Once More Unto The Breach: Prussia (V:R)

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Victoria 2 from Paradox should be out in a few months, so I decided to fire up Victoria: Revolutions one more time in preparation for it. So far, I've liked most of what I've read about Vicky 2 from the Dev Diaries, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I've played through Vicky:R several times, but it was always with a pretty easy and isolated nation. Japan, US, Brazil and Argentina were the nations I've played with. I never played as one of the major nations in Europe, so I'm going to give it a shot with one of the easier ones, Prussia.

I haven't played Vicky in some time, and even though Prussia has a rep for being an easy nation to play, I'm sure I'm going to make some mistakes and forget a few things and it will be tougher than it should be. So this should be fun!

Prussia

Monarchy

Konservative Partei

Economy: Interventionism
Trade: Protectionism
Religion: Moralism
Minority: Residence
War: Jingosim

No voting rights
Public Meetings allowed
State Press
Right To Ban parties
No trade unions

No social reforms

Population: 15 million

Diplomacy

Defense Pacts with all of the German minors

Russia and Austria: +100 relations

France: -100

Current Research: Early Railroad

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Prussia: Blue
Austria: White to the south
Russia: Green to the east
France: Gray to the southwest
Netherlands: Orange to the west

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Current State of the Economy

Resources

We produce

Coal
Cattle
Grain
Fish
Fruit
Iron
Timber

We produce a ton of coal (~20), Cattle and Grain are at ~6, Fish at ~3 with Fruit at ~2 and finally Iron and Timber at ~1.

Coal is used in the production of quite a lot of goods. For now, my main concern is making Cement and Steel.

Factories

Regular Clothes (in the state of Westfalen)
Needs: Fabric + Dye

Fabric (Rheinland)
Needs: Wool + Cotton

Steel (Rheinland)
Needs: Coal + Iron

Cement (Sachren)
Needs: Coal

Glass (Brandonburg)
Needs: Coal

Ammunition (Brandonburg)
Needs: Coal + Sulfur + Iron

Small Arms (Brandonburg)
Needs: Iron + Ammunition

Paper Mill (Brandonburg)
Needs: Lumber

Explosives (Schlesien)
Needs: Ammunition + Fertilizer

Artillery (Schlesien)
Needs: Iron + Explosives

Fertilizer (Pommern)
Needs: Sulfur

Canned Food (Westpreussen)
Needs: Cattle + Fish + Grain + Iron

Lumber Mill (Ostpreussen)
Needs: Timber

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As you can see, a lot of my factories require items made by my other factories. In previous games I've played, I always tried to build my economy up by first making factories that only required domestic goods, but that's an option here.

I don't make sulfur, but a few of my factories require it. I also don't make enough Iron so I import some of that as well. I don't make wool or cotton, so I have to import those for my Fabric factory which I need for my Regular Clothes factory which imports Dye anyway.

Short Term: Going to see how it plays out. Hopefully there is enough Iron, Sulfur, Wool, Cotton and Dye on the world market every day to keep my factories running. If not, some of them will have to close.

Money Makers: Even with all of the coal I need for my factories, I'm producing well over 10 times as much as I need. The same goes with Cattle and Grain. Hopefully they sell on the world market.

Time to let the game play out for a week to see how everything falls.

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January 15, 1836

Let the game go for 2 weeks. I'm running a budget deficit of about $4 a day. I upped Tariffs a little to make up the difference. So now my budget is roughly balanced. I have just under $20,000. I must be careful with it. Halfway through the month, I have spent about $150 on imports.

I only have 2 Machine Parts, and it will be some time before I can make them. Since I have Interventionism as my Economy, I have to rely on my Capitalists to build new factories. I need Machine Parts to expand Factories, but thankfully all capitalists need to make factories is money, which is why I am taxing the Rich low and limiting how much I take in tariffs. The more money Capitalists have, the more factories and railroads they make.

On January 24th, I paid to have the Cement Factory in Sachren expanded. That brings me down to 1 Machine Part, which I'll hold onto for now. Cement could be a big money maker for me, even with low tariffs, so that one was priority (plus I have more than enough of the only ingredient for it).

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January 29th: Invention: Pit Coal. Pit Coal was much more high graded than Brown Coal and at this point new techniques made refining Pit Coal much simpler. Coal Mines are now 100% more efficient. (More coal for me! Coal production is now at +29)

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March 2nd: Jominian Theory vs. Clausewitzian Theory. I chose Clausewitzian Theory

March 16th: The London Treaty. I sign the London Treaty, guaranteeing the independence of Belgium.

June 4th: Invention of Corvettes: This ship was the smallest of the three-masted woodeships and it only had one cannon deck. Its main tasks was to be the eyes and ears of the task force.

July 1st: Diesterweg Publishes his Guidelines For Teachers. +10 Research Points

September 7th: Fire at a Timber Store. -7 Timber.

1837

January 22nd: Early Railroad discovered. Researching: Stock Exchange

January 23rd: Cement Factory finishes expansion.

May 9th: Superior Crew Thesis

June 28th: Academic Circle Founded. I chose "Let Them be". +1 Research Point. (The other options were "Support" which gave +2 RP but cost $500 and "Work Against Them" which lowered the Consciousness of my Pops)

December 27th: Tech deal with Belgium. We gave them Clean Coal in exchange for Medicine.

1838

January 22nd: Stock Exchange discovered. Researching: Mechanical Production. After this, I'm going to switch to researching Army tech to improve my military.

January 25th: The 2nd Oriental Crisis. Egypt is fighting the Ottoman Empire for control of Syria. I don't want an alliance with the Ottomans, but it can't hurt to improve relations so I give my diplomatic support to the Ottomans, but that's it. +100 Relations with the Ottoman Empire.

Also on the 25th, I gave Russia "Medicine" in exchange for "Battleship Column Doctrine".

(I knew I'd make a mistake. My Research Points are in the negative now because of my tech trading and Mechanical Production is going to take a lot longer to research now. Battleship Column Doctrine wasn't worth that. Oops.)

March 28th: Foreign Support for Insurgents. I'm a Great Power and can't afford to do anything that damages my Prestige. Have to keep pace. I hang the smugglers and seize the weapons. +5 Prestige, +20 Small Arms, +20 Ammunition and -200 Relations with Hesse-Darmstadt (a German minor).

November 1st: My Capitalists have started building! I get a 2nd Glass Factory (opening next year) and a Liquor Distillery (opening in 2 years). I also have railroads expanding in Berlin and Breslau.

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1839

May 4th: Unexpected Invention: +8 Research Points (I needed that!)

June 30th: Child Labour Laws passed. +1 Prestige. +1 Consciousness of North Germans.

November 1st: The Glass Factory opens. I had to move some people out of the coal mines and into the factory to get it up and running.

1840

January 20th: I increase my mobilization from 16 to 20 divisions (cost 40 Small Arms and 40 Canned Food)

January 22nd: Mechanical Production discovered. Researching: Military Plans

February 1st: My population hits 16 million

February 15th: Invention: Mechanized Slaughtering-block. By mechanizing the procedure inside the slaughterhouse the handling was sped up and output increased. Cattle Ranch +210%, Fishing Wharf +260%, Sheep Ranch, +200%.

February 22nd: I decide to expand the Canned Food Factory.

June 8th: Friedrich Wilhelm IV takes the throne. Consciousness for Liberal in Prussia increase by 1.

June 17th: Invention: Sharp and Robert's Power Loom. This was one of the first mechanized power looms and it revolutionized production. From now on the textile industry was no longer considered a handicraft. Cotton Plantation +10%, Sheep Ranch +20%.

August 17: Invention: Building Station Shipyards. By industrializing shipyards and building them so that the workprocess was done in a modern fashion the output of ships and efficiency was vastly increased. Clipper Shipyard +10%.

October 3rd: Invention: Hussey and McCormick's Reaping Machine. This was the first step to mechanize farming which increased the agricultural output enormously.Grain Farm +60%, Orchard +125%, Tea Plantation +40%

November 1st: Liquor Distillery is finished. I had to bring more workers out of the coal mines to work in the factories. It takes Grain and Glass (I have plenty of both) and makes Liquor. In other Capitalist news, a few more railroads are being upgraded.

December 17th: Military Plans finished. Researching: Army Professionalism

1841

January 24th: Marvelous authors. Thanks to the works of some famous authors, Militancy among Labourers drops by 1.

February 17th: Invention: Pitt's Threshing Machine. This farming machine made agriculture less labour intensive and increased the output. Grain Farm +60%, Orchard +125%, Tea Plantation: +35%.

March 9th: Mechanical Saw. This was a power-driven saw that vastly increased the rate of cut down timber. Timber Lodge +120%, Tropical Wood Lodge +20%. I really needed this. My Lumber supply hasn't been keeping up with demand. Now I can expand my Lumber Mill thanks to the increased output of my Timber Lodges.

March 13th: Jacquard Power Loom. This was a mechanized power loom that produced fabric with a much higher quality than before. Sheep Ranch +210%, Silkworm Ranch +10%, Fabric Factory +10%.

March 17th: Prophylaxis against Malaria. This medicament gave the patient a protection against the disease gotten from the Malaria mosquito which was very common in the tropics. Attrition Mod -3%, Max Colonial Life Rating -0.05.

March 24th: Increases mobilization from 20 divisions to 24 divisions.

August 17th: "Deutschlandlied". Consciousness for Aristocrats and Liberals +1.

October 2nd: The Last Descendant. The last member of an old noble family dies. His wealth falls to the state. +$1000

November 12th: Army Professionalism discovered. Researching: Strategic Mobility

1842

May 14th: Recruits Rally To The Flag. I get a free infantry division.

August 1st: More railroads are being upgraded and I'm getting yet another Glass Factory. Capitalists sure do love them. In my case, it makes sense. I have a massive surplus of coal and glass sells.

October 8th: Strategic Mobility discovered. Researching: Muzzle-loaded Rifles

December 2nd: I order the building of a Frigate with Corvettes. It'll take nearly 2 years to build.

December 19th: Diplomatic Insult. I demand an apology. +1 Prestige, -100 Relations with Hamburg.

1843

May 5th: I increase our mobilization from 24 divisions to 28.

August 1st: A 3rd Glass Factory is built.

September 3rd: Muzzle-loaded Rifles discovered. Researching: High and Low Pressure Steam Engines. A switch back to Industry. Will probably switch back to military after this.

November 18th: Increased mobilization from 28 divisions to 32 divisions.

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1844

February 1st: My population hits 17 million.

April 24th: Underground Newspaper Campaigns in Support of Greater Press Freedom. I Let Them Be (+1 Consciousness for Liberalism in Prussia).

June 2nd: The Greek Constitution. The Greek king, who is of Bavarian descent, is forced to pass a constitution. When his German officials come back to German lands, they spread liberal ideas. Way too many effects to list. Consciousness and Militancy gets a +1 for a lot of POPs.

August 1st: Zoological Garden in Berlin. +5 Prestige.

August 8th: I increase our mobilization from 32 to 36 divisions

September 4th: High and Low Pressure Steam Engines discovered. Researching: Inorganic Chemistry. Ok, 1 more Industry tech before I go back to army techs. I have a war coming with the Danes that I intend to win.

1845

January 1st: Capitalists build another Liquor Distillery.

February 19th: Combat Medicine. At this point the armies and navies of the world had acknowledged the need not only for a medical corps within their organizations, but also that the illness' and wounds delivered in combat and fronline duty needed specialization. Attrition -10%

March 1st: Capitalists build a Paper Mill.

April 1st: Capitalists build an Ammunition Factory.

May 24th: I increase our mobilization from 36 divisions to 40 divisions.

June 1st: Capitalists build a Winery. These guys are going crazy!

July 5th: Traitor Caught! I execute him. +5 Prestige, -50 Relations with Hamburg and +1 Consciousness for Liberalism.

September 1st: Capitalists build a Furniture Factory.

September 4th: Inorganic Chemistry discovered. Researching: Interchangeable Parts. The +10 Machine Parts I get for this clinched it.

September 5th: The Liberal Revolution. Consciousness for Liberal +5, Militancy for Liberal +3, Plurality +20

October 19th: Jews Have Duties, Too. Jews must take their family name and serve in the military. +5 Research Points, +5 Prestige, Consciousness for Jewish +1.

December 18th: Tech Trade with Belgium. I give them Battleship Column Doctrine and Stock Exchange for Market Structure.

1846

January 2nd: Committee for Polish Independence is formed. Militancy for Polish +3.

February 1st: Foreign Support for Insurgents. This time from Holstein. Execution again. +5 Prestige, -200 Relations with Holstein, +20 Small Arms, +20 Ammunition.

February 4th: Coke. Coke was coal that had been enriched by a special process. By treating the coal more energy could be turned into power and it could also clean iron and other metals more effectively. Coal Mines +150%

September 6th: Interchangeable Parts. Researching: Iron Muzzle-loaded Artillery.

September 14th: Neptune discovered! +10 Research Points. +5 Prestige.

October 19th: A revolt in Halle.

December 1st: The revolt in Halle is put down. Rebellious thought is spreading though. I need to do something to stop it.

1847

January 1st: Liquor Distillery is finished. I'm starting to have trouble finding workers for all of these factories.

January 9th: Food Packing System. Canned Food Factories +10%.

January 12th: The Slesvig Question. Denmark passed several reforms to bind Slesvig-Holstein closer to the motherland. They are trying to turn Germans into Danes. This will not stand. I declare war on Denmark. +10 Prestige.

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The War of Schleswig

January 13th: I mobilize my forces. They will be ready on March 28th. In the meantime, I send several divisions of my standing army into Holstein.

March 1st: Both provinces controlled by Holstein are under siege.

March 10th: Denmark lands 2 divisions on German soil. I send 4 cavalry divisions to meet them.

April 14th: The Danish divisions are retreating.

April 24th: I create 2 Corps of 4 Divisions each from my reserves and send them towards Denmark.

May 6th: I am told the Netherlands have mobilized. They hate me and may be thinking of taking a shot at me or Belgium.

May 20th: Belgium mobilizes. I also finish taking control of Holstein. Time to push into Denmark.

June 22nd: We have started taking Danish lands.

July 10th: Precious Work. Precision Work meant producing very small part by a new method. This parts could now be used in very fine mechanisms that increased the complexity in production. +10 Machine Parts. Machine Parts Factory (make it happen Capitalists!), Ammunition and Glass Factory +10%

July 14th: Peace with Holstein. They agree to become my Satellite and pay War Indemnities (half of their income for the length of the peace treaty). I also take control of the province of Lauenburg, a grain producer.

July 15th: Outstanding Composer - We commission a work. -$100, +5 Prestige.

July 29th: Jiggs. The introduction of jiggs vastly increased the efficiency of all machines, which in its turn helped increase most industrial production. Furniture and Lux. Furniture +10%

August 8th: Iron Muzzle-loaded Artillery discovered. Researching: Cheap Iron.

September 1st: Whitney and Colt's Standardized Small Arms. By constructing special machines that produced standardized parts Small Arms became cheaper and simpler to construct and repair. Small Arms Factory +10%

1848

January 3rd: I give them a peace offer in which they accept Humiliation. I could have kept pushing and tried to get more (tribute or something) but I'm down to under $10,000, I got what I wanted (Holstein is now under my control), I have an economy to get back to and still the threat of revolt in most of my provinces.

My Prestige is now at 203, 2nd only to the UK. The war lasts just under a year.

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January 24th: Integral Distillery Process. Greater knowledge of the fermentation process, thermodynamical coherences during boiling and distilling and the introduction of machinery into the traditional ways of producing fermented beverages allowed the wineries, breweries and distilleries to grow beyond family enterprises and thus established a new sector of industry. Liquor Distillery +10%

February 1st: My population his 18 million.

April 1st: Capitalists build a Regular Clothes Factory.

August 8th: Cheap Iron discovered. Researching: Iron Railroad

December 6th: I sign a Defensive Pact with Russia. They had a lot of divisions near my border and they were moving around. Figured I get them to sign a Defensive Alliance to protect my east border. Once the deal was signed, they moved off.

1849

March 4th: Wittenberge revolts.

April 4th: Revolt put down.

April 10th: Otto Nicolai writes the opera The Merry Wives of Windsor. +3 Prestige

April 11th: Pass two big reforms to try to reverse the increasing revolt risk. Free Press and Free Parties.

May 1st: Elberfeld revolts.

May 30th: Revolt put down.

July 3rd: The Proposal of the Frankfurt Assembly. A chance to create Germany, it's a terrible deal. I take -200 Prestige hit, among other things, just to unify some of Germany. I decline and get a +50 Prestige bonus.

July 28th: I increase my mobilization to 44 divisions.

August 1st: Magdeberg revolts.

August 8th: Iron Railroad discovered. Researching: Organized Factories

August 20th: Revolt put down.

August 29th: Traitor executed. +5 Prestige, Relations with Hesse-Kassel -50.

1850

May 7th: A new socialist newspaper is founded. Consciousness for Socialist +1

May 15th: The End of the Liberal Revolution....phew. I was about to start passing social reforms! Not now!

May 20th: Polypoly Structure. This mean that the legislation of your country has structured the market in such way that each line of business compromise of numerous firms most of which is of the same size. Factory cost -25%, Building capacity +10%.

July 16th: Holstein finishes paying off their War Indemnities.

July 17th: Societal Status: At this time the professionalization of the officer corps and the fact the the majority of it consisted of middle class men rather than gentry increased its societal status. Several bonuses to military.

July 20th: Romanticist Art. +1 Prestige

August 8th: Organized Factories. Researching: Business Banks

August 15th: Romanticist Literature. +50 Prestige.

August 29th: Increased mobilization to 48 divisions.

September 18th: Romanticist Music. +1 Prestige.

October 7th: Telegraph Coordination. Several military bonuses.

November 29th: Bessemer Steel. Steel Factory +5%.

December 17th: Northrop Power Loom. This was a mechanized power loom that produced fabric with a much higher quality than before. But also the one and the same machine could produce several different types of fabric which made it extremely flexible. Sheep Ranch +210%, Fabric Factory, Silkworm Farm, Cotton Plantation +10%

(For now on, just reporting the major inventions and events.)

1851

July 1st: Capitalists build a Winery.

August 8th: Business Banks discovered. Researching: Ad-Hoc Money Bill Printing

August 15h: My capitalists love building factories, but my rail roads are going mostly non-upgraded. Time to do it myself.

November 1st: Political Assassination. -10 Prestige, -$100, +1 Consciousness and Militancy for Conservative.

1852

August 8th: Ad-Hoc Bill Printing discovered. Researching: Late Classical Theory.

1853

January 1st: My population hits 19 million.

August 1st: Russia wants me to declare war on the UK.....yeah, that's not gonna happen. I take a prestige hit, but I'm not going to war with a nation I have no ability to get to, but has all of the ability in the world to get to me.

The Crimean War has started. I think because I was allied with Russia, I didn't get an event for it. Russia is now at war with the UK, France and Ottomans. I think I might jump in at some point...

August 8th: Late Classical Theory discovered. Researching: Ideological Thought

August 28th: The Crimean War. I get the event. I decide to go for it. I decalre war on Russia.

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The Historic Crimean War: Crimean War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(I took some liberties with the descriptions of some of these battles. Veterans on Paradox games know about the ping-ponging and lack of general strategic direction of the AI, so I colored up the war to make it interesting instead of description of a grindfest, although the big battles I describe did occur the way I described.)

The Crimean War

In the Summer of 1853, The Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom and France declared war on the Russian Empire. At the end of August, Prussia come into the war against Russia. Prussia attacked from the west, while the Ottomans and Frnech attacked in the South and the UK attacked in the North. Eventually, the UK would also send forces in from the South as well.

In the middle of September, 1853, Prussian forces began attacks on the Polish provinces under the control of the Russian Empire. The Prussian forces moved quickly and took over much of Poland before the Russian Empire could mount a counter attack, since their forces were occupied by the Ottomans, French and British in the south.

On October 11th, 1853, two sizable forces met in the province of Lodz. Both powers continuously resupplied until Prussia got the upper hand, and on November 28th, Russia withdrew. Prussia quickly took control of all Polish provinces and many Russian ones.

Prussian forces caught up with retreating Russian forces in the province of Siedlice, just east of Warsaw. The Russian forces fought back, were eventually surrounded and after two weeks of battle, on January 29th, Prussian forces annihilated the Russian army.

The largest engagement of the war between Prussia and Russia occured in the province of Pinsk. There, a force of 50,000 Russian forces dug in and tried to repel a force of 60,000 Prussian forces. Russia managed to resupply the defnders, raising their numbers at one point to 80,000 as they fought off the Prussians. The Prussian leaders seeing the conflict in Pinsk as the defining battle, they pulled back two armies from the north and one from the south, and marched them on Pinsk. What started as a force of 60,000 grew to 100,000. Under the command of Prinz Friedrich Karl, the Prussian forces won after 3 months of intense fighting. Prussia would lose nearly 60,000 troops in the conflict, while Russia would lose a little less than that, around 50,000. Several times, Prussia nearly retreated, but they continued to fight, knowing this battle would define the war.

The Russians were broken. Following the conflict in Pinsk, the armies that were diverted to Pinsk continued with their previous orders. Prussia quickly captured over a dozen provinces to the north and several more to the south.

The Crimean War (between Prussia and Russia) on December 1st, 1854.



After the conflict in Pinsk, the war became mostly a war of attrition. Russia kept making small scale attacks on Prussian forces as they battled attrition from being far from home.

However, the Russians had one more big fight in them. Just east of Pinsk is the province of Minsk, in which a force of 40,000 Prussian forces attacked an army of 60,000 Russian troops. The Russians dug in, and like the conflict in Pinsk, the initial Prussian attackers kept the Russians busy until a sizeable Prussian force joined the conflict after the Russian were softened up. The battles in Minks occured from January 29th, 1855-April 8th, 1855.

Prussia would have a fourth, and final, large conflict with Russian forces when an army of 40,000 Prussian troops came to the rescue of 30,000 UK forces that were surrounded by 60,000 Russians in the north province of Sankt Petersberg.

In the Summer of 1855, Prussia changed their strategy of steady marching to a concentrated attack on the capital of Moscow. In October, Prussian forces marched on the capital. On November 21st, Russia and Prussia signed a peace treaty. The main result of the treaty was the handing over of several Polish provinces to the Prussians.

Prussia was the final power to sign a treaty with the Russians. The Ottomans signed a treaty On October 28th, 1855 and the UK signed a peace treaty on November 10th, 1855.

And so ended The Crimean War (August 1853 - November 1855)

Prussia following the Criman War



Provinces ceded to Prussia: Kieke, Lodz, Kalisz, Skierniewice and Warsawa

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Here's why 1) I didn't get more and 2) Russia didn't lose more.

After owning several provinces, Ottomans signed a peace treaty with Russia to return to the Status Quo. UK did the same after controlling 2 dozen provinces. Now, my own guess is that both the UK and Ottomans probably ran out of manpower or something and just wanted out of the war. The reason I had to quickly sign for peace was because the UK controlled provinces to the north and south of the ones I controlled. IOW, Russia, after building up their forces a bit, could attack me for multiple fronts. I could either quickly retreat, right after taking Moscow, back to the battle lines simialr to the graphic above (Dec 1854), so just get what I could and return to running my nation.

I wanted a few more provinces, to try to get all of Poland under my control. But I'm sure there will be more chances in the future to war with Russia. It seemed easy, but I'm sure in a 1 on 1 fight, it would have been MUCH more difficult. The UK and Ottomans kept a good chunk of the Russian army occupied, and that battle in Pinsk as pretty close as it was.


In domestic news, a few more factories were built, and I discoved Scientific Management and Ideological Thought. I'm currently researching Private Bank Money Bill Printing.

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A closer look at the provinces under my control.

Warsawa - Population: 158,000. Cattle producer.
Skierniewice - Population: 60,000. Fruit producer.
Kalisz - Population: 61,000. Grain producer.
Lodz - Population: 59,000. Cattle producer.
Kieke - Population: 58,000. Wool producer.

They form the state of Congress Poland. I help out some of my factories by bringing a Wool producing province into Prussia, which cuts down on importing needs. In fact, the 15,0000 Sheep ranchers in Kieke produce far more wool than I need for my Fabrics Factory (Cotton being the big need for it. 0.68 Cotton needed per day, only 0.09 Wool. Kieke produce about 1.1 Wool a day).

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An Decade of Mostly Peace

After the Crimean War, I turn my attention back to our economy. For most of the next decade, I examined my POPs, split them when I could and attempted to fill out the factories as best I could. The technologies that vastly increased the output of RGOs (farms and mines) means less are needed there.

I also continue our focus on military, economic and industry technologies, largely ignoring cultural and naval techs.

On October 20th, 1859, The Confederate States of America declared Independence. Not long after, Mexico joined the war on the CSA's side, but it would not be enough. CSA and Mexico were crushed in the war. The American Civil War ended on April 16th, 1861.

1861 was a big year domestically for Prussia as well. The Aristocrats are losing their power, and on January 25th, many retreated and locked themselves away in their castles and manors. Later in the year, Prussia build an Opera House that was the envy of Europe.

May 21st, 1862 saw the rise of Otto von Bismarck. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck). +200 Prestige

January 26th, 1862, the Second Schleswig War began. Denmark again tried to flex their muscles. This one wasn't much of a war. Prussian troops quickly and easily marched over mainland Denmark. On September 7th, Denmark ceded the provinces of Flensburg and Ribe to Prussia, and agreed to become a Satellite.

Flensburg - Population: 546,000. Cattle
Ribe - Population 399,000. Cattle

October 3rd, 1863, what would be known as The Polish Revolution began. Con. and Militancy of Polish POPs +3.

For many generations, Austria was seen as the dominant German power. However, over the last few decades, Prussia has risen. Austria now seems like an old, decaying Empire. On January 14th, Prussia tried to force Austria to acknowledge that Prussia was the dominant German power. Austria refused, and publicly called for Prussia to stand down. Prussia refused.

And so began the Austro-Prussian War.

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The Austro-Prussian War

After Prussia went to war with Austria, most of the German minor states sided with Austria.

Prussian's strategy was pretty straightforward. Hold off Austria along their border while mopping up the minor states. Then, attack into Austria from the north and from the west through Bavaria.

Prussia was quick. They annexed Anhalt on Fenbruary 3rd and signed a peace treaty with Hannover on February 22nd. Hannover gave up control of Gottingen, which finally linked the two main states of Prussia.

On April 8th, Sexe-Meinigen signed a peace treaty. They would be a Satellite of Prussia as well as pay War Indemnities.

The first major conflict of the war happened in the state of Kaiserslauten in south-western Germany between Bavarian forces and Prussian forces. The conflict lasted over a month with Prussia victorious. From there, Prussia forces flooded into the minor states of Baden and Wurttemberg, as well as Bavaria.

In the east, Prussia managed to push into Austrian territory, but their advanced quickly stalled. Austria mounted a counter attack, concentrating their forces in the province of Praha. If Prussia gained control of this province, they could mount several advances into Austrian territory. After three months of battle, from July to September, the two powers fought viciously. On September 14th, Prussia was forced to withdraw.

The Prussian forces dealt a lot of damage in their defeat, however, and Austria was not able to follow. Prussia regrouped and launched another attack one month later in the province of Pizen, just south of Praha. This battle would have disasterous results for Prussia, as an army of 100,000 was annihilated by a joint Austrian-Bavarian force.

While Austria was getting the upper hand in the east, Prussia cleaned up in the west. Sexe-Coburg-Gatha was annexed on August 3rd, 1866. Baden signed a peace treaty becoming a Satellite of Prussia on August 11th, 1866. Wurttemberg accepted a peace treaty making them a Satellite as well on October 7th, 1866.

Just after Prussia suffered that terrible defeat in Pizen, a force of 80,000 Prussian troops, separated into 3 Corps, were advancing at an alarming rate in the eastern half of Austria, and were threatening to attack the capital of Wien from the east. Despite two major victories on their western border, Austria was forced to divert troops away from the western front to stop the Prussian advance in the east.

The Prussian army in the east was a diversion. Timed to coincide with the conclusion of hostilities with Bavaria.

This would be the turning point of the war between Prussia and Austria. Just as Austria sent troops to the east, Prussia finished their invasion of Bavaria. Those troops then started attacking Austria along the Austrian-Bavarian border. Also, Prussia was able to resupply and regroup their main armies after their two defeats in 1866.

Prussia's forces quickly attacked Wien from the north as many of Austria's forces were tangled with Prussia's diversionary force in the east. The battle for Wien would be last 3 months, and be one of the bloodiest battles of the century. Prussia lost 60,000 men, while Austria lost more than 140,000. On March 29th, Prussian forces entered the capital. The next day, Austria agreed to terms. They would be a Satellite of Prussia. 2 days later, Bavaria accepted the same deal.

Prussia was now the undisputed leader of the German Nations.

The Austro-Prussian War (January 1866 - March 1867)

[sabotai]

Soon after the Austro-Prussian War, Many of the still independent minor German states form two larger nations. The North German Federation (NGF) and the South German Federation (SGF). The NGF is a Satellite of Prussia and the SGF is a Satellite of Austria.

Map of German lands in May 1867



Because of the provinces I took (I didn't even want to, they just gave them to me when I made them Satellites), the South German Fed is only a few provinces. The North German Fed is pretty sizable.

War with France will be happening soon. I don't have time to rest. I need to build my standing army back up some. My mobilization is up to 80 divisions now, so when war comes, it's going to be a Blitzkieg to Paris.

[sabotai]

Overview of new Prussian provinces

Name - Population - RGO
Dassau - 23,000 - Fruit
Gottingen - 355,000 - Grain
Gatha - 205,000 - Iron
Wurzburg - 529,000 - Fruit
Bayreuth - 558,000 - Timber
Nurnberg - 1,727,000 - Grain
Aschaffenburg - 94,000 - Grain
Regensburg - 322,000 - Grain
Landshut - 206,000 - Cattle
Ingolstadt - 140,000 - Grain
Kaiserslautern - 25,000 - Fruit
Heidelberg - 214,000 - Grain
Augsburg - 599,000 - Cattle
Ulm - 427,000 - Cattle
Heilbronn - 422,000 - Fruit
Tubingen - 181,000 - Grain
Freiburg - 354,000 - Fruit
Konstanz - 114,000 - Timber

A few more Timber provinces are nice, as well as one more Iron province. I also gained 4 more factories (more of the same, nothing new or exotic).

Prussia Population: 31.4 million

[MrBug708]

Good stuff

[sabotai]

Prussian and French Tensions Run High

Firstly, a bit of "Gold Rush" news, on December 8th, 1868, Gold was discovered in the north-east German province of Konigsberg.

The first butting of heads occurred on April 30th, 1869. Napoleon III tried to buy the duchy of Luxembourg. The Prussians stepped in and threatned war if Napoleon III went through with it. The French backed down.

The second event, which would spark a war, happened on June 3rd, 1870. Spain offered the throne to a relative of the leader of Prussia. Prussia accepted the offer, and France declared war fearing being surrounded by nations loyal to Prussia.

The Franco-Prussian War

For the first few months, the two forces stared at each other across the border. Finally, Prussia decided to act. Prussia moved their forces acrossed the border.

In the northern part of the French-Prussian border (Metz), it went well for Prussia. They won the battle, and quickly took a few provinces. In the middle, Strassburg, it took considerable longer, but Prussia took the province after several months. In the south, Mulhausen, the French won the day. After a year of combat, the French repelled the Prussian army.

It was a costly miscalculation by the Prussians. The terrain in Strassburg and Mulhausen is mountainous and covered in forests. The province of Metz is merely hills and plains.

After a year of war, the Prussians changed their plan. They dug in an army in Strassburg and gave up on trying to take Mulhausen. They retreated to their side of the border with Mulhausen, which was also mountains and forests, and simply defended that border. In the north, they concentrated their forces and targeted Paris.

An army of 150,000 Prussians attacked Paris in September of 1871 and the French defended with an army of just over 100,000. The French continuously sent in reinforcements, but when the Prussians grouped up a large army of 100,000 reserves and sent them on Paris, the French were overwhelmed.

In truth, it was a massive gamble by the Prussians. They had small corps of reserves protecting their occupied provinces. Had the French been able to intercept the army of reserves, or reinforce Paris more, the Prussians may have suffered a humiliating defeat.

But it was not to be. Prussia captured Paris on January 8th 1872, ending the Franco-Prussian War.

The Franco-Prussian War (June 3rd, 1870 - January 8th, 1872)

This set off a chain reaction of events that were good for Prussia and bad for France. "Three Hurrahs for the German Empire" became the rallying cry across all of Germany. First, the South German Federation joined Prussia and a month later, the North German Federation joined.

The German Empire was born.



(way too many provinces to descibe, so here are some important ones)

Mulhausen - produces Sulfur. Another import that I no longer need to import.
Mainz - another Sulfur producer.

So now Cotton and Silk are the only raw materials I do not produce. So those will still be imports. I also need to produce more explosives and still need to import dye (which can be a raw material but can also be made in a factory)

[sabotai]

The German Empire 1872 - 1891

For the tow decades that followed the Franco-Prussian War, the German Empire focused on building up it's industry. Rapid expansion of many factories lured many French immigrants to the state of Sachen (just south-west of Berlin in central Germany). Throughout the 1870s, Germany expanded their rail system and by the end of the decade, was unmatched by any power in the world.

In 1881, Otto von Bismarck would then go further, making Germany unmatched when it came to social reforms. on January 23rd, 1881, The Bismarkian Reforms were passed, guaranteeing good health care, good safety regulations and good pension funds for all workers.

Unfortunately, these reforms cost a lot to implement and Germany was quickly plunged into massive debt. Taxes had to be increased to high levels and tariffs were increased to as high as they could go. Crime fighting funding was dropped, military maintenance was lowered. It took 5 years for Germany to get out of debt. By the time that happened, many workers were sick of the high taxes.

The German Empire was able to greatly lower taxes and increase funding for defense and the police, but the damage of high taxes were done. Revolts were popping up all over Germany. Most were small and quickly died out, but the German elites were quickly becoming tired of dealing with them.

Despite the debt being paid off, affording the social reforms meant that taxes still remained high and that Germany had to reduce the size of its standing army.

In January of 1891, The German Empire officially changed from a Monarchy to a Constitutional Monarchy, giving the lower classes more rights and a voice in the government.

[sabotai]

The German Empire 1891

On February 1st, 1891, The German Empire decided to get in on the colonization game. Many of the leaders were of the thought that colonization has come and past, and that it was only a matter a time before what happened with Spain and the UK in the Americas would happen in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

However, they started to build a trading post in the African province of Rio de Oro to get their feet wet, and to hopefully bring in a bit of cash.

Germany's first election was held on October 4th, 1891 and saw the Liberaldemocratic Partei (Liberal) come into power with 35.7% of the vote. The Sozialist Arbeiterpartei (Socialist) was second with 21.23%, Zentrumspartei (Conservative) got 18.42% and the Konservative Partei (Conservative), who have held power since 1836, only got 10.8%.

(Allow me to shift out of narrative mode for now....)

Economy goes from Interventionism to Laissez Faire - Tax is maxed at 50%, Social Spending maxed at 50%. Imports cost 50% less. I also can not expand rails or factories. Rails have been maxed since the 1870s and since I saw this coming, I expanded several factories before the elections.

Trade from Protectionism to Free Trade - Tariffs now maxed out at 25%.

Religion from Morality to Pluralism - All religions allowed. Under moralism, all are allowed, but one is considered dominant. The non-dominant ones don't get funding (which I guess increases militancy of non-dominant religious POPs)

Minority from Residence to Limited Citizenship - Rights are distributed equally, except to the lowest classes. Under Residence, only the majority (in my case, South German and North German) got rights.

War from Jingoism to Anti-Military - Defense spending capped at 80%. Under Jingoism, I was not allowed to change Soldier POPs, and Defense Spending had a Min. of 30%.

So what's the end result? Massive deficit spending....taxes were slashed, tariffs are capped...I have to slash Education funding (making it 50% - meaning no change in literacy and reduced Research points. My literacy is 100% and I have saved up RPs, so no real harm there), Crime funding and Defense Spending. I'm losing about $30 a day now, but I have a lot of funds saved up (~$130,000) so as long as I don't get smacked with another event that costs me hundreds of thousands again, I should be fine.

But then, of course, it happens.

France declares war (my first non-scripted war, actually). I scramble to move my forces to the borders. The the fortifications built up, and hopefully the Netherlands stays out of it, I should be able to repel any attack the French make.

[sabotai]

The War of Central Europe 1891 - 1894

Days after France declared war on Germany, Italy joined in on France's side and Denmark and Austria joined in on Germany's side.

(Note: My budget deficit shot up to -$200 a day. Nothing I can really do about that....)

Germany started off by quickly capturing 2 provinces in France, but the war there became a stalemate that lasted a year. In the south, Italy got the upper hand, taking several Austrian provinces.

After obtain 2 more provinces, Germany offers France a ceasefire and they agree on November 11th, 1893. Germany quickly marched their forces south and helped Austria retake their lost territory. Italy would agree to a ceasefire on April 19th, 1894. Italy had also declared war on Switzerland, seeing a chance to grab more land. After the ceasefire with Germany and Austria, Italy captured several Swiss provinces, creating a border between Italy and Germany.

After the war, Germany would have a debt of over $160,000. Defense spending was slashed just to get the budget balanced. Germany would not be able to afford another war. They would need to find a way to increase their revenue or another war could break them.

Aftermath (1894-1900)

Germany immediately began diplomatic relations with Italy. They were not allied with France, and Germany thought if Italy could be influenced to their side, an alliance could be struck, which, they thought, would make France think twice about declaring war again.

Germany also spent considerable effort in upgrading its domestic production. In preparations for the possibility of an economic crisis, businesses began reevaluating their organization. Sweeping changes occurred. Germany was able to "print money" with the factories over the last several decades being one of the leaders of the industrial revolution. However, in the light of social reforms, tax relief and the promotion of free trade, profits dried up.

The German factories, farms and mines were terribly inefficient. Now forced to become more efficient, farms and mines expanded their operations where needed and factories reorganized management from top to bottom (Read: Another mistake on my part. A lot of my farms and mines had 40000+ pops and were maxed out (had 5 pops). After expanding them and splitting the POPs, production increased a lot. I alse filled most of my factories with Craftsmen. I forgot to make some of them Clerks. They weren't making nearly as many goods as they could have been, and some factories had 40000-70000 population POPs so I was able to split some up and fill up more factories. Population increase is happening pretty rapidly).

The end result was a massive boom to the economy. Exports nearly doubled, income shot up from the Capitalists all the way down to the farmers. Germany was making so much money that they paid off their war debt (along with the debt I accumulated from changing Craftsman to Clerks - in total ~$250,000 debt) by the end of 1899.

Germany was heading into the next century as the clear economic powerhouse. (I had taken over UK by a small amount in Industry)

In Political news, the Liberaldem Partei held power in the 1896 elections. The Ottomans also wanted to Germans to help pay for a railroad from Constantinople to Baghdad in May 1896. Germany was still in the middle of their recovery and could not afford to help.

[sabotai]

Germany Strikes Back

The first few years, Germany continued to build up their defensive fortifications and their industrial output. In 1901, the USA and France went to war. It was largely ignored by the Germans. However, in 1904, the war was not only still going on, the US had managed to successfully invade mainland France and capture the province of Bordaeux.

Germany decided to strike. The french were weak and vulnerable, and they had a lot of colonial provinces in Africa. Germany declared war.

Germany quickly occupied the bordering provinces. France was able to stop the German advance there. Then Belgium made a huge mistake. They came to France's aid. Germany defensed the land they had taken from France and sent all the forces they could spare at Belgium. German troops quickly overran the Belgiums and several months after they declared war on Germany, they became a German Satellite.

Germany now had a path into France from the north, and they used it. France quickly lost provinces to the north and Paris was soon within sights.

Then the US signed a peace treaty with France. France gave up all of their coastal provinces in North Africa, all of their coastal provinces in South-East Asia, and several scattered provinces in Africa and a few provinces in the Americas.

In other words, the US was now a colonial power. (In some more words, they took what I wanted!) France was begging for a treaty, but Germany pressed forward to Paris. After their attack on the capital failed, the Germans signed for peace. France would pay Germany War Indemnities (I figure 50% of France's income could be quite a lot. I thought about taking French provinces, but then I'd have to build up yet another line of fortifications that would take over a decade and cost a bunch of money.)

After 1905, an era of peace came over Europe. Germany went back to building up their industry. They also started to build up their navy and army. Thanks to the War Indemnities that France had to pay, Germany's treasury soared to nearly $700,000. They used a large chunk of that to build up and modernize their navy. Knowing they couldn't match the UK's enormous fleet of over 400 ships, Germany just wanted a fleet comparable to that of USA, Japan or Italy. By the end of the decade, they would have the second biggest fleet in the world at 70 ships. (Since 70 was the 2nd most, and UK had over 400, you can see the disparity).

Germany from 1905-1915 was the leader in industry, but they started to fall behind after 1915. Other nations started catching them. They noticed that their Capitalists were content with the money they had and started buying up all kinds of nice toys with their money. The nation was not advancing. No new factories were being build, and their rail system was becoming outdated.

The Kaiser pulled off a rigging of the elections to bring a new party to power. He placed the leaders of the Sozialist Arbeiterpartei in power, and before the election, banned all parties that did not support the policies he wanted to implement.

Who know why the nation, after such clear stomping on their liberties, did not rise up in revolt. Whatever the reason, they didn't. Perhaps they wanted to see how the socialists would do.

At the start of 1918, the Sozialist Arbeiterpartei promised to a wave of new factories producing modern goods. Only time would tell if their promise would be fulfilled.

(World War I didn't happen in my game. I'm guess because Austria is still a Satellite of mine. They don't have the power to outright declare war on anyone, and thus the war can not happen. Or maybe it will happen later. Perhaps...I'll make it happen....)

[Coffee Warlord]

Despite your entirely uncalled for war of aggression with Denmark, I'm still pulling for you.

[sabotai]

The Socialists Take Over (1918 - 1928)

The Sozialist Arbeiterpartei immediately began upgrading the German infrastructure all throughout Germany, as well as building new factories to make tanks, automobiles, aeroplanes, machine parts and electrical gear as well as telephones. Germany was being forcibly modernized.

However, to pay for all of these improvements, taxes and tariffs to raised to their breaking point. Tariffs were maxed out, and taxes were a staggering 85% across the board. Not to mention, there were still some anger over the banning of many political parties.

The Aristocratic Rebellion (1929 - 1935)

The Aristocrats and Capitalists began demostrating against the Soziaist Arbeiterpartei and the Kaiser. The demonstrations were peaceful at first, but in 1930, they started to become violent, they started to spread, they became open revolts.

The German government had to deal with nearly two dozen of these open revolts yearly. This meant pulling soldiers away from protecting the borders to put the revolts down.

The Kaiser had drawn up plans to invade Russia in 1932. He saw himself as a liberator. He intended to free provinces that Russia controlled where not only the Polish lived, but any non-Russian. He saw himself the savior his his people, which included the Poles, Ukrainians and Lithuanians.

However, constantly having to deal with the revolts, and knowing that several revolts happening during an open war with Russia would be a disaster, the Kaiser was forced to shelf the plans for good.

By the time 1934 came along, he had had enough. During the '34 election, he lifted the ban on all previously banned parties and the Liberaldem. Partei was voted back into power.

As 1935 closed, the revolts had died down. Domestic peace in the German Empire was once again achieved.

And so ends this chapter of German history.

P.S. The Danes had it coming.

[sabotai]

So I kinda screwed up at the end. I wanted to have one last major war to end the game and was going to target Russia. Me and Austria going after Russia would have been pretty epic. The AI had it's border along Germany well fortified, but pretty much nothing along the Austrian border. And Austria had a huge army.

But those damn revolts kept happening. And I know I probably would have been able to fight the war and deal with the revolts, I was worried that the rebellion would spread down the POPs. It was the aristocrats and capitalists, it might have been the Clerks next and then the Craftsmen. They were all pretty ticked off about the party banning, setting a party as ruler and that the Sozialists were in charge. Militancy among the majority of my POPs was 5 or 6. They were getting pretty pissed off.

By the time I lifted the bans and everything, militancy was still high. I only had a year left so I figured I'd coast to the finish line.

I finished #2 behind the UK, who was a monster. The only chance I had to unseat the UK was open war, and their navy would have made sure I never got off mainland Europe.

[sabotai]

Short dynasty for a short game. One of the things I don't like about Vicky is that it only lasts 100 years. It feels like EU3 if you started in 1399, and in 1499 the game ended. But it's still a great game.

Here's the Dev Diary for Vicky 2: INDEX of Developer Diaries for Victoria II - Paradox Interactive Forums

So far, I really like what I see from them. The only thing I would really like changed is the technology research, but it sounds like it will essentially be the same. I despise the "one-at-a-time" researching that a lot of games use like Civ, GalCiv and Vicky. I would much prefer a system like in HOI3. But that probably won't happen.

[MrBug708]

It was a fun read!