Hi guys,
the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire convened for an extraordinary session in the imperial city of Frankfurt to elect a new King of the Romans and future Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation following the death of Kaiser Ferdinand III of Habsburg. The Margrave of Brandenburg backed a Protestant contender. The Habsburg candidate only won the vote of the Dukes of Bavaria and Saxony, next to the one vote he himself was able to cast in his capacity as King of Bohemia. Yet it was the Bourbon bid for the imperial crown won the day as all three Archbishops and the Count-Palatine ended up casting their vote for His Most Christian Majesty.
The Louis XIV, the Sun-King, may now style himself "Louis V, by the grace of God elected Holy Roman Emperor, forever August, King in Germany, Most Christian King of France and Navarre, Coprince of Andorra, Count of Provence, Forcalquier and the lands adjacent; Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois etc." I guess Cardinal Mazarin will regard that as the crowning achievement of lifetime and probably will pass away happily (died in 1661).
The archchancellory of the realm has already drawn up a new imperial coat of arms (well, I guess it would have in reality also featured Navarre's arms, but I didn't find a suitable template to superimpose on the imperial double-eagle):
Congrats, Nigs, for being the first player to wrest away the Imperial Crown from the House of Austria. Eternal bragging rights come piece and parcel with this crown and sceptre!
Strictly speaking though, the actual coronation ceremony will only take place this winter. So for now, to be quite pedantic (and I enjoy being quite pedantic!) Louis merely is the new King of the Romans (rex romanorum) and Emperor-Elect.
Now turning to other matters, it has to be said that this season has also been quite momentous in a number of other respects. Copenhagen, the United Provinces, Tuscany and Venice are now controlled by new masters! Does this mark a new era in European affairs...?
There are quite a few adjustments now in store for us and the deadline for Winter 1656 shall follow NLT 16 April, 6 PM CET.
Liebe GrĂ¼sse,
Charles
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PLAYERS:
AUSTRIA: Mike Hoffman
DENMARK-NORWAY: Marc Ellinger (eliminated Winter 1653)
ENGLAND: Harvey Morris
FRANCE: Nigel Phillips
POLAND-LITHUANIA: Jorge Saralegui
RUSSIA: Mikael Johansson (eliminated Winter 1650)
SPAIN: Dirk Knemeyer
SWEDEN: Matthew Kelly (joined Winter 1652)
TURKEY: Aidan Slattery
PROCLAMATIONS:
o ELECTORAL COLLEGE BESTOWS IMPERIAL CROWN ON SUN-KING
o THE ARCHDUKE (SON OF THE DECEASED EMPEROR) CONSOLES HIMSELF WITH THE CONQUEST OF VENICE
o ENGLISH TROOPS SHALL WINTER IN NOVGOROD
o FRENCH OFFENSIVE ON NUMEROUS FRONTS YIELDS NEW GAINS
o THE POLISH REPUBLIC SEIZES INGRIA
o ARMY OF FLANDERS SUFFERS HUMILIATING DEFEAT
o JANISSARIES LET LOOSE ON POLISH COUNTRYSIDE
PRESS: None. :(
ORDERS:
Austria:
A Bavaria Supports A Tyrolia
A Prague Supports A Saxony
A Saxony Supports A Silesia - Brandenburg (*Void*)
A Trieste - Venice
A Tyrolia Supports A Trieste - Venice
England:
F Arctic Ocean - Norwegian Sea
F Gulf of Bothnia Supports A Ingria (*Cut*)
A Ingria Hold (*Dislodged*)
F Lake Ladoga Supports F Novgorod(nc)
F Novgorod(nc) Hold
A Permia Supports F Novgorod(nc)
A Siberia - Turkestan (*Fails*)
A Stockholm - Lapland
France:
A Hesse Supports A Lorraine - Swabia
F Holstein(wc) Supports F Skagerrak - Copenhagen
A Lombardy Supports A Savoy - Tuscany
A Lorraine - Swabia
A Lower Saxony Supports A Brandenburg - Saxony
A Paris - Gascony
A Rhineland-Westphalia - United Provinces
A Savoy - Tuscany
F Skagerrak - Copenhagen
A Switzerland Supports A Lorraine - Swabia
A Venice Supports A Savoy - Tuscany (*Disbanded*)
Poland-Lithuania:
F Courland - Gulf of Bothnia (*Fails*)
A Cracow Supports A Warsaw - Greater Poland
A Moscow Supports A Persia - Turkestan
A Polotsk - Riga
A Prussia Supports A Warsaw - Greater Poland
A Pskov Supports A Riga - Ingria
A Riga - Ingria
A Samogitia - Courland (*Fails*)
A Smolensk - Novgorod (*Fails*)
Spain:
A Algiers Supports F Tunis
A Copenhagen Hold (*Dislodged*)
F Naples Supports F Papal States(ec) (*Cut*)
F Papal States(ec) Supports F Naples
F Sardinia Supports F Tyrrhenian Sea
A Seville - Aragon
F Tunis Supports F Tyrrhenian Sea
A Tuscany Supports A Venice (*Disbanded*)
F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Naples
Sweden:
A Brandenburg - Saxony (*Fails*)
F Greater Poland - Prussia (*Dislodged*)
A Mecklenburg - Brandenburg (*Fails*)
Turkey:
F Adriatic Sea Supports F Ionian Sea - Naples
F Aegean Sea Supports F Eastern Mediterranean - Ionian Sea (*Fails*)
A Croatia Supports A Trieste (*Ordered to Move*)
F Eastern Mediterranean - Ionian Sea (*Fails*)
F Egypt Supports F Eastern Mediterranean - Ionian Sea (*Fails*)
F Illyria Supports F Adriatic Sea
F Ionian Sea - Naples (*Fails*)
A Persia - Turkestan
F Sicily Supports F Ionian Sea - Naples
A Silesia Supports A Saxony
A Warsaw - Greater Poland
PENDING RETREATS:
Spanish A Copenhagen can retreat to Scania or OTB.
Swedish F Greater Poland can retreat to Baltic Sea ot OTB.
English A Ingria can retreat to Abo or OTB.
PENDING ADJUSTMENTS:
Austria:
Build
England:
Build?
France:
Build
Build
Build
Build
Poland-Lithuania:
Remove
Spain:
Build?
Sweden:
Build?
SUPPLY CENTER OWNERSHIP (Winter 1656):
Austria(6): Bavaria, Prague, Saxony, Trieste, Venice, Vienna.
England(8): Abo, Bristol, Christiania, Ireland, London, Novgorod, Scotland, Stockholm.
France(14): Brest, Copenhagen, Flanders, Holstein, Lorraine, Lower Saxony, Marseilles, Paris, Rhineland-Westphalia, Savoy, Swabia, Switzerland, United Provinces, Tuscany.
Poland-Lithuania(8): Courland, Cracow, Moscow, Prussia, Riga, Vilna, Voronezh, Warsaw.
Spain(8): Algiers, Madrid, Morocco, Naples, Papal States, Portugal, Seville, Tunis.
Sweden(3): Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Stettin.
Turkey(11): Belgrade, Candia, Constantinople, Crimea, Damascus, Moldavia, Persia, Transylvania, Turkestan, Ukraine, Wallachia.
DEADLINE SCHEDULE: (all orders are due NLT 6PM CET (i.e. GMT+1)...not local time)
o Winter 1656 Retreats/Adjustments: 16 April |
