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Prologue:
Russia, a land of sweeping grasslands, a land of harsh winters, a land dominated by an Absolute Monarch, a land... of war.
For years Russia has been slaving away, working towards unity among the people, but has been setback by uprisings and enemies. To the south-west the Ottoman Empire has continued to expand, its land gains now include the Balkans, they are in position to strike Russia from the unguarded south-eastern side; they are dangerously close to Russian borders and they are our enemies. To the west and the north a now aggressive Sweden presents a threat too great to ignore, if they are allowed to stay they will crush us. Directly to our south on the Crimean Peninsula lie a small but threatening "country," as they would like to call themselves, we, however, call them rebels, they are to be dealt with. To the south-east Dagestan, a country hostile to ours, threatens our unguarded cities, they must be watched carefully or we will regret it. But not all threats are foreign, the lower classes feel oppressed by the Absolute Monarch which holds the Russian throne, they must be dealt with or Russia with collapse from the inside out. Trade with overseas nations eludes us as we have yet to obtain a port to conduct sea trade. Even when faced by all these problems, Russia will endure, the Tsar promises, we. Will. Thrive.
Russia is currently weak, we have little money to go on and as a result our army will not be able to uphold itself unless it is properly funded soon. But to get money, we need to open trade lanes to foreign nations. The only problem is that we lack a port to send out trade ships; Sweden owns the closest port to Russia. Sweden is also a major threat to the Tsar's country; they have a powerful military and border Russia, a threat that needs to be dealt with. The Tsar commands his crown Prince to take his army and attack the city of St. Petersburg. While the Prince's army is small in comparison to the Swedish army in St. Petersburg, it is still powerful when commanded properly. The attack would have to be carried out immediately though, if done any later the Swedes would have time to build up a power force and use it to take down Russia, this is unacceptable.
The Prince attacks St. Petersburg, the enemy has been able to round up civilians to fight for them, our odds of winning are not positive. A Swedish city is to the east, we cannot wait for reinforcements, if we do the Swedes will likely pull their own reinforcements out and destroy our army, the only "major" obstacle between them and Moscow. Our forces are small, two cavalry units, one of them the Prince's and the other cavalry militia, two light infantry units, one regular and one Cossack unit, and one group of cannons. The enemy have about seven infantry units, four armed peasants two light infantry and one unit of Pikemen. They have two units of cavalry, same situation as me, and two units of cannons.
Our troops are on the outskirts of currently small city. Even though we are attacking, we will wait for their units to come, allow our troops as long as possible to fire upon the enemy in open fields. They tried to maneuver their militia cavalry around our right flank, we positioned our infantry on the side, allowing them to gun down about ten men, and then intercepted with our own militia cavalry, they were sent into a rout within two minutes. They then sent their mass of infantry straight at my regulars, it's not exactly comforting to see 120 men rushed by about 500 men. However, their troops pushed my troops away from my cannons and other light infantry, allowing both of them to fire into the mass of men without killing my own troops. We quickly sent the armed peasants into a rout, allowing our militia cavalry to run down them down. Next I had to put my own general and his bodyguard on the line, they charged with my light infantry directly into the enemy's backside, sending two more infantry units into a rout. The only men left were the Pikemen, they soon fled, seeing their friends slaughtered because they stood their ground. Surprisingly after fighting hand-to-hand combat for about five minutes against 500 men, my Regulars only lost 36 of their own men while killing off about 150. Our cavalry units had a field day running down the fleeing infantry, but the battle was not yet over, the enemy's cannons were still shelling my own men. I sent my infantry around the sides, within minutes the enemy artillery was silenced for good.
The battle was a huge win for us, we were not expected to live through the day, let alone lose only 80+ men. All of Russia celebrated this decisive victory, proclaiming this was just a taste of the glory to come to Russia...
End of the Prologue
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
Sweden is still a threat to Russia, even while we have destroyed the closest threat to Russia, they still own two regions that could become trouble very quickly. Many of the Higher Classes are demanding that we march against them, as they fear the repercussions of our sudden war. But there a few, much quieter voices, that speak of a less known fear to the south. Our small neighbor, Dagastan, has been increasingly aggressive towards us; there has been increased army traffic along the Russia-Dagestan border, their very presence taunts the lower classes. While the minister of the army understands the threat they pose to our completely unguarded cities, he can do nothing; the Tsar believes that their military manpower is better spent fighting the Swedes to the north. Even the nobility believe that everything is fine in the south. The only thing the Tsar allows the army minister to do is to allow the recruiting of a few units of light infantry to the south. The Russian higher-ups will not risk their troops against a threat they wont declare war against, the don't believe Dagastan has the audacity to attack great Russia.
If the minister of the army is to get support for military action against Dagastan, he will need the Russian nobility to turn against them, even if that means a few Russians must die in the process. But he is not only trying to get military support against Dagastan, Russia needs to expand even further, he needs to rile the Russian people up against the many enemies of Russia. He could do it all in one key battle. He decides to only use one of the few units he is allowed to recruit in the south, assigning a man who was key in defeating the Swedes in St. Petersburg as captain. This man has is a hero to Russians in the north, the minister of the army will make him a national hero.
Dagastan has stopped holding up the facade of peace and has finally entered our territory, declaring war in the process. Even this move does not convince the Russian Upper Class of their threat. They live blissfully unaware of the coming storm. Dagastan's army is small, but they can easily take our small (city wise, they are large in terms of mileage) regions and use them for their own devices. Their army consists of two light infantry units, one general, and one melee unit of Arab infantry. They arrive at our southernmost city and attack as soon as possible. My "army" consists of one unit of cossacks and three units of armed peasants.
The enemy has assembled far away, more than enough time to set up stakes for cavalry and to fortify the area around one of two townhalls. My peasants take positions around the townhall while the cossacks take the building itself. The area that we are looking at requires the enemy to go through either one of two choke points very close to the townhall, allowing my men opportune firing lines before they get too close. The enemy's melee unit, while outdated, is still very dangerous to my cossacks if they are allowed inside the townhall, our peasants must do everything they can to stop them from getting inside. The enemy doesn't seem too keen on allowing us to fire at them freely, they charge directly into my peasants without firing a shot. While that gave my men time to get off a shot or two, my peasants wont last long against professional soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. Miraculously, we were able to get one enemy unit to rout, they never turned back. Sadly, this cost me one of my peasant units, who happened to be guarding the only doorway into the townhall. Without hesitating I ordered my units inside to get out as fast as possible and to get into a position where they can fire on the enemy. By now all three of my peasant units had been set into a rout, the largest unit left had only 36 men. The Arab melee units continued to chase my cossacks, but we had managed to get enough room between them to turn around and fire off a shot before they smashed into our lines. That one volley managed to kill about 20 of their Arab Swordsmen. For the next three minutes, my cossacks fought in desperate hand-to-hand combat with them. Just before we sent them into a rout, they killed the beloved captain. The enemy sent their last light infantry unit into our lines, they too were beaten back. Finally they sent their own general into the fray. Our men fought like devils, killing 20 of the 24 men in the General's unit. Sadly they were sent into a rout before they could kill the general, ending the battle. We lost it was close but we lost.
Every single man who fought in the battle for Russia was rounded up and killed, no one survived.
This disaster for Russia was what the minister of the army had been waiting for, he boldly told the tale of the Russian defense, and the loss of Russia's beloved captain. Russia has been angered, they call for the heads of every single man responsible for the taking of Russian territory. Many Russians in Moscow flood the recruitment offices, the people cry out against Dagastan. Russia will have its vengeance for its fallen heroes.
End of Part One
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
An army has been raised, Dagestan will soon feel the Russian people's wrath. They march from Moscow, the people, nobleman and commoner alike, line the streets, cheering these men on. These men are made up of the finest weaponry, training, and military equipment that Russia has developed. If Dagestan could nearly lose a battle against our most basic units, who numbered less than them, they will not survive an attack of Russia's finest when they number more than them.
The Dagestanian general responsible for the deaths of our Russian heroes will not die nobly in battle; he will die at the hands of our Rake. The assassination goes off without a hitch and before daybreak the general is dead. A bullet through his head was still a death too good for him, but it will have to do. Our troops are now at the outskirts, they are ready to invade the city. While the end goal is to destroy their army, we need to take the city with as little losses as possible. We demand the surrender the occupants, they agree and turn tail and run.
But they chose to take refuge in a town to the south of the region's capital, once again infringing upon Russian territory. This gives us the final excuse we need to destroy them. We quickly run them down, and we are ready to destroy them. There are only three units that they have, the Arab Swordsmen who will be cut apart soon enough, and two units of militia. We have three line infantry units and two mounted units, general's bodyguard and regular cavalry. Our infantry each fire at least two shots before using their plug bayonets and charging the enemy. The Arab Swordsmen still annoy me, they are strong no matter how few they number. When the others ran, we ran them down with our cavalry, a favored tactic of mine, by the battle's end, no single man escaped the field. My general leading the army personally kills every single man in the regiment of Arab Swordsmen who lived through the battle. Bur our revenge is only half-complete, Dagestan still lives. We must take their capital, Chechnya. My army marches to the city, we take it after a bloody battle with the inhabitants, Dagestan no longer exists. Our vengeance is complete.
The minister of land forces was able to use the Russian Disaster as a springboard for military aggressiveness. We take the Crimea region and in doing so we take another Trading Port. Russia's coffers expand and we are able to build our army even larger. Sweden still presents a threat to the west of St. Petersburg, they hold the Latvia-Estonia territory, we need to take it out. Using the army we expanded, we quickly take the city, kicking the Swedes from Mainland Europe in the process.
While raising a second army in St. Petersburg, the minister of land forces confesses that he intentionally created the Russian Disaster. He is later placed in jail and executed. Had he remained in power, we would have invaded the Ottoman Empire, a move that could have ruined Russia through an economic burden. We offer peace to the Ottomans, they accept, but only after forcing us to pay 4400 from our coffers. It's an expensive price to pay for peace and a trade agreement, but we believe it could end well for us. In the meantime we invade Finland, it is completely unguarded by Swedish forces and taken easily. We send an army to an unguarded path to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Before we get halfway there, we offer the Swedes peace, they accept without demanding anything else.
End of Part Two
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
Once my internet feels up to par, I'll post the next part, it'll probably be a lot longer, but suffice to say I'm not done with the Swedes just yet...
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
While the war with Sweden may be over, we still share a mutual feeling of bitterness towards each other. My army on the Russia-Sweden will remain on high alert, stationed in a fort. But the end of the war has brought new opportunities for trade around the world; Sweden has a major trade lane that they have agreed to let us trade on and now that we are no longer enemies their navy will allow my merchant ships to go to trading areas in the Dutch Indies, Brazil, and Madagascar.
We also secure trade agreements with most of the major, and minor, nations as we could. Among the minor nations is Courland, which is west of our westernmost region, we had to threaten them for the trade agreement, they reluctantly accepted our "offer." This is a move that may come back to bite me some time later. But these new trades bring increased prosperity to the Russian people. Russia is large, very strong, and very wealthy.
Our one time neighbor, Georgia, has been taken by the Persian empire. Intrigued by this turn of events, I offer them a trade agreement. I see much promise in Persia, they are the only minor nation that is on the verge of becoming something great. They refuse my first offer, but ask in their counter-offer for a military alliance. Seeing their potential as a powerful ally, I accept.
While only four years (about eight turns) ago I was bitter enemies the Ottoman Empire, I am now their greatest military ally. When the bitterness of war subsided, it turned out that we had more in common than we thought. Now we are good friends with a strong trading relationship.
While the bitterness with one great enemy has long worn off, with another it has only been strengthened. Sweden has declared war on me. They are allies of the Ottoman empire, but strangely, they don't try to get them to join in the conflict. They are naive enough to think they can still beat me, even though they already have more enemies than El-ahrairah from Watership Down. (google it)
We send our border army back into action, this time there will be no pulling out before we hit them. Stockholm will be ours. Our army reaches Stockholm without being attacked by anyone on the way. It is as if the Swedish army is absent from the field. This is a time when Sweden's army is still listed as "Mighty," when I arrive as Stockholm I save the game under a new name, as I know this is a battle I will want to come back to some time. I attack the city, with a little trouble I take it, albeit with medium losses. For now Russia celebrates, the capital of our greatest enemy to date has finally been taken.
But my celebration is premature; two full Swedish armies are halfway to Stockholm come next turn. It takes two full turns to retrain and to replenish lost forces. I've only been through one, before I get to my second, Sweden's forces will have attacked Stockholm. I cant recruit any new forces because of the same problem, they will have attacked the city long before they have been trained. I'll have to hold my ground as best as I can.
The Swedish armies attack, but luckily the fortifications are good and three units of peasants have sided with my forces. The enemy spends about ten minutes trying to scale the walls, only to turn back because a gaping hole has been opened up in the front of my fort. I have to quickly position my forces in areas that they will all be able to fire in the narrow gap. During the fighting on the walls, my peasants ran out of ammunition, I position them closer to the gap so the enemy will have to go through them first. For fifteen minutes the enemy sends regiment after regiment into the gap, during that time they destroy the peasant forces. It's at this time, when they are ready to burst through the gap with their entire army, that I notice my regiment of Grenadiers hasn't been put in place. I quickly put them in place and use their grenade attack ability just as their army finally makes it through the gap and into my first line of regular infantry. While the collateral damage was heavy, the effect it had on the enemy was phenomenal. Never have I seen so many men killed in one attack. I use that attack two more times, the third truly is the charm and sends the last of their units running for their lives.
This battle is the most epic battle I have ever fought in a Total War game. The Swedes attacked with a force of 1800 men, I defended with a force of 700. I lost about 300 men in the battle, they lost 1650 men, nearly their entire army.
In the next 10 turns, I rebuild and add to the army at Stockholm and Sweden losses a territory near Germany. I take their new capital, Copenhagen of Denmark, and then take Norway. Sweden has been defeated and is now a footnote in the History books. I control all of Scandinavia, a proper reward for a hard fought and long drawn out war.
While Sweden was a great foe, an even greater one brings itself to the forefront. The Ottoman empire has declared war on Persia. One of their cities, Ankara, rebelled against them long ago and they still haven't taken it back. Now is the time to strike, now is the time to finally erase the Ottoman presence from Europe. I side with Persia and begin to build up my army for the greatest task it will ever face.
End of Part Three
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
(I'm rather proud of that image because it was this when I started)
The Ottoman Empire's position is pretty weak for how strong they are supposed to be. Their closest village is lightly guarded and is prime for taking. I have built an army that is comprised of men pulled from St. Petersburg, Moscow, and my city that borders the Ottoman Empire. It is now at the gates of the Ottoman's city. One of the things that is new in Empire is the addition of peasants that join your ranks when a city is attacked. Nearly every time I attack a city, I forget to take this into account. The amount of peasants that join vary from city size and importance (such as the capital). The peasants that join the Ottomans are many in number. They are, however, relatively weak in comparison to my weakest troops. In the battle for the city I push the Ottoman's forces outside the city and into the fields where my infantry cut them to pieces. The city is taken with light losses.
In taking the city I have taken the territory of Moldova. Next I have to take Sofia, Bulgaria. From there on it will be Serbia, Istanbul, the Ottoman capital, Bosnia, and finally Greece. Once we take those we will have eliminated the Ottoman presence from Europe.
After waiting a few turns for the people of Moldova to get use to Russian rule, I attack Sofia with my army. It is easily taken. Once again after waiting a few more turns and reinforcing my army, I attack Serbia. It too falls with little trouble. Now comes the monster I've been going around; Istanbul. Istanbul is the most guarded Ottoman city in Europe (rightfully so), it will not fall easily. Once again I fail to take into account that peasants will swell Ottoman ranks. This gets me into some trouble when I attack the city, luckily I was able to take it, albeit, with heavy losses. While the nobles of the city don't mind this new set of rule, the peasants sure do. Their are extremely unhappy and within three turns I have an Ottoman rebellion on my hands. Rebellions are started in Empire when a class in unhappy with the rule of the controlling country and over time can gain a good amount of strength unless they are completely crushed within a few turns. Luckily for me I had a sizable army stationed nearby to take out the rebels and to restore order in Istanbul.
Now that the greatest target has fallen I go about seizing control of the Balkans, they are lightly guarded, one city doesn't even have any defending units. Bosnia falls with ease, and Greece soon follows. The Ottomans have been kicked from Europe. Likewise Persia has been just as successful, taking Ankara and Mesopotamia. I decide to end the war as I no longer have much of an incentive to continue it. While Persia is disappointed about it, they will have to get over it. The Ottomans accept and I'm trading with them again within three turns.
There are only about 15 turns until the game ends from here.
End of Part Four
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
Damn, Sweden didnt win! LOL, great AAR there!
"Idea becomes real" - Nordic Battle Groups motto
"A mans success isn't based on how high he can reach at the top ... only how high he bounces up when he have hit the bottom" - General G.S Patton
- thegeniusmartin
- location: Sweden
- joined: Aug 13, 2009
- posts: 987
Eh, my internet is acting up and wont let me quote you guys
@FDR, short, I wanted to finish a game to see if it unlocked a bunch of the minor factions (it doesn't).
@TGM, haha thanks man :D
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
cavetroll1304 said
@FDR, short, I wanted to finish a game to see if it unlocked a bunch of the minor factions (it doesn't).
I wish it did. That would have made my game as the Maratha Confederacy even better for me.
DEMONS
There are now ten turns left before the game is over and we are still four required regions short of the victory conditions. Three of them are with our ally Poland-Lithuania, the other is the city of Georgia held by the Persians. During the past five turns, we have busy building up our army in over five different cities, four of them border Poland in some way, the other borders Persia. Since we have treaties with Poland and Persia, getting close to their cities will be the easy part of the takedown, fighting to take those cities will be extremely hard though. While Persia's army is reeling from attacks by the Maratha Confederacy Poland's armed forces are tough and wont go down easily.
My plan is simple; we will march four separate armies into the territories we wish to seize, then on one glorious turn we will take all four cities, in doing so we will satisfy the victory conditions and win the game. I was planning to accomplish this on the last turn, but my plan is fast-tracked when a coalition of European nations declares war upon Poland. It seems as if everyone and their grandma has finally decided Poland can no longer be tolerated. Not wanting a disastrous war to destroy Russia, I decline to support Poland in the war, causing our alliance to be broken. However, this does not end the military access agreement we had with them, we can still freely move about their lands without any repercussions.
We quickly put our plan into action. An army from Moscow will meet with troops from a nearby Russian city and the Ottoman territory to push into Polish lands and an army from St. Petersburg will head down to Warsaw to take the Polish capital, our toughest target to date even with the most advanced weaponry in our arsenal. While this is happening an army built in Chechnya will seize the lightly guarded Georgia.
It takes about four turns for all the armies to get into place, we are now ready to end this. The first city, Georgia, is attacked, it falls easily to our forces. A Georgian rebellion later takes place but is easily put down. Two Polish cities, their names escape me, fall in rapid succession. Though the people dislike me they do not riot. Our last target is Warsaw, in a close battle our forces manage to take the city, we lose many Russian soldiers. But our plan has been successful; we have taken all the cities needed to win. All we need to do is to last six more turns for the game to end and we will have won.
We are able to buy peace from both Poland and Persia. Poland because they are being attacked by all of Europe and Persia because the only territory that hasn't been taken by the Maratha Confederation is the only city they have left. Only now, two turns before the game ends, does our beloved Tsar die. He has seen Russia through its most glorious victories and trials. All of Russia mourns, but they celebrate when his successor, Maria I, is crowned Tsarina. She promises to lead Russia to even greater heights.
We have finally won, the game is over, Russia stands as the lone victor in this grand campaign of ours. No one shall ever be able to contain the glory we have achieved.
End of Part Five and of the Russian Glory AAR. Thank you for reading!
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
DAMN COMMIES!!! NUKE 'EM!!!!!
Alright, on the serious track, keep the ass kicking up.
"Mors ultima linea rerum est mortalis."
- MajorLufbery
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: France
- joined: Aug 12, 2009
- posts: 1173
Part 6: From Then to today-its now 1989, russia prepares to sweep Europe of its resources (Just joking, althogh that would make a nice scenario basted on World in conflict)
An great man once said "To be, or not to be. That is the question". The other mans reply was simple and reflects our opinion today on that famous saying. "Wait, what? To be or not to be? How do I answ
Great AAR!
I've played with Russia and the biggest chalenge was balancing between Sweeden and Ottomans (not to fight them at the same time) untill I could develop my economy and infrastucture to support a sizable army! Currently I control all of Scandinavia, Eastern Balkans (including Constantinopole) and some overseas colonies. I am getting ready to strike at Poland-Lithuania, which will not be that easy! We've been allied since the begining of the game so they were able to concentrate on defeating Austria and pushing further westward! They have managed to conquer most of German states and are only few clicks away from Paris....its itching to be a good fight :)
I did a lot better than this one a World Conquest game, t obe honest. I managed to take control of all of Scandanavia, including Denmark if you count it (The Swedes tokk over mainland Denmakr and Norway), all or at least most of the Ottoman Empire, a little bit of land from the Barbary States, Georgia, Daghstan, Hannover, some land in India, a few islands in the Carribean, all or most former French and Dutch colonies (They were defeated several times during the game), and some Native American settlements. Maybe even some more, too. I was Allied with the Dansih for awhile, but they started to hate me and they broke the Alliance. I was also Allied with Poland-Lithuania, Persia, the Mugal Empire, and myabe some other countries. Oh, and by the way, I won that game. It was fun, too.
DEMONS
Kampfer said
Great AAR!
Thanks! :D
I've played with Russia and the biggest chalenge was balancing between Sweeden and Ottomans (not to fight them at the same time) untill I could develop my economy and infrastucture to support a sizable army!
Yeah, developing your economy so it can support you army is a pain, especially if you are trying to fight both of them at the same time!
Currently I control all of Scandinavia, Eastern Balkans (including Constantinopole) and some overseas colonies. I am getting ready to strike at Poland-Lithuania, which will not be that easy! We've been allied since the begining of the game so they were able to concentrate on defeating Austria and pushing further westward!
You can always try to do what I did, sucker punch their most important cities in one turn then try to sue for peace, otherwise I would have been in for some rough fighting.
They have managed to conquer most of German states and are only few clicks away from Paris....its itching to be a good fight :)
Good luck, from what you've told me it sounds like you're pretty far into the game, PL is no pushover at that point!
"I am not your son"
~JPS
- cavetroll1304
- MHII, MH GOLD
- location: United States
- joined: Aug 10, 2009
- posts: 1260
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