1572- As mentioned, Phillip, in 1572, sends the Christian armada towards its target: St. Mark’s Canal. Unfortunately for him, his navy, although larger than the Venetian, has several disadvantages. Among them is the vast variety of ships: Portuguese galleons, Aragonian galleys, and French frigates are all in it. They sail at different speeds, of course, and the ships become separated. This is why the ships sail in a convoy fashion, stopping at Marseilles, disgorging troops in Naples, then sailing to Tunis. From Tunis, the ships are to sail for the canal, where they will smash the fortifications there, by grace of God (and a hoped for insurrection).

Real life, as real life has a way of doing, worked differently. Don Juan, writing of the armada’s experience, writes after its defeat that "No battle plan survives the enemy; but with the Venetians, no enemy survives contact with the battle plan."

Venetian frigates, standardized, made of the exact same design, are able to sail together and pick off the Spanish warships. Galleys of the Christian Empire are in particular victimized. By the time the Armada reaches the Canal, in July, they have lost a third of their ships.

Andrea Dorea, leader of the Venetian fleet (and a Genoan, ironically enough) rallies his men to battle, and comes up with a plan to smash the Spanish fleet. Before the battle, he is recorded as giving the following speech to his officers:

The Venetian task force of 90 warships, and defenses, faces 130 Christian Imperial ships. The use of fire ships by the Venetian admiral Andrea Dorea results in the destruction of 20 Spanish man of wars, and the Spanish right breaks. Caught between Venetian fleet, and the fortifications of the canal, Don Juan fights a bitter battle. By the time it ends, 30 Venetian warships have been destroyed; but the Christian Empire’s fleet is broken, save for 40 ships which Don Juan breaks out with.

The Battle of the Suez, with its climactic tale of heroism, will be known in Western literature as the beginning of the 20 Year War.

Phillip, furious at John, begins raising troops. The Triple Empire adheres to the alliance, and King Edward joins the war on the side of the Catholic nations, seeking the rest of the Low Countries (and colonial territory).

Emperor John swears to join the war, as does the Czar of Russia. The massive invasion forces marches north from Naples, and quickly takes Rome. Dividing in two, half marches towards the city of Lucca, while the other half towards Ortranto, to eliminate Venice from the Adriatic coast.

The Siege of Lucca is lifted in November, following a battle in which Swiss soldiers, armed with flintlocks and bayonets, break the center of the Christian line. Ortranto falls, and in a chaotic orgy, the Spanish General, the Duke of Estramudara loses control of his men, who slaughter much of the city. Taranto, supplied by sea, struggles on. The Venetian army beings swellings its ranks as conscripts arise to avenge the deaths of Italian citizens.

The Ministry of War in Venice, meanwhile, develops a strategy. They will break the Christian Empire. First, though, the Venetians must gain control of the Straits of Gibraltar. With the massive coastal defenses, an attack by land would be necessary. Venetian manpower is stretched thin, though, and the Ministry develops a plan to aid an insurrection.

The Holy Roman Empire of the German nation invades the Triple Kingdom in July, while the Empire of Russia does likewise. Christian swears to honor the alliance, and lands on the Baltic coast. But Polish cavalry smashes the Imperial amies near Danzig, and launch a counter invasion west into Pommerania.

King Edward of England and Scotland joins the Catholic side, hoping to gain colonies in the Carribean and the rest of the Low Countries. Amsterdam declares for him, and an English army marches into Oldenburg in the beginning of 1573.

1573- Venetian troops almost cut off the army of the Duke near Taranto, but he withdraws towards Naples. The Venetians pursue, and for much of the year the Venetian and Spanish armies maneuver throughout Southern Italy. Troops are also raised in the North, and under the command of the Venetian General Benito Cornero, invade Savoy.

Edward, king of Scotland and England, runs into trouble. To finance the war, he demands that the Scottish parliament increase taxes on Tobacco and other goods from Nova Scotia. Edward, disliked as much for his Spanish (Roman Catholic) wife he married after Mary’s death as for his heavy taxes, dissolves the Scottish parliament. The Scottish covenant, a pact which swears to defend Presbytarianism in Scotland, is declared. To finance his war in Europe and to suppress the Scots, Edward forces parliament to pass laws against the Presbytarians and Puritans in England and Scotland. When Parliament refuses to hand over the right to tax shipping, he dissolves the English parliament.

Edward raises an army to deal with a rebellion in Ireland; but he uses it instead against the Scots. Parliament passes the Grand Remonstrance, which lists the intolerable acts of King Edward this far. Both sides take advantage of the lull to gain control of fortresses and arsenals, but the Parliamentary forces enjoy more popular support.

The Colonies, of course, are furious. They want Christian land, if any at all; the Christian Empire are the ones arming the Cherokee; and they’re Catholics, to boot.

Venetian militias in the colony of Nueva Italia march northwest, towards Colombia. The disastrous march ends in failure, with many of the men dying from the heat. A Christian Armada captures San Marco, on the isle of Puerto Rico. But Venetian warships grab the last Christian Imperial possessions in the Indian Ocean, including Ceylon.

Maneuvering (which becomes a feature of the 20 years war, as armies avoid fighting) continues in Poland. An invasion is launched into Bohemia, which is stoutly protestant, from Hungary. An invasion is launched from France, which is defeated outside of Frankfurt.

Just as it appears that the Christian Empire is unstoppable, the revolt of the Moriscos (Little Moors) occurrs. The Moriscos, Muslims who remained in Spain after the end of the reconquista, were oppressed heavily by Spain, including a ban on the export of the famous Granadine silk, as well as taxes. But when spies were caught by Phillip’s inquisitors who confirmed plans for a revolt in the Spanish territory, Phillip began banning traditional Islamic customs.

The revolt begins in Grenada, and Venetian warships ferry troops and supplies. It spreads throughout Southern Iberia, and Seville and the fortresses of Gibraltar are taken. Venetian troops are dispatched to aid the rebellion as well. This marks the beginning of the Spanish Front for the 20 years war.

The Granadines declare the Republic of Granada, modeling itself on the Swiss cantons. Venetian warships gain access to the Atlantic.

1574- King Edward, with the support of the Catholic and much of the house of lords, raises an army near Nottingham.

The army is smashed by an army consisting of Dutch, Scottish, and English subjects. Parliament agrees, in return for Dutch and Scottish support, to confirm the Anglican church to Calvinist beliefs.

The Holy Inquisition reaches new heights, and tens of thousands of jews flee France, Spain, and Portugal. Many of them flee to the Moriscos, who welcome them (and their coffers; Jews were the still among the most powerful bankers in Europe). Yusf Ibn-Razur, the general for the Moriscos, is said to told a Venetian officer that "Phillip is a fool. He weakens his realm and enriches our own." A Moriscan army besieges Toledo, before Phillip withdraws an army from Naples to face it. The transport is harried by Venetians the entire voyage.

New gold, however, begins pouring into imperial revenues. The silver mines of Peru begin booming, and Danish, English, and Venetian privateers attack Spanish treasure fleets.

Mainz falls to the forces of the Christian Empire.

Finally, in the colonies, an Imperial army raised from the free cities takes Iqique, on the southern border of the Spanish Duchy of Peru.

1575- Facing defeats by the Parliamentary forces of England, Edward makes a political move designed to secure support at home, amongst the Catholics of Ireland and the Northwest, and from the Phillip, Edward becomes a Catholic in January. Troops from France land in Western England, and march on London, which is in Parliamentary hands. The civil war has become divided, by this point, between two groups. The nobles and Catholics (along with most of the house of lords) support the king, while the Parliamentary forces are the majority of the House of Commons and the populace. Among the noted military officers is Wililam Shakespeare, who leads a charge of cavalry for the Parliamentary forces at the battle of Lancaster.

John Hawkins, leader of the parliamentary faction, makes a proposal to Emperor Phillip. He will withdraw the English army from Hesse if Albert will recognize English control over all the counties of the Low Countries. Albert, desperate to break out into the Atlantic, agrees.

Meanwhile, the Christian Empire launches a counteroffensive into Moriscan territory. A punitive expedition is launched into North Africa, taking Tangiers. Corboda is also retaken; but the Sierran Nevadan mountains are a harsh, desolate land. Thousands of Spaniards die accordingly.

Vienna is besieged by Hungarians, but they only stay for a day. A Venetian army marches into Austria, greeted with cheers by the populace. The Venetian general, in a church along the route, swears that Vienna will not be another Taranto, and in May, defeats the Poles.

Memel is captured by forces of King Ferdinand of Scandinavia, to the relief of the Protestant populace.

Byzantium enters a civil war of its own. Emperor Alexus, dining in his chambers, is greeted by a contigent of soldiers. Demanding to know why they have entered, they inform that they will kill him. To his protests, the leader of the soldiers, in reality the General of the Constantinople garrison (formerly the leader of the invasion of Persia) responds: "You have emptied the treasury of your empire. You have stolen the wealth from your subjects, and traded with the infidel. Worst, though, you have ignored the duties of Christ’s vicar upon the Earth."

Alexus is deposed, but war breaks out. The nobles establish their own candidate, Severus Cantacuzene. The army’s candidate, Mehmed Chuluk, is half turk, literally. But he is of the Orthodox faith, and this marks the beginning of the Byzantine civil war.

1576- Representatives from the Low Countries, England, and Scotland meet in London. Faced with the prospect of a Spanish puppet as king, they agree to join together. In the words of the English general William Shakespeare, "We must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately".

The representatives from the Scottish parliament, the Estates of the Low Countries, and the English House of Commons create the reordering of English possessions, forming, based on the Venetian model, the Commonwealth of Britannia and the Low Countries. It is commonly referred to as the commonwealth, and represents a loose federation of the realms involved. Representatives from the colonies are involved as well, and the delegates agree to divide England, Scotland, Ireland, English America, and the Low countries into 24 districts, organized into 4 counties (America, Scotland, England, and the Low Countries). The first acts of the Commonwealth’s Senate is convicting King Edward of England of treason, and declaring war on the Christian Empire. Its first Lord Protector of the Constitution is Sir Walter Raleigh, a devouted Calvinist.

The Poles are pushed out of Austria, and Marseilles is captured by the Venetians. A Dutch army captures Calais for the Commonwealth, raising the banner of the Commonwealth over its first conquest of the war. The commonwealth navy, meanwhile, gives the Protestants naval superiority in the Atlantic, and militia forces take Charlotte in the New World.

Prague is taken by Polish forces, but an army of Germans captures Breslau. Unless the Poles can recapture the city, it will give the Germans access to heartland of the Triple Kingdom.

1577- The war enters its fifth year, and it appears that there is no end in sight. Things begin, however, to shift onto Christian land. French nobles are inflamed by edicts demanding that they pay yet more taxes for the war. Hugenots, who have, ironically enough, spread across France because of persecution, become even more widespread. Although revolt is discussed, none of the Hugenot nobles agree to it, preferring to remain loyal to the Emperor.

The English privateer, Sir Francis Drake, sets out on a mission with 15 warships to raid the coast of Mexico.

King Charles withdraws to Ireland in April, but by July he has landed in Scotland. At the battle of Paisley, he flees once again to Ireland.

The Low Countries are invaded by Christian forces, but are repulsed by William of Orange, the British general. William launches a counter invasion into Artois.

Venetian armies move into Savoy, but not past it; instead, troops are sent to aid the Moriscos. The Moriscos engage in a bloody guerilla war across Southern Iberia, and form, on the first day of Ramadan, the confederation of Al-Andalus. Made up of the cities of the former kingdom of Grenada and other Muslim cities in Iberia, the fierce warfare causes Phillip to lament, at one point, that "It will take a million men to conquer the Moors."

The colonial wars continue, but at a slower pace than those of Europe. Charlotte is captured and recaptured, and the German cities cross the Andes, in small groups.

1579- The Commonwealth of Britannia invades Ireland. Taking Belfast quickly, they march south. Finally, they trap Charles in Dublin. The city holds on for most of the year, but Charles is shipped back to London for trial in November.

Abbas I, Shash of Persia, invades the Mughal Empire. Although they fight well, at the end of the war, the Persians have reached the Indus.

After a long, series of sieges, the Imperial and Italian troops begin to push the Poles out of Bohemia.

1580- Charles is tried for High Treason against the United Commonwealth of Britannia. He is executed, after a moving speech on the divine right of kings.

Francis Drake incites insurrection in Western Mexico, claims California for Britannia as New Albion, and generally has a merry old time before sailing West. Returning home through the Canal (where the Venetians take half the gold he captured) he still makes a 2500% profit.

To meet the demand, the Arsenal (weapons manufactory in Venice) begins using a new method of making steel, which involves "coke" coal, imported from Austria.

Mehmed Chuluk (renamed Justinian, in order to make himself appear more Byzantine) becomes the New Emperor of Byzantium. Justinian would like nothing more than to smash Venice apart, but if anything, the emperor is weaker from the civil war than Venice. Justianian does, however, implement reforms to curtail the massive estates in Anatolia.

The Cossacks revolt; and hard. The atamans of the Ukraine rally for support from the Cossacks of Russia, and the Polish heavy cavalry faces an enemy who can outmaneuver it.

The Imperial armies liberate Bohemia, and prepare to cross into Poland, but the Hungarians retake Budapest.

A Christian army "liberates" Marseilles, thus marking the westward limit of the Venetian armies in the war.

1581- The first treasure fleets reach Lisbon, giving the depleted Christian treasury a reprieve. Christian armies go on the offensive, driving the Moriscan armies from Southern Portugal, and invade Switzerland.

The Swiss block mountain passes, trap the troops, and succeed in bogging down the Christian army. Finally, the army withdraws.

The Cossack revolt continues to grow. The Czar Russia hopes o gain control of the Cossacks, and encourages the Cossacks who reside in Russia to assist in the attacks on Poland.

Kandahar falls to Persia.

1582- St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in France. Hugenots in Paris are killed by inquisitors. When it’s discovered that one of the Hugenots was the leader of the only victorious French army in the war, the revolt spreads. The French Revolution begins.

The Estates-General meet in Paris in March. The 3rd estate (Catholic bishops) do not show up. Resistance to Phillip largely takes the forms of petitions, but as Christian Troops continue atrocities (including the musketeers, where the roughest Spanish troops are stationed in Hugenot houses), the Estates have no choice. Henri of Navarre, a devouted Hugenot, is proclaimed the King of France.

Henri rides to Paris, where he accepts the coronation. Phillip, sick, dies. His son, Carlos I, becomes the new Christian Emperor, and begins a policy of no quarter to the French Hugenots. In France, The South becomes a Catholic stronghold, while the north the domain of the Hugenots.

The news of the revolution is greeted with joy in Britannia, Germany, and Venice. All offer aid to the new king, for "his heroic efforts to free France of the Popery".