Hallo zusammen!
Well, well... A total of eight centres swapped major power hands this season. A record so far. Perhaps 1651 marked the transition to the mid-game. A mere look at the map's tangle of move and support lines shows that the entire continent is fully engaged in continent-wide warfare. True to history, Russia sliced through Polish territy with uncanny easy, though Sweden failed to accomplish the conquest of Courland the warrior-king Charles X brought about. The Rzeczpospolita however has been able to offset some of those losses at home by regaining the principality of Transylvania, though apart from that a strategic stalemate has persisted in the Balkan theatre.
Yet for all the sweeping manoeuvres in the East, the big news comes from the West! Spain has invaded France in force! Nonetheless, the Bourbons have managed to get the better of the Austrians in Italy thanks to the help of His Holiness and that at least means France will maintain a force of four units throughout 1652. Whether or not this will include a naval component or not will have to be seen...
And then what about the Commonwealth of England and - as we may now rightly say - Scotland?! I trust most observers would have wagered on England being the first power to be destroyed. Yet now Cromwell has banked two builds, an achievement only equalled by Russia this year. The entire British mainland is governed from Westminster, no foreign fleets are stationed in its surrounding waters and the regicidal regime has established a foothold on the continent. The Commonwealth does not command as many forces as most other powers, but these events surely will be a welcome respite to a once beleaguered country.
Looking towards Scandinavia, the Swedish Army stationed in the Empire has fought its way out of an encircled position. Poor Frederick's reconquest of his capital proved shortlived and I trust he's established his court-in-exile at Oldenburg. Something of a mixed record for both Northern Crowns this year.
As for the minor powers, I don't think it's all that surprising these four are left. They all are located in contested areas on the margins of multiple players' spheres of influence.
Turning to other matters, I've lately added another change to the variant. Lake Ladoga now is new sea space. Allows for greater flexibility in that part of the map. The four other changes made for v2.9 are of course also to be found in the new v3.0 version. Check out the attached map.
Liebe Grüsse,
Charles
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PLAYERS:
AUSTRIA: Jorge Saralegui
DENMARK-NORWAY: Michael Thompson
ENGLAND: Chris McInerney
FRANCE: Nathan Albright
POLAND-LITHUANIA: Roger Leroux
RUSSIA: Mikael Johansson
SPAIN: Matt Kremer
SWEDEN: Wayne Bailey
TURKEY: Dirk Knemeyer
PROCLAMATIONS:
o EMPEROR CONQUERS SAXONY WITH DANISH BLESSING
o RESTORED DANISH RULE IN COPENHAGEN SHORT-LIVED
o CROMWELL BOASTS IN PARLIAMENT OF CONSIDERABLE CONQUESTS
o FLORENCE SACKED BY FRENCH REGIMENTS
o POLISH WINGED HORSEMEN DEFEAT SIPAHIS NEAR HERMANNSTADT
o RUSSIA OVERRUNS MUCH OF POLAND-LITHUANIA
o SPANISH NAVAL DESCENT UPON BREST SUCCESSFUL
o SWEDISH AND RUSSIAN FORCES IN DISARRAY WHILST BEING REPULSED ON THE SHORES OF COURLAND
o LAST VENETIAN OUTPOST ON CRETE SURRENDERS
PRESS: None. :(
ORDERS:
Austria:
A Lorraine Supports F English Channel - Flanders (*Cut*)
A Prague - Saxony
A Swabia Supports A Lorraine
A Switzerland Hold
F Trieste - Adriatic Sea (*Bounce*)
A Tuscany Hold (*Dislodged*)
A Tyrolia Supports A Switzerland
A Vienna - Hungary (*Bounce*)
Denmark-Norway:
F Copenhagen - Holstein(ec) (*Dislodged*)
F Helgoland Bight - United Provinces (*Bounce*)
A Lower Saxony Supports A Prague - Saxony
F Mecklenburg Supports F Copenhagen - Holstein(ec)
England:
F Bristol - Scotland
F English Channel - Flanders
France:
A Dauphiné - Switzerland (*Fails*)
F Flanders - United Provinces (*Dislodged*)
A Paris - Lorraine (*Fails*)
A Savoy - Tuscany
Poland-Lithuania:
A Brandenburg Supports A Lower Saxony - Mecklenburg (*Void*)
A Courland Supports A Prussia (*Cut*)
A Hungary - Transylvania
A Prussia Supports A Courland
A Slovakia Supports A Hungary - Transylvania
A Warsaw - Podolia
Russia:
A Moscow - White Ruthenia
F Novgorod(sc) Hold
A Polotsk Supports A Riga - Courland (*Void*)
A Smolensk Supports A White Ruthenia - Vilna
A Volhynia - Warsaw
A White Ruthenia - Vilna
Spain:
A Algiers - Aragon
A Leon - Gascony
F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Brest
F North Atlantic Ocean - Mid-Atlantic Ocean
F Sevilla - Morocco
F Western Mediterranean Convoys A Algiers - Aragon
Sweden:
F Baltic Sea Supports A Holstein - Copenhagen
F Gulf of Bothnia Convoys A Lapland - Courland
A Holstein - Copenhagen
A Lapland - Courland (*Fails*)
A Riga Supports A Lapland - Courland
F Scania Supports A Holstein - Copenhagen
Turkey:
A Belgrade - Hungary (*Bounce*)
A Constantinople - Candia
A Damascus - Egypt
F Eastern Mediterranean Supports A Constantinople - Candia
F Ionian Sea - Adriatic Sea (*Bounce*)
A Transylvania - Wallachia
A Tunis Hold
F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports A Tunis
Ireland:
A Ireland Hold
Moldavia:
A Moldavia Supports A Hungary - Transylvania
PapalStates:
A Papal States Supports A Savoy - Tuscany
Rhineland-Westphalia:
A Rhineland-Westphalia Supports F English Channel - Flanders
Saxony:
A Saxony Hold (*Disbanded*)
Venice:
F Candia Hold (*Disbanded*)
RETREATS:
Austrian A Tuscany can retreat to Lombardy, Venice or OTB.
Danish F Copenhagen can retreat to Skagerrak, Bay of Luebeck or OTB.
French F Flanders can retreat to Normandy or OTB.
ADJUSTMENTS:
Austria: Supp 9 Unit 8? Build 1?
Denmark-Norway: Supp 4 Unit 4? Build 0
England: Supp 4 Unit 2 Build 2
France: Supp 4 Unit 4? Build 0?
Poland-Lithuania: Supp 5 Unit 6 Remove 1
Russia: Supp 8 Unit 6 Build 2
Spain: Supp 6 Unit 6 Build 0
Sweden: Supp 6 Unit 6 Build 0
Turkey: Supp 8 Unit 8 Build 0
SUPPLY CENTER OWNERSHIP:
Austria(8+1=9): Bavaria, Lorraine, Prague, Saxony, Swabia, Switzerland, Trieste, Venice, Vienna.
Denmark-Norway(4+1-1=4): Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg, Stettin, United Provinces.
England(2+2=4): Bristol, Flanders, London, Scotland.
France(4+1-1=4): Marseilles, Paris, Savoy, Tuscany.
Poland-Lithuania(6+1-2=5): Brandenburg, Courland, Cracow, Prussia, Transylvania.
Russia(6+2=8): Crimea, Moscow, Novgorod, Turkestan, Ukraine, Vilna, Voronezh, Warsaw.
Spain(6+1-1=6): Algiers, Brest, Madrid, Morocco, Portugal, Sevilla.
Sweden(7-1=6): Abo, Christiania, Copenhagen, Holstein, Riga, Stockholm.
Turkey(8+1-1=8): Belgrade, Candia, Constantinople, Damascus, Naples, Persia, Tunis, Wallachia.
Minor Powers(7-3=4): Ireland, Moldavia, Papal States, Rhineland-Westphalia.
DEADLINE SCHEDULE: (all orders are due NLT 6PM CET (GMT+1)...not local time)
o Winter 1651 Retreats/Adjustments: 6 August
o Spring 1652 Moves: 12 August
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