Chapter 1: A Brazen Barroise Beginning
Bar was in a truly advantageous position. Possessing rich iron and coal deposits in the Franche-Comte region, it was the strongest and largest of the neighboring kingdoms... barring the Dutch Empire. The southern petty kingdoms of Auvergne, Guyenne, Toulouse, and Armagnac were potential targets, yet not worth Barroise attention yet.
Having once possessed ports, lost temporarily to illegitimate kings, the King possessed colonies in Northern Kanata.
The king, Xavier-Francois II, began to plot. he knew the southern kingdoms possessed little military, yet the outright conquest of one of them would bar future expansion. Auvergne, resting on it's laurels in centuries past, was considered a great power by some, despite it's lack of anything significant. Savoy was in a similar position, and Alsace, presumably from it's legendary musicians and writers, was considered one of the greatest powers in Europe. Alençon, meanwhile, had recently declared independence from Great Britain, and had little military to defend itself. It had territory that could be captured, leading to a coastal port and a new connection to the Kanatian colonies.
Within months, despite other nations learning of the... underhanded tactics, the state press had stirred the Barroise public into a fever. Learning of the cruel injustices being performed by Alençon on it's own people, including torture and execution by guillotine, the public pressure to declare war soon bubbled over. Calling it's allies into war, with only Alsace and Savoy, being the traitorous cowards that they are, declining to join, the Barroise forces quickly moved into action.
Alençon, meanwhile, was left to itself. It's allies, fearful of the slaughter to be delivered by the superior force of the liberators, wisely declined to intervene.
The battles which soon unfolded were worthy to be retold over the next century. Barroise Cuirassiers, aided by infantry, flanked and devastated the pithy forces of the enemy at Angers. Reginald Duquesne, Marquis of Besançon, truly knew how to lead his men. He ordered his guns to position themselves on a nearby hill, in order to fire on the enemy easier. He then lured the enemy in with an inferior infantry force, which then held while cavalry and infantry advanced and attacked the enemy. Though more men were lost, Duquesne was still victorious against the enemy.
With a major force defeated, the army advanced through enemy territory. Another Barroise force faced off against the enemy, and quickly slaughtered the cowardly enemy, as they feebly tried to defend themselves.
With the enemy army having surrendered and dissolved,
occupationliberation proceeded without organized resistance.
With the
occupationglorious freeing of their people complete, Alençon finally accepted the generous peace terms offered by Bar. Access to the Atlantic was gained, with an intact naval base made available.
After terse negotiations with the Royal Treasury, the newly reformed Royal Navy secured funding for 2 Men of War. The Treasurer, a second cousin of the Queen, wasn't the wisest steward, but with massive funds available (often converted to marks in respect to Austria, the Holy Roman Emperor), he had little reason for argument.
By 1840, the world had already greatly changed. Austria and the Netherlands were truly the two greatest powers, their military and industry nearly equal, which they both used to great effect. The Netherlands reclaimed their former colonies on the western coast of North America from Spain, and Austria had pushed further into Northern Italy, and gaining control of part of southern Italy. Germany remained a hotbed of war, with territory claimed by multiple states, and the soldiers of these states dying for said claims. Whoever had ideas of unification of Germany was truly a fool.
So the great game continues. What will happen next? Will the Republic of Louisiana succeed in North America? Will Ming continue it's reign? No one truly knows for certain.
Frankly, this is one of the most exciting games I've played. With the EU3 port, the world is different from everyone else's. I'm truly playing a unique, one-of-a-kind game. The Great War should be insane.