Hello,

As promised here is an AAR of my recent campaign with Denmark.
Settings: Hard/Hard. Victory Conditions: Prestige.
Oh, I had some screenshots from the game however I do not have them with me at this time. Perhaps when I am able to edit posts I will then edit them into this thread.

All land battles are fought on the tactical map unless otherwise noted.

GAMEPLAY NOTE: I manage my cities/regions on low taxes for the plebs/masses/proletariat/working class/whatever you coose to call them, in order to increase growth rate. Once all towns are built I increase taxes to the middle. However, the taxes for the 1% remain in the middle setting for the duration of my games. This method of playing with lower taxes to support growth and raising them in emergencies to build armies has been a management tactic I adopted following years of fooling around with total war. Some might call my style of play 'turtling', I prefer to call it 'strategic management'

Here is the report:

1701: Considering the Swedes are about to take Norway and I do not have the forces available to stop them, I (King of Denmark) ask for Peace with Sweden. They (The Swedish King) agree. I give them Norway in exchange for 5000, a trade agreement, and military access. We're both happy monarchs of a divided Scandinavia.

~ 1702: I notice I have two ports and I decide that a military port does not serve my strategic interests at this time. Therefore, I order workers to transform the military port into a commercial one. The strategic plan here is to increase my trade opportunities thereby increasing revenue. Since my elite regiments are rather expensive I will require a fair bit of $ to re-take Norway.

CURRENT GAME OBJECTIVE: Establish strong economy and retake Norway, then take Stockholm and silence Swedish rule from Scandinavia.

1706: Update from Europe - The United Provinces are knocked out by France. Nearly all of Prussia's home provinces are taken. As a result of foreign interventions, Prussia has been restricted to one region: Saxony.

1709: Update from Europe - Prussia is destroyed by Poland-Lithuania.

1711: Update from Europe - United Provinces are back due to a revolution against French Imperial rule in Holland.

1711: Financial update - Trade fleet arrives off the coast of Africa. I increase my revenue by 1200/turn be establishing ivory trade routes. To maximize the profit from this trade, I split my fleet into two groups. (NOTE: I have maxed my Indiamen. I have two 3/4 stacks on two separate ivory trade nodes with additional 6th rates for protection. I managed this by building an Indiaman/turn from start of game).

1712: Weird, my Scholars/Gentlemen are spawning in Iceland. This is now the second one I've had to ferry back to Copenhagen. Rather annoying considering there are no schools in Iceland.

1714: Great Britain (GB) declares war on me and ruins my plan to establish a strong economy to retake Norway. A change in strategy is now required.

UPDATED GAME OBJECTIVE: NEW STRATEGIC PLAN = Survive...

At this point I have almost researched the tech 'Division of Labour' and planned to upgrade my trading ports (and farms due to relevant tech upgrade) thereby establishing strong economic infrastructure. GB's declaration of war ruins my plan.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 'Missing String' appears as the GB respond from diplomatic interactions. The same error occurred in my game as Portugal when I interacted diplomatically with France. Not sure if this is an install issue on my part or a game bug associated with IS.

1715: ... Strategic thinking...: deciding whether to build a fort on Iceland to protect from potential GB invasion. Current revenue from Iceland is ~777. This means that the ~777 + cost of garrison would equal a financial loss. Therefore I decide to leave Iceland alone except for minor farm/port upgrades to boost income.

1718: Update from Europe - United Provinces defeated (again) by France. ... The French King is very annoyed.

1719: EMERGENCY! An invading army from Great Britain arrives outside the gates of Copenhagen! Alas, with patience and skill in maneauvering my Danish line infantry the British are defeated.
Note: The British invading army had a fairly large contingent of calvary which is not the best choice when invading a region.

1720: Following this glorious victory, I decide to take my army (~half stack w/ elite troops) and sail off to invade Scotland. As a consequence of my small invasion fleet, the Royal Navy intercepts the ships on their return voyage and destroys all of them (battle was auto-resolved. Current version of this submod makes naval battles take too long). Fortunately my army landed safely on Scottish shores... Will they be victorious with their invasion...?

1721: Update from Europe - United Provinces declare their independence from Imperial France (again...)

1721: Due to the military campaign in Scotland and the lack of military personnel in Copenhagen, riots against the King (that's me) begin.

1721: Surprise! Upon witnessing the imposing Danish army outside their walls, the Scots accept my offer and surrender without a fight. This is a welcome bonus as it leaves my entire army together, capable of taking London.
NOTE: I only had ~half stack with some Elite Troops.

1721: A revolution begins in Copenhagen. I (the King) decide to side with the rebels against my own rule... A bit schizophrenic I think. Nevertheless, I beat myself as King only to rise again as appointed Prime Minister and a glorious democratic state is won for the Danish people!
UPDATE: Due to the regime change my elite Danish troops in Scotland are changed to line infranty because they are not available for republican regimes.

1725: Upon stabilizing the situation in Scotland I waste no time and move down to capture London where they had a few divisions waiting outside the capital. These petty regiments are fought and dealt with promptly. By the end of 1725 London itself is sieged and the militamen rush out to meet the now 'Republican' Danish muskets ... Alas, the majority of the British militiamen flee.

Sidenote: With Scotland and England under Danish rule I leave my army in London and fight off a few attempts by the English to oppose my rule. With the English revolutionary attempts defeated, I concentrate on building the strongest economy in the world...

The plan to establish stable economic infrastructure is a success, and by ~1730 I begin making ~9000/turn.

1733: Update from Europe - the fall of the British Isles creates ripples throughout continental European alliances. Consequently, Austria falls to Ottoman and PolLith pressure.

1736: Update from Europe - Piedmont Savoy destroyed by France

STRATEGIC UPDATE: Upon establishing a profoundly powerful economy I set my sights on Ireland and Sweden. My first objective is to take Ireland especially considering Great Britain has not rebuilt a garrison in this region. Then, I will sail to conquer Norway. From there, I will send a two-prong attack to invade Stockholm. One stack will march from Norway, the other stack will march from Denmark.

1739: Update from Europe - Wurtemburg destroyed

1741: Update from India - Mysore destroyed

1741: Update from North America - Due to the fall of the British Isles, the British colonies realize how feeble their King has become and decide to revolt. As a result, in 1741 the United States of America declare their independence.

1741: Update from Europe - Following a few decades of peace, Russia and Sweden are back at war. Is this my time to attack...?

1741: With the loss of their British Isles and the revolutions from their North American colonies, the British King decides to run away with his mistress (I think she was French) thereby abdicating the British Crown. Having lost their king and with no one willing to take over the embarassing role of King of Great Britain, the 'Greatness' is destroyed and Britain ceases to exist as an independent state.

1751: Following over a decade of rebuilding my newly acquired lands I decide it's time for my long-planned strategic attack. At this time preparartions begin for the two-prong attack against Stockholm. First, the Danish-British Expeditionary force sets sail from the British Isles to re-take Norway. This army is heavily supported by the now highly experienced line infantry regiments who originally defended Copenhagen from the British invasion attempt. Once the expeditionary force is close to Norway the second army I've been slowly building in Copenhagen will prepare its long-awaited assault on the Swedes.

Note: For at least two decades Sweden has kept a stack-and-a-half outside Copenhagen. I don't know why. They have been at war with Hannover for decades and both Hannover and Sweden have military access through my lands (ie Denmark). Additionally, a similar issue happened during a game with Portugal whereby Spain kept nearly two full stacks outside Lisbon (Spain also had Portuguese military access). I suspect this is a relic of the legendary Total War AI where it tends to build stacks in allied territory thinking it's clever before launching a 'surprise' attack...? It is very important to note that I do not have an alliance with Sweden, and in my previous game as Portugal I did not have an alliance with Spain - only military access granted in both cases.

1751: The first phase of my attack is in place and I land one stack to reconquer Norway. Following the arrival of Danish troops on Norwegian shores the citizens cheer at the prospect of living within the Glorious Republic of Denmark instead of the tyrannical regime of Sweden. Almost instantly the Norwegian garrison surrenders to my Danish-British Expeditionary force.

1751: The two Swedish stacks outside Copenhagen have met their fate as the Republican Army of Denmark has become fed-up with this decade-old threat from Sweden. Longing for the complete removal of Swedish troops from Danish lands, the Danaish assault on Sweden commences and the Battle for Copenhagen begins. In this batte, one full stack of Danish troops stands up against one stack and a half of Swedish troops. I look forward to these challenging odds.

1751: I really wish I had the screenshots with me... This was an epic battle!!!

...Oh, the Danish regiments won!

1752: The victorious Danish troops march out of Copenhagen to clean up the Swedish remnants who fled into the Danish countryside. ... It would have been nice to receive some help from my longtime ally Hannover, especially since we're both at war with Sweden and regiments from Hannover have just been sitting in their beautiful city nearly the entire game.

Part two of the strategy commences. The two-prong march against Stockholm begins.

1753: The victorious Danish armies march out from Norway and in one year (two turns) meet together outside Stockholm. To their surprise the Swedes have mustered only a few regiments of line infantry, the rest of their army is flint-lock militia. Upon seeing this measly army the Danish Republicans laugh... Upon estimating the weakness of their foe, a contingent of this superior Danish army is diverted north to prevent any counter attacks from Sweden. The remaining full stack of Danish regiments begin their siege of Stockholm. Coupled with pride and a refusal to let Scandinavia be ruled by Danes, the Swedish army marches out to meet their superior Danish foe. The battle begins with a continuous barrage from Danish 12pound cannons. Eventually the Swedes march to the Dansih line, concerned with the artillery barrage. Within a few vollies the Swedes begin to flee, and the Danes charge their relentless foe. Within one afternoon and a short battle, Stockholm falls to Denmark.

Following the conquest of Stockholm I (the once King, now Prime Minister) look over my possessions: Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, England, Denmark, Norway, and now Sweden. With these victories I am third in Prestige ranking. In first place is Pol-Lith because they are steam-rolling through Europe. Considering there are roughly 45 more years to play I decide to call it a game and I declare myself victorious! The main reason for my third-place Prestige ranking is lack of naval battles. For some reason the land-focused Pol-Lith has built a rather intimidating navy...

Conclusion:

I originally planned to spend this game retaking Norway and then beating back Sweden. The invasion and conquest of the British Isles came as a complete surprise. Although there are 45 more years to play, the fun seems gone. Sweden has two regions left: Finland and a Baltic region. Quite insignificant since these regions restrict Sweden's ability to recruit large armies. Moreover, since I've maintained a decades-long peace with Russian and Pol-Lith I am content with our division of Europe: Russia has the east, Pol-Lith is central, and I am in the north. Spain is weak and France remains a tough adversary in the west. However I have no reason to attack anyone else and 'world conquest' is not really the objective of King/Prime Minister of Denmark. Where I once ruled as an absolute Monarch of Denmark-Norway, I am now content as the self-appointed ruler of a 'republican?' Denmark-Norway-England-Scotland-Ireland-Sweden.

As I've said above I took some screenshots and I think if you saw them they'd add a bit more 'flavour' to this post. I'm not sure when I will meet the requirements to edit my posts, but when I do and if there is interest I will upload some screenshots to DropBox and edit them into this thread's post.

Oh, and I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.

I hope you enjoyed this point-form AAR.

Finally, thank-you to the Imperial Splendour modding team for this wonderful mod. Additionally, thank-you PikeStance for the challenging 'Tactical Commander' submod.