Part 59: Europa Universalis III: Chapter 28-29 - The Counter-Revolution/Swabia Divided: 1780 - 1800

Intermission: The Counter-Revolution
Imperial Corps Organization Proposal Passed


1780 - 1800: Swabia Divided

The French invasion of Liege is quick and brutal, the little state forced to give up three-fourths of its territory and become a vassal in the ensuing peace.


Byzantium, which entered the war in defense of Liege, only makes a couple half-hearted attempts to send troops towards the revolutionaries, and when French troops land in Gaza, the Byzantine Emperor sues for white peace - and gets it.


With the first of the Zuhriman Wars having led to a quick victory, Consul Zuhriman moves to consolidate power at home. The Iberian Ruling Assembly is deeply split between his hawkish supporters and the more moderate factions who wish to spread the revolution at home rather than abroad. Returning to Cordoba with a large and loyal army, Zuhriman enters the Assembly and declares it dissolved. Shortly thereafter, he has himself appointed Consul for life and Emperor of Iberia.


At the same time, the revolutionaries in France make their move against King Louis, who was caught near the Swabian border while trying to flee to Austria. Putting the King on trial, he is then executed by hanging, after which his corpse is beheaded and strung up for the carrion birds. An influential frenchman by the name of Joseph Guillotin is said to have proposed to build a machine that could provide a more 'humane' manner of execution, but his ideas were rejected by the Iberian advisors who wanted to make a statement by hanging the King as though he were any commoner.


The execution of King Louis draws shock and outrage from the rest of Europe, and Emperor Augustin vows to make the Frenchmen pay for their arrogance. As a result of the last Reichstag however, he lacks the support to immediately declare war upon the revolutionaries, and is forced to wait for a more opportune moment. Even the invasion of Aquitaine by Zuhriman in 1783 is not enough to convince the Reichstag that a preemptive strike is necessary.



Instead, he turns his frustrations onto the tiny Kingdom of Ferrara, which has broken the terms of the Revised Golden Bull by seceding from the Empire. WIth the secession as his just cause, Augustin declares war on Ferrara in 1784.


Venice joins the war on Ferrara's side, and the 3th army is sent to deal with the Venetians while the 4th attacks Ferrara itself.


Ferrara's garrison is chanceless against the might of a full Imperial Army and are quickly occupied and annexed.



Venice is defeated on the field and forced to pay tribute, as well as renounce their own claims to Ferrara.


Zuhriman ends yet another war in victory in 1786, this time against Morocco, by seizing a chunk of the Moroccan coast.


The alliance between Austria and Lithuania comes to an end in 1787 as a result of border squabbles over the conquered Poland. Fancying its chances against a Lithuania that stands alone, Byzantium declares war in 1788, dragging Swabia into war against a fellow monarch instead of the revolutionary scum.


The Elector of Dauphine is allied with Lithuania, and sends his army across the border into Swabia. His troops are nowhere near the quality of the Swabians, however, and he is quickly beaten back.


The 1st, 2nd and 3rd armies move to begin besieging the heavily fortified Dauphine border.


In February of 1789, Zuhriman declares war against Great Britain, which calls Augustin to its defense, opening up another front against France. Augustin is finally at war with the revolutionaries - though without his strongest allies and while still embroiled in the war against Lithuania.


Sensing a chance to take back British Alexandria, Egypt eagerly leaps into the war a few weeks later by attacking Great Britain.


Abandoning his campaign in Dauphine, Augustin begins to move his forces to the French border to defend against the inevitable French offensive.


The Imperial Fleet leaves harbor and sets sail for Iberia, driving off several Iberian fleet squadrons and setting up a blockade of Iberian ports.


The Swabian and French armies clash along the border in May of 1789. Augustin, who had expected an easy victory against armies led by revolutionary peasant rabble, is shocked to find well-drilled opponents that advance in perfectly ordered squares, laying down volley upon volley of fire against the Swabians. Before long, the Imperial Army is in full retreat.



At the same time, Dauphine counterattacks against Liguria, routing the 4th army stationed there.


Beset on all sides, Augustin pulls back to regroup and rethink his strategy.


With his army in good order once more, he turns his attention back to Dauphine once more, sending two Imperial armies to deal the treacherous Elector. Despite support from a small Iberian army, the Dauphines are broken, routed, and utterly wiped out.


Shocked by the loss of his army, the Elector quickly asks the Byzantines for peace, and gets his wish.


Shortly thereafter Byzantium makes peace with Lithuania, taking severel border territories and forcing them to release the tiny principiality of Muscowy.


In November, a large French army enters Swabian Kongo.


No longer having to worry about attacks from the East or South, Augustin turns the entire Imperial army towards France, beating back their siege forces and crossing the border.


The French respond with a massive counterattack, forcing most of the Imperial Army back into Swabia once more.




Disaster strikes in Lombardia as a huge Iberian army crosses through Dauphine and attacks the 4th army, breaking, pursuing, and wiping it out.


At the same time Iberian troops enter Swabian Kongo as well, the small colonial army stationed there retreating in face of overwhelming numbers.


The war along the border continues to swing back and forth as Augustin once again seizes the border, driving the French before him and sending an army to attack Paris. The 2nd army reaches Paris, but is attacked by an overwhelming number of French troops and routed.



The Imperial Army begins yet another fighting retreat as more and more French troops swarm towards the border. Augustin eventually manages to stabilize the front, holding on to the French territories of Champagne, Bourgogne and Valenciennes, but having trouble advancing any further. By now, the year has turned to 1793 and the bloody stalemate has cost the lives of close to a hundred thousand Swabians.


In May of 1793, Byzantium is facing internal troubles with revolts, and Austria, eager to regain lost territories, declares war.



Swabia, still deadlocked along the western front and with Iberians swarming all over Italy, is now at war along its entire eastern border as well.


Thus, when the French come asking for an armistice in August, Augustin is pressed by the Reichstag and his advisors to agree. Grudgingly, he signs the peace, bringing Swabia's fisrt war with Zuhriman to an end.


A month later, Great Britain also signs peace with France, ceding one of their African colonies. A short while after that, Byzantium and Austria, who are now the ones facing war on two fronts, agree on a white peace as well.


If Swabia, Austria and Byzantium are tired of war, Zuhriman's appetite for it seems far from satisfied, as he launches another invasion of Aquitaine and Brittany in 1796, inflicting crushing defeats on both countries.


The two independent Republics effectively cease to exist, except for a tiny Aquitainian state confined to the region of Limousin.


Already defeated by France and Egypt, Great Britain is dragged into yet another war in 1798, this time against the Republic of Mazula. As the previous ones, it ends badly for Great Britain, which loses yet a few more pieces of its colonial empire.


As the century nears its end, Emperor Augustin falls ill. His eldest son, Mathias, is an intelligent but foppish and irresponsible young man, who appears far more interested in women, wine and horses than the duties of the crown. A liberal at heart, he has made several embarrassing public statements favoring the revolutionaries, angering both his father and the deeply conservative population of Swabian Italy.

As Augustin's condition grows worse, the newly elected Pope Gregorius XIII makes a bull condemnding Mathias, and encouraging the people to rise against him, should be become Emperor. While the Pope has lost much of his influence outside Italy, many Italians remain devout catholics, and need little convincing to oppose such an unworthy and liberal ruler.

A widespread revolt in Italy at this time, with Zuhriman looking hungrily across the border, could prove fatal. To save his beloved Swabia, Augustin does the unthinkable - he splits its crown, giving Swabia, Parma and Lombardy to Mathias. The rest of Italy is given to Mathias' eight-year old brother Werner, who becomes Werner IV of Italy. The child-king Werner is forced to take a vow of allegiance to Mathias, but in all other respects, Italy becomes a self-governing state.

Augustin finally passes away in winter of 1799. Mathias is anointed King of Swabia and elected Emperor of all Romans - though an Emperor with diminished power, with the rich lands of Italy now out of his grasp. Still, Mathias makes no public complaints, settling into his new position with equal parts of carefreeness and lethargy.


The mood at the Reichstag of 1800 is shocked - the member states might not have liked Augustin's methods, but noone wished to see Swabia divided and weakened, not in face of the still-ongoing revolution. With an incompetent Emperor at the helm, Italy in the hands of a child, and the Byzantine Empire and Great Britain facing ever more internal strife and dissent, the decisions made at this Reichstag will be crucial in determining the Empire's direction in the next century. There are three main factions who vie for the power to decide that direction.

(NOTE: For once, I've included technical explanations to avoid any confusion about what these propositions are about)

The Unification Faction wish to pursue the cultural and political unification of Germany at all costs. They wish to do so by abolishing all religious law and giving the entire Empire freedom of religion, thus truly uniting the Protestant north and Catholic south for the first time since the Reformation. Expansion of the military to strengthen Germany is second priority, while the development of an industrial base is considered less important than bringing all Germans together. (This proposition will affect Swabia's development in Victoria and make it start with 1 cultural tech)


The Modernizer Faction wish to develop Swabia's and the Empire's economy and industry, with peace and stability as important priorities, though defense must of course not be neglected. Unification of Germany is a second priority for this faction, while military expansion comes in last. (This proposition will affect Swabia's development in Victoria and make it start with 1 industrial tech)


The Militarist Faction wish to prioritize the development of Swabia's army, the acquisition of new territories to make up for the loss of Italy, and a decisive victory against Zuhriman and his revolutionaries. Esatablishing an industrial base to supply its armies is their second priority, with German unification last on the list. (This proposition will affect Swabia's development in Victoria and make it start with 1 army tech)


The debates have been bitter, but now all Reichstag members must do their duty, pick the faction of their choice and help steer Swabia right in these turbulent times.