s superpowers to do it! Although
they are still a superpower, they have lost about 10 provinces in the peace
deals, and we forced them to use up their entire manpower reserve.
Finally, for this update, in November 1650, Venice
declares war on the Ottomans... They better have some strong allies... if they
do, our war with the Ottomans could have spelled their doom... if they don't, well, they're screwed!
So, what did we learn from our five year war with
another superpower?
Firstly, we cannot afford to lag behind in military
tech again! Our tech disparity forced us into fighting a purely defensive
campaign, relying on Austria to do most of the heavy lifting. In a solo war we
would have lost heavily. Fortunately, I have no need to take any more military
Idea groups, so we should start to catch up over the next few years.
Secondly, our navy is superb for trade purposes, but
we don’t have nearly enough heavy vessels. Rebuilding the fleet along combat
lines is a priority.
Thirdly, our economy is strong enough to deal with
multiple colonies and military construction requirements during wartime,
without having to raise war taxes.
The colonies
Almost apologetically, we should note:
Menade became self-sustaining in1641 – the whole of the
island of Sulawesi is now mine and self-sustaining. Our expansion into the East Indies continues!
New Zealand – Having taken Australia, in Feb 1642 our first colonists arrive on the North Island of NZ. By 1646 we have 1 self-sustaining province and 3 other colonies
in NZ, and by 1650 we have colonies in every NZ province.
April 1644 – Micronesia becomes self-sustaining, and our ring of south Pacific islands comes closer to completion
August 1644 – island of Buru to the east of Sulawesi
becomes self-sustaining
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