The Substance of Power: A Tuscan AAR

[Specialist290]

Somehow, I think the Venetians would be a little averse to being diploannexed by the Byzantines. (Of course, they'd be even more resistant to military annexation, but they'd be able to do less about that.)

Nice to see you've made it to the home stretch. Now let's see how the slide into the plate goes

Oh yeah, and something I've been putting off for a while:

Due to your amazing work in keeping this AAR updated, and because I find alternate-history Byzantine Empires pretty darn cool, I hereby award you, RossN, one Red Special Cookie. Please copy the following tag into your sig, w/o spaces:

[ url=http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5641811&postcount=385][ size=2][ b][ color=red]●[/color][/b][/size][/url]

If you have done this properly, you should see this in your signature:

●

[coz1]

So another war with Venice will bring us to the finish line. It seems fitting, really. As Tuscany, you would have had to deal with them anyway, and your Byz stayed away from them for a good portion in the middle of the AAR. Time to go back to the beginning and finish what the last war started.

As for Venice - you have to get multiple armies in there to block the high attrition provinces while you assault them. I don't suppose you have a leader around with a handy siege rate, do you?

[J. Passepartout]

See, Crete is already paying off. Now if you allow the Cretans to do their job this will be a won war.

My grandmother has a copy of that picture in her house.

[Fiftypence]

So, another war with Venice. Let's hope it's a successful one.

[RossN]

Chief Ragusa: Unfortunatly the game ends in 1820 so diplo annexing isn't really a possibility.

Vincent Julien: I'll post some pictures of Europe circa 1815 tomorrow. Alas France doesn't exist so no Napoleon!

Specialist290: Thank you, I'm enormously flattered. I just hope my sig has room!

coz1: Unfortunatly I have no leaders at all - curse of being a fictional nation.

J. Passepartout: Huh, small world. Does she know it's of an Empress?

Fiftypence: Hope so!

Above: The Battle of Cape Gata, 13-15 August 1811

Part 53

Though it had been less than twenty years since the previous war the aims and strategy of the Byzantine generals had changed. As before the army advanced into the Adriatic coast and the North Black Sea, but this year for the first time the war at sea came into play.

Though still relatively small the Imperial Navy had grown slightly over the years and Antonio Faileri-Falconi, Prince of Macedonia a young officer and cousin of the Emperor suggested a daring plan: a naval attack on Cyprus. Though it would take until 1812 for the forces to be ready the plans were drawn up: Prince Antonio would lead three regiments including the crack Smyrnan Fusiliers veterans of the war in Venice's Black Sea territory. Practically the entire Imperial Navy was devoted to the operation including the new flagship, the Man O'War Imperatrix Caterina.

Prince Antonio was able to land on Cyprus unopposed in late June and set about innvesting the enemy. Feeling that his forces had insufficent numerical superiority for a frontal assault he decided on a siege and ordered the Navy to blockade the island to secure his own supplies and prevent potential Venetian landings.

On the night of the 13th August three Venetian Men O'War and their support ships appeared off Cape Gata, clearly trying to supply the Venetian garrison. Admiral Romanus sailed out to meet them and for the first time in centuries a Byzantine force faced a foe in a major sea battle.

By the morning of the 15th the Venetians had been driven off by the superior numbers and firepower of Romanus's squadron. It was signal moment and if Romanus exaggerated somewhat in his statement:

"From the Caterina I watched seven centuries of Venetian dominance sink beneath the waves."

It was a great propaganda coup resounding round the captials of Europe. Spain had pulled out early in the war and shortly afterwards when Cyprus itself fell Austria began a war of it's own on the Doge, unconnected with Constantinople.

Prince Antonio was the hero of the Empire for capturing Cyprus but he was not long to rest on his laurels. Realising that the army in the Balkans had little hope of subduing Ragusa or Venice itself without unacceptable losses he proposed a dazzling alternative: a seaborne invasion across the Adriatic in Venetian held Italy...

[Maximilliano]

Originally Posted by RossN

a seaborne invasion across the Adriatic in Venetian held Italy...

this... is gonna be good

[Chief Ragusa]

It would have been interesting to see if you could have diploannexed Venice.

Smart move leaving those Adriatic fortresses to the Austrians. They'll lose the troops. I look forward to reading about your homeland liberation party!

The war could not have started much better for you. The capture of Cyprus, Spain's withdrawal and the all important naval victory.

[J. Passepartout]

Excellent, the Empire is demonstrating the influence of sea power upon history.

[Specialist290]

Well, even if the Byzantines don't sack Venice, I'm sure destroying or scattering most of their fleet is enough for a revenge on a seafaring mercantile republic Hope to see the war brought to a successful conclusion.

[coz1]

Nice work against the Venetian Navy. That certainly lifts the spirits. Let's hope this follow up invasion comes off just as well. Certainly a bold move and if it works could net a healthy gain.

[RossN]

Maximilliano: Huh no pressure!

Chief Ragusa: True, I got lucky!

J. Passepartout: Well quite. I wonder what Nelson does in this timeline with no Napoleon...

Vincent Julien: Yes no France (I'll post maps) it happens occasionally in AGCEEP. Weirder yet no American or French Revolutions - perhaps the Enlightenment was strangled at birth in this timeline.

Specialist290: Heh, not that we are bitter or anything.

coz1: True, I figured with such little time left why not be bold for once?

Above: Odysseus is put ashore in Ithaca, Theodor van Thulden (1606 - 1669)

Part 54

The initial expedition to Italy was perhaps overly ambitous: a plan to sail through the Ionian Sea (avoiding the Venetian dominated Adriatic) past Messina and land on the Tyrrhenian coastline perhaps even strike Rome itself (the Papal States had allied with Venice, much to the embarassment of the Imperial Family). However even before poor seas and an outbreak of scurvy forced the expedition to turn back some miles from its destination doubts had been raised: was the Imperial ready and willing to besiege Rome?

Many in Constantinople thought not. Quite apart from the formidable fortifactions of the Holy See, which would it was estimated require a force of not less than 15,000 men there was a deep unwillingness to be seen to invade the centre of the Catholic Church. The son of Demetrios quailed from such an act and many were as one mind with him. General Abbas (grandson of the famous Marshal) even wondered openly whether in the event of a siege and capture the army with it's many Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Jews could be trusted to behave itself.

A second expedition in April 1814 set the more reasonable goal of crossing the Adriatic and striking North into Venetian Italy. Prince Antonio was quite anxious to start fearing as he did that North Italy might otherwise fall to the Austrians but to his relief he found the countryside of the Marche empty of armies who were engaged in battles North and South. Disdaining the fortress of Ancona he decided on a prize that despite being less well defended was far the richer: Tuscany and the city of Florence.

The light Venetian forces in the countryside were soon dispersed and Antonio settled down for a siege (he refused to assault the city for fear of damaging it's irreplacbly beatiful buildings. The Venetians garrison resisted stubbornly for many weeks but by the New Year it was clear no help would be forthcoming and running low on rations the second largest city in Italy surrendered to Prince Antonio.

The Prince surprised everyone by entering not on horseback at the head of his troops but alone on foot and simply clad in the uniform of a soldier of the Empire. Having accepted the surrender of the Venetian governor he celebrated Mass in the Duomo before announcing to the citizens of Florence that system of the republic was to restored - Florence would be a Free City in the Byzantine Empire. Then he walked to the half forgotten Falconi family crypt and ordering his servants to clean away the ivy and detritius sat a while and thought as he looked at the tomb where four hundred years previously his namesake and ancestor had buried his father. He wept.

Then he sat down and wrote a brief letter to his cousin the Emperor.

"Naiad nymphs, daughters of Jove, I made sure that I
was never again to see you, now therefore I greet you with all
loving salutations, and I will bring you offerings as in the old days,
if Jove's redoubtable daughter will grant me life, and bring my son to
manhood."

Such words were spoken by Odysseus on his return to Ithaca.

On the 18th of April 1815 Venice signed a peace treaty with the Empire. Cyprus and Tuscany passed to Constantinople.

Above: Cyprus 1815

Above: Tuscany 1815

[Specialist290]

And it all comes full circle: The great revenge (Byzantium's humiliation of the Venetians) and the personal revenge (the Falconi liberation of their homeland from foreign invaders).

Outstanding AAR here, RossN

EDIT: And now I note that Venice has indeed been sacked, although not by the Byzantines themselves. Now they can rub in the fact that they were able to convince others to do the dirty work for them

[Chief Ragusa]

Let the party begin! I'm raising a glass to the Falconi-Falieri. Real neat touch having Prince Antonio enter the City dressed as his ancestor left it.

Unless the Venetians want to take stab hits, that's the last war with them. You can now spend the next few years converting more provinces, assuming that the Spanish or Austrians do not want a piece of your territory.

[RossN]

Oh that reminds me.

Europe in 1815 after the Peace of Florence

[Specialist290]

Hmm... Comparing those maps to the last ones you put up...

Austria's German expansion seems to have stagnated, allowing Denmark and Burgundy to partition the rest amongst themselves. Spain annexed Navarra, two purple and green states appear to have conquered that one red state on the Russian steppes, and Russia itself seems to have filled in some of the pockets. Denmark, meanwhile, finally managed to annex Norway somehow, and make even more progress agaisnt the Swedes, and Poland annexed Lithuania and has pressed even further east, only losing Belarus to (Venice?). The Pope somehow nabbed some southern Italian possessions from Spain (possibly revolters, then the Pope got called into the alliance and crushed 'em before Spain did), and an independent Sicilian state appears to have kicked out the Spaniards (but for how long?). North Africa has pretty well stagnated, as has France, aside from the Austrians taking Piemonte.

A few nations I'm surprised to see are still around: Pomerania, Ryazan, Bosnia, and Moldavia.

Incidentally, it'd also be neat to see a religion map of Europe, too, just to see how screwy that looks. Has the Protestant Reformation even left the ground?

[Chief Ragusa]

What does the rest of the world look like? The Tuscan Empire is the European power. That is quite an achievement.

[Draco Rexus]

I love the coming full circle, Ross, that was beautiful!

Now, while there's not much time left, what sort of other glory can the Empire win for itself?

[coz1]

Yes, very appropriate to conquer Tuscany and return it to the empire in the end. Very nice!

And Burgundy has grown HUGE! That is one interesting western Europe, I must say!

[J. Passepartout]

Tuscany is back! This is the greatest day the Empire has ever seen.

[prussiablue]

Real glad Tuscany is reunited with the empire. I think your next target should be to gobble up the rest of the Italian states.