[ETW AAR] Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov: The Birth of the Russian Empire
This is my first campaign of ETW and obviously my first AAR for the game. I did one for MTW a long time ago. I apologize for not having that many screen shots, I will try to come back and take some as I expand the story. Also, I'm terrible at taking notes when I am playing, so I forget many of the names and official positions of some of the people I mention. Hopefully this will get better with time. Finally, I am not using any mods and I am playing on Normal/Normal/long.
Chapter 1: Farms and Roads
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The year is 1700. Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov is the Tsar of Russia. His reign started 18 years ago. In those 18 years Pyotr traveled to the European nations and witnessed first hand the modernization that was occurring. His heart was jealous because his own country was so backwards. His citizens were unhappy and distrustful of his government. Many of the backwater towns were not growing. The nobility were more concerned about their own wealth than the wealth of the country. Many of his advisers were corrupt. The country had no access to the ocean. Something had to change...
One summer day that year Pyotr was taking an afternoon ride through the plains of Muscovy. He looked around him at the lush landscape and something clicked in his head. He thought to himself:
"What is it that Russia has that no other European power has? It is land. We have land, more land than any of them. The Europeans do so much with so little. England has expanded around the world and their home is smaller than Muscovy and the Ukraine combined. I must make a decision."
He turned his horse around and looked at Moscow on the horizon. His face tightened. He kicked his horse and rode hard towards the city all the while building up a resolve to face the troubles that would certainly lie ahead.
Later that day Pyotr went to the Moscow Barracks. He had sent word ahead to line up all of the most talented and strongest soldiers in the courtyard. Walking up and down the line of soldiers Pyotr picked two men, Nicolaas and Boris. He ordered them to follow him and they all went to the Royal Palace and into Pyotr's private chambers:
Pyotr: "Gentlemen, from this day forward you will be my personal guards. You will be armed at all times. When I am awake you will be at my side. You will be with me when I make every decision. When I am asleep you will handle my safety by any means necessary. I need men who are not connected to the corrupt advisers and nobility. You will never speak to any of my advisers. You report only to me. You are the buffer between me and this country. Do you have any questions?"
Nicolaas and Boris in union: "No sir!"
Pyotr: "Know that if either of you betray me you will feel the wrath of this country. I am in command of many armies. Those armies do my bidding. They can easily be made to destroy your family. This will be the only time I warn you and the only time we speak of this matter. From this day forward I trust in you and you will protect me. Now, let us take the first step of many."
Pyotr and his two new guards marched directly into the office of the head of state.
Pyotr: "Alexi, as of this moment you are done. Leave this office immediately and go back to your home in Kiev. You will not be harmed, but do not protest..."
Alexi: "Do not protest?!?! I am 30 years your senior. I worked in this position under Tsar Alexis I! This is an outrage!"
Pyotr motions to Nicolaas and Boris. The two guards draw their sabers and adopt an aggressive stance.
Alexi: "Is this how you are handling politics now Pyotr? By the sword?"
Pyotr: "I am the Tsar of Russia, this is my country and you are my servant. I can rule any way I like, now leave this office immediately or suffer the consequences!"
Alexi put his hands up in the air and shook his head. He walked out of the office murmuring something under his breath. Pyotr didn't care. Alexi was corrupt, his policies had starved the country of wealth. Provincial governors stole from their populace and fed that money up the chain. Alexi was the recipient of much of that money. Pyotr knew that the only way to modernize Russia was to just cut the corruption and move on. He would waste no effort in prosecuting Alexi. He knew Alexi would just retire to his home and life a comfortable life off of his ill gotten gains. That was fine. From this day forward things would be different. Let the past die in comfort of old age.
Over the next year Pyotr moved from office to office removing corruption. He replaced the heads of state, justice, army and navy. He personally chose each replacement after conducting long interviews where he judged their character. Sometimes he would even ask what Nicolaas and Boris thought. He knew his guards were not politically savvy, but he also knew that men of the army often have great instincts. And he used those instincts to augment his informed decisions. The only way to execute the first stage of his plan was to untie the government's money, his money, with the corruption.
By the spring of 1702 Pyotr had largely accomplished the adviser changes he had set out to make. Many of the old advisers from previous reigns had been removed. He had eliminated dozens of provincial governors who were tied to those advisers. Under his new regime, all advisers reported to him directly. He allowed very little, if any, congregations of advisers without his presence. This was necessary both to avoid a coup, and to avoid any further development of corruption. Nicolaas and Boris' presence in his dealings had had the effect he desired. He remained safe while eliminating many old chains of money. And now he could make his first reforms unfettered.
The first thing Pyotr ordered was the lowering of taxes across the entire country for both the nobility and the lower class. Pyotr then disbanded any army regiments that did not serve his purpose or were not efficient enough. He removed provincial guards to make a gesture to the people that his Tsardom trusted them. This combined with the lower taxes created a generally favorable opinion of Pyotr from his citizens. Lowering taxes did mean one thing, that army spending must stop for the time being. Pyotr would continue to support his current armies, but no new regiments would be commissioned for at least 3-4 years. Naturally, Pyotr's army adviser Ivan had a problem with this and voiced this opinion to Pyotr in the weekly meeting they held.
Ivan: "Tsar sir, we cannot cut off army growth at this time. The Ottoman Empire is posturing. We have reports of a Swedish buildup. Our Polish allies are under constant attack from the Prussians. We must continue to expand our army."
Pyotr: "Who are we at war with?"
Ivan: "Uh sir, I don't understa..."
Pyotr: "WHO ARE WE AT WAR WITH!?"
Ivan: "No one sir."
Pyotr: "I have removed the need for provincial guards, we have reallocated those forces to the border provinces. This is the same as build up. What we have reallocated would take any potential enemies years to train. Now tell me, why do we need to expand our army?"
Ivan: "Sir you are right as always, I am sorry to second guess your decisions, it is just that..."
Pyotr: "That is all Ivan, I will meet with you again next week. Have all funds that would have been spent on new regiments sent to my general fund, I have a special purpose for that money."
By winter of 1703 a new college had been built in Muscovy and Pyotr ordered all of his gentlemen agents to that college to study advances in farming and animal husbandry. Meanwhile, with the money freed from the army, Pyotr embarked on one of the largest construction efforts in the history of Russia. He commissioned that cobbled roads be built in every province of the nation. His state adviser complained that those roads would not be worth it in some of the backwater provinces, but Pyotr didn't care. He knew that a healthy trade network would invigorate the communities in the east. He also commissioned that all farms be expanded as to create food surpluses across the country. And finally, he commissioned that all fur outposts be built and expanded. Pyotr knew that Russia's only trade able resource was its fur. Many of the European nations were trading fur with colonies in the Americas and would be happy to pay lower prices for Russian fur.
The only obstacle now for Pyotr's trade expansion was Russia's lack of a port. Pyotr knew that the Khan of Crimea would not allow him to have access to his port, and so he knew that conflict was the inevitable choice...
Chapter 2: The Blockade
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
By the end of 1704 Pyotr had commissioned an army to conquer the Crimea. The army was made of 4 regiments of Horse Cavalry and 4 regiments of Steppe Swordsman. Even though Russia had several regiments of Line Infantry, it was decided to send those to the northern provinces as the Khan of Crimea did not have very robust armies. The Russian cavalry alone could probably do the job. The swordsman were simply for assurance and to fill out the army more.
The general was chosen by Pyotr after consulting with Nicolaas and Boris. They had first hand knowledge of many of Russia's generals and were of great help in picking one for this most crucial task. Pyotr called in general Pavel [change to real name] into his chamber:
Pavel: "You wish to see me Tsar?"
Pyotr: "Pavel, you have served this country well in the past. You are now being chosen to undertake the most crucial of missions."
Pavel: "Please sir tell me how I can be of service to you and our country."
Pyotr: "As you know I have been putting much effort into creating a trade network in our country. Well now we need to expand that trade network to the sea. Russia has no presence in the ocean and that must change if we are to become truly great."
Pavel: "I agree sir."
Pyotr: "I want you to lead an army into the Crimea and I want you to destroy the Khan. Once he is disposed of, secure the port. The Black Sea shall be the staging ground for the Navy that I am planning on building as well as our window to the rest of Europe."
Pavel: "Sir, will attacking the Khan incite the Ottoman Empire to retaliate?"
Pyotr: "This is a possibility I have considered, but it must be done. We have no other way to secure a port in such a crucial place. What would you have me do, declare war on Sweden?"
Pavel: "You are right, of course, I will head out immediately sir. Consider the Khan no more, I will dispatch a rider to notify you as soon as the port is secured."
Pyotr: "Very good general. Remember that there is no such thing as failure. Our entire country is depending on this one action."
Pavel set off for the Crimea. In the Spring of 1705 the army reached the city and quickly dispatched the defending force of the Khan. The Khan brought many armed populace into battle making a classic mistake. Pavel knew that the armed populace really were a detriment to an army and were easily routed. After flanking several regiments with the Russian cavalry, the Khan's forces were quickly routed which caused pure chaos on the battlefield. Pavel sent in the rest of the cavalry and that broke the entire army. The battle was easily won and the fleeing forces were swept up by over 300 charging horses. No Khan forces survived that day and Pavel sent a regiment of swordsman to secure the trading port.
Just as promised, Pyotr was notified a week later and he responded by immediately sending emissaries to Great Britain and Spain. Fur was brought across the newly constructed roads from the back water provinces to the Crimea and sent out across the Black Sea and across Europe. Wealth began to build quickly in many provinces and Pyotr ordered that that money be invested back into the provinces by continuing to expand industry across the country. Pyotr gained a glimpse of the future. The stimulation of the Russian economy was noticeable. He had great hopes for the future. Unfortunately, these hopes were soon squashed by the Ottoman Empire.
Soon after taking the Crimea, Pyotr received an emissary from the Ottoman Empire. The emissary delivered a note, and did not say anything. He quickly left before Pyotr had a chance to read it. Pyotr opened the note and stared at the words for a long time. It simply read: "Prepare for war." It was signed by the Ottoman Khan and his Islamic protectorates. Pyotr studied the map. He bordered these states on 3 provinces but only had one army to protect them with. He knew he must go on the offensive. His Polish allies were of no help as they constantly battled the Prussians. He sent a rider to the Crimea to divert Pavel's military force to the East.
By the next season the army had relocated to Don Voisko and had already beaten back a Georgian army that attempted to pillage a local town. The victory was swift and produced many Georgian casualties. But Pavel knew that the Georgians had a very large garrison in their capital. He sent a rider to Pyotr to request for more troops:
Rider: "Tsar Pyotr, I have a request from Pavel in Don Voisko."
Pyotr: "Yes? He did not lose to those pathetic Georgians did he?"
Rider: "No sir, the advancing Georgian army was destroyed and our army has already been reinforced. Pavel is asking for more regiments for the attack on the capital."
Pyotr thought for a minute. He had stopped the commissioning of new regiments a few years ago in favor of investing in local resources. This had produced increased income and was now facilitating a burgeoning trade business with European states. Pyotr came to the decision that some of that new money could be used to support a larger army:
Pyotr: "Very well, have two regiments of cavalry and two regiments of swordsman commissioned to add to Pavel's army. That should be sufficient for a Georgian invasion. What they have in numbers they lack in skill. Tell Pavel that if this is not enough, he better make up for it with battlefield tactics."
Rider: "I will inform him, thank you Tsar."
The regiments were commissioned and Pavel marched with his new army into Georgian territory. Things seemed to be going well. Pyotr's confidence in his plan was increasing. But he had yet to hear from the Ottoman Empire after their declaration of war. Was it possible they declared war on him only to harass him with their protectorate nations? His answer would come that following Summer.
The Ottoman Empire launched a fleet of 8 ships to blockade the Crimean trade port. Within one season income dropped to extremely low levels. Pyotr's tax cuts, combined with the recent commission of military forces, and now a complete lack of the new trade income, made for a drastic starvation in funds. In addition, one month before the blockade Pyotr had received an emissary from Sweden in which they notified him of a declaration of war. Within one year everything in Pyotr's plan had come crashing down. No longer did he have any money to invest in the underdeveloped provinces. He barely had enough money to maintain his armies. He had no navy to speak of. His only port was blockaded by a large Ottoman fleet. And he was being attacked now by 5 different nations (2 Islamic Ottoman protectorates, Ottoman Empire, Sweden and Prussia). Pyotr met with Nicolaas and Boris. In the past year they had become dependable sources for outside advice. Pyotr began to trust their opinions and frequently heeded their advice instead of his ministers:
Pyotr: "My entire plan has crumbled before my eyes. All of that effort to create these trade routes were for naught, what do I have now? A large network of roads that go to nowhere?!"
Boris: "Sir, we know that Pavel can handle the Islamic protectorates right?"
Pyotr: "Yes, that is the one thing I can be sure of. He is quite capable at dispatching those amateurs. It will take time, but they will not harm our lands."
Nicolaas: "What are you driving at Boris?"
Boris: "Well we know that we can't afford to attack the Ottoman's directly. We also know that we have Swedish armies advancing towards Muscovy. Why not use that situation and take Ingria from the Swedes and use their ports for our trading routes?"
Pyotr thought about this suggestion. Fighting a two front war is never desirable. However, since he had previously emptied the local garrisons and brought them to the front, he did have an army he could bring to the north. But what Boris didn't know was that the trade routes could not be easily renegotiated. Instead, Pyotr had another plan for the ports of Ingria, one that could boost Russia onto the world stage...
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