Scott DiBerardino - Sep 12, 2009 12:39 pm (30353.) new Developer, Three Crowns/GMT's PAX BALTICA :: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." -- Napoleon :: "I feel like a fugitive from the law of averages." -- Bill Mauldin PAX BALTICA report PAX BALTICA Long Island play report 2009-09-11 Jim Lawler (Sweden) John Scherrer (Coalition) 1700 (Autumn) As Peter’s Russian army fails their first attempt to siege Narva, Karl loads up an army in Sweden and prepares to land in the Baltic. While at sea, plague strikes the entire region, costing every unit on the map one step. Karl’s seaborne force soldiers on, lands in Ingermanland, and wipes out the Russian forces around Narva. 1701 Seeing the Russian, weakness, the Ottoman Empire joins the war. They immediately march through the Ukraine and lay siege to Kursk, but fail to take it. Up north, the Coalition shifts its defenses around while the Swedish fleet goes home for more troops. A sudden series of storms attrit the Turks in Russia badly and they limp home for reinforcements. As the Saxons march additional troops through Poland, additional Swedish forces land in Livland. Good recruiting all around adds to every nation’s army. 1702 Further recruitment maximizes the Turk army, and they again move north. The Russians send a force south to contest the Ukraine. With Russia’s forces divided, Karl leads an expedition into Novogorod. The Russians break the siege lines there before it can fall, and Peter counterattacks successfully into Velikaya, and the Saxons take Livland from Courland. However, the Ottomans take Poltava and begin to move further north. 1703 The Ukraine revolts, throwing the Russian southern marches into disarray. The Russian RP level is getting quite low. A huge battle is fought between the Ottomans and the Russians at Kursk, but the Turks are repulsed. Karl continues his siege of Novgorod without success. The Swedes mount an attack on Livland but are thrown back by the stalwart Coalition army of Saxons and Russians. In the south, the Russians pursue the Mazepa’s rebels and the defeated Turk armies, but can’t quite finish them off. Discontent in the Swedish homeland causes some losses. The Saxon reinforcements continue their march through Poland. The overreaching Russians are trapped in enemy territory when pursuing the Turks, and a couple weak Russian armies are wiped out with nowhere to go. The Swedes end the year preparing more reinforcements for the Baltic. 1704 Karl’s siege of Novgorod finally takes the city and Russian replacements are dangerously low. More Swedes land in Livland but are thrown back to the sea, even with help on land. Some Russian regiments in the south fail to corner Mazepa. Swedes land their reinforcements in the Baltic and invade Velikaya. Saxon reinforcements reach Livland. [At this point I make the mistake of allowing Saxons in Russia, and they help bolster Russian defenses.] 1705 The resurgent Ottomans drive the Russians out of Poltava before they can liberate the city. The Russians fail to take Mazepa’s headquarters in Ukraine. The Turks continue to march north, defeating small Russian forces along the way. They begin another siege of Kursk, but Russian raids break the lines. In the Baltics, Swedish reinforcements capture Velikaya and successfully siege Pskov. The Russians have almost no replacements left, but still field a decent army. The Saxons and Russians together retake the country Novgorod but fail to take the city. 1706 Novgorod is finally returned to Russia by a Saxon siege [illegal, sigh]. Kursk falls to the Turks and they move on Rjazan. Russia RPs are halved by poor harvest, they may not get any in 1707 at this rate! A large Swedish force invades Livland and weak Saxon forces there fall back into Poland (technically still neutral). The Saxon army concentrates at Velikaya [sigh, illegal again] but are drive off by strong Swedish forces. At this point we called the game. The Swedes were still in great shape with Russia just about finished and the Ottomans heavily involved. However, the Saxons were strong and Polish involvement is inevitable. The game might come down to how soon the Danes decide to get involved (they enter on a 6 each year, but never did in six tries this game). Thanks again to Jim and John for a good test, they picked up the game quickly and we got through each year (four turns) of play in 30 minutes. Thanks also to Allan Rothberg for hosting our game and being his usual excellent self.