OT: Europa Universalis Russian Campaign

[Godzilla Blitz]

Introduction
The game arrived last Friday. I have played about half of the tutorial and about five years of a Russain campaign game, in which I managed to survive but run up a huge debt. I am starting over now, but the game is deep, so I expect to make a lot of mistakes. Judging by my lack of success in my first try at the campaign game, I may not last long. But I thought I would write this up for all who are interested.

I am playing the 300-year campaign game starting as Russia.
My initial settings:
Difficulty: Normal
AI Aggresiveness: Normal
Fog of War: On
Game Events: Random and Historical
Forced Annexation: On
Dynamic Missions: On
Base Victory Points: On

One note for people who don't have the game. In a war, you fight for control of provinces and the largest city in it. Once you control the province, you must take the city fortress by some combination of assault and/or siege. And even after you take the entire province, it is still considered enemy territory. You must get the enemy to cede the province to you as part of a peace settlement.

New Yeas’s Day, 1492: Overview
Landlocked in the middle of the Eurasian landmass, we have six provinces and three northern colonies. Moscow (pop 60,000) is the strongest province, but Novgorod (pop 35,000), lies beside it and is the regional center of trade for thirty or so provinces.

Economically, our technologies are backwards and our coffers hold only 200 ducats, enough to raise an additional 50,000 infantrymen if need be. Economically, we have yet to establish any trading companies and income is low.

Militarily, our 55,000-man Imperial Guard, led by the acclaimed Lt. General Striga, is the cream of our army, but the our 35,000-man Swedish Border Army should give us some punch as well. We have some smaller detachments in other provinces, which gives us a total of 110,000 men, roughly 50,000 of which are cavalry. Our scientists hint that the techology to manufacture artillery is not a near possibility.

Diplomatically, we are hated by most everyone around us, and the most dangerous of these is Poland-Lithuania, which lies to our immediate south and only an easy six-month march from Moscow. Sweden, to our northwest, is another relatively strong country that doesn’t like us, and a number of the smaller Baltic States don’t speak to us either.

Given this situation, our scholars strongly suggest that our path to greatness lies with eastward expansion into the unknown wildnernesess of Siberia. Unfortunately, the tiny nation of Kazan stands right in our path…

Not having much of a clue what to do, we decide to heed our scholars advice. We will aim to open up Siberia by crushing the five provinces of Kazan to our east. The other goal will be to try to find some friends on the other side of Poland-Lithuania. War with them is inevitable I’m afraid, and I don’t want to take them on alone if I can help it.


[This message has been edited by Godzilla Blitz (edited 03-12-2001).]

[Godzilla Blitz]

1492
January 1st: We declare war on Kazan, start raising 9,000 more troops along their border, and make a couple of moves to increase our tax collecting abilities in Moscow and Novogrod. The plan is to hope that we can entice Kazan to march on us in the winter, and let them wipe themselves out at the gates of Moscow. In the spring we’ll go around the north for the capital, also called Kazan, with our Swedish Border Guard.

Kazan mobilizes for war, and sens the vanguard of their 55,000-man army into Moscow. The Imperial Guard crushes them and digs in for an assault from the 40,000-man main force. They hit just before spring breaks, and almost break our troops in a week-long attack on the outskirts of Moscow. Both sides suffer tremendous casualities, but in the end we break them and they head eastward with only 14,000 men left. With the weather improving, we send our Swedish Border Guard eastward in an attempt to take the head province of Kazan, the doorway to Siberia. Not wanting a drawn-out war, I hope to take this province, sue for peace, and them build along more peaceful lines through expansion into unheld lands.

Kazan keeps sending skirmishers to Moscow, but reinforcemts hold Moscow with ease. Meanwhile, in early April 17,000 troops of our Swedish Border Guard arrive in the capital province of Kazan and set up a siege around the city. Or immediate concern is the rebuilding Kazan army that assaulted Moscow in February. If they turn east and attempt to save Kazan we could have our hands full in maintaining the siege.

While all this is going on, in July one of our king’s daughters marries into the royal family of Hungary. A perfect strategic marriage! Hungary lies to Poland-Lithuania’s south and is perhaps the strongest country bordering them. I need to make Poland think twice before invading us, and a military alliance with Hungary would go a long way to helping this. The marriage is a start in the right direction.

In August Denmark approaches us requesting another royal marriage. We accept. The siege in Kazan is holding strong and fires are seen in the city at night.

In an attempt to draw Kazan attention west I send a detachment of the Imperial Guard into the nearby province of Lipetsk to lay siege of the city there. They arrive in October.

December 1: Kazan falls! Success!!! Our forces dig in for the winter. The queston now is whether to sue for a quick peace or gamble for more. With winter here I decide to wait and see. My greatest fear is that Poland-Lithuania will decide to invade while we are busy screwing with Kazan. They have 40,000 troops on our border just waiting to move.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1493
The winter weather takes its tool on our troops outside Lipetsk and the defenders break the siege. I rush 4,000 cavalry men from Moscow in a mid-winter march to help close the city up again.

Good news again! Bohemia, lying to the southwest of Poland-Lithuania, wants a royal marriage. We gladly accept and begin to surround Poland-Lithuania with potential allies.

Our cavalry arrives outside Lipetsk and the siege resumes. Massive fires can be seen over the city by early April. The march took it toll however, and I am forced to send 2,000 more cavalry to reinforce the troops currently there.

I decide to go for more and send 9,000 troops for Kazan’s province of Tambow in April. I want to force them to sue for peace quickly, and adding this pressure could do the trick.

April 25:th: Lipetsk is now occupied! Kazan sues for peace, offereing the province as a spoil of war, but I want the capital of Kazan and refuse the offer. Kazan replies by marching their remaining 16,000 troops into Kazan city in an attempt to retake the capital. I respond by sending the remainder of the Swedish Border Guard. The Kazan troops get there before my reinforcements do, and their 15,000 troops go head to head with my 21,000 for control of the province.

Just as the battle starts our reinforcements arrive! We outnumber them 3-1 now, but over the course of a month long battle they manage to drive us out of the province. How embarrassing! Our garrison in the occupied city now is under siege from them, and our 34,000-man army flees north to regroup. Damn them! I take a risk here and send 16,000 men of the Imperial Guard east for Kazan to relieve the siege. This leaves Moscow badly under defended.

I offer a military alliance to Hungry and they accept. I hope this will discourage Poland from atacking our weakened borders.

In mid-July, our troops heading for Kazan get intercepted by a minor force of raw recruits. The recruits get routed but not before slowing us down and allowing Kazan to get more reinforcements on their way to reinforce their siege of Kazan. I divert our attack force and try to get these 6,000 reinforcements first. This works and we beat on these troops in the province of Tambow, but our force has now been whittled down to 12,000 troops. With 8,000 Kazan troops outside Kazan, I think I am better off waiting for my Swedish Border Guards to regroup. I set the force that was originally headed for Kazan to a siege of Tambow instead and wait for the Border Guards to regroup. I am hoping they can hit Kazan before winter. By Semptember they are ready and off they go.

On a side note, our coffers are empty now. I have spent every penny on troops for this war.

Kazan manages to get reinforcements into Kazan before our Border Guards strike, but their 14,000 men are no match this time for the fresh 32,000 troops that hit them. Kazan is completely in our hands now and I send half the guards west to try to lay siege to Ryazan, one of the three remaining Kazan provinces. The other half head for Moscow.

Winter sets in and our sieging troops suffer severe attrition. Kazan has been nearly decimated though and their military is not a factor now. I think about suing for peace, but once again hold off.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1494
I attempt to sue for peace with Kazan but they don’t offer the province of Kazan as tribute. Perhaps you can’t get a capital as tribute. Very well, I will continue the war to the end.

In April I send 8,000 men out of Moscow to lay siege to the last undefended Kazan province.

May 15th: Tambow falls! Two provinces to go.

In June we successfully enter into an alliance with the Bohemia, to the south of Poland. This should make them think twice about attacking us.

On June 24th, Poland declares war on Kazan. The same day the Hanseatic League honors their allegiance with Poland and also declares war on Kazan. Polish armies march north towards Ryazan. What happens now?

In August Polish armies join our siege of Vorones. I have no clue what happens when the city falls. By September there are 95,000 troops, mostly Polish, outside the city.

Winter hits early and the troops outside the city start to suffer horrible attrition as early as November. The countryside can only support a fifth of this total, and the starvation is horrific.

December 6th: Vorones falls to our troops. I just read a section of the rule book and learned that in order to keep the occupied capital of Kazan I would have to completely occupy all cities and then annex the whole country. Doing so will cause "grave diplomatic consequences". I decide to try to take Ryazan then sue for peace.

[Ben E Lou]

Is this game turn-based strategy or real-time?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skydog,

It's real time but it plays like a turn-based game. You have plenty of time to figure stuff out and you never feel like your reflexes are challenged. You can stop the game at any time and make all the changes you want, and you can run the game at any speed you want, and it's easy to find a speed you like. Most of the stuff that I wrote about this campaign I wrote while the game was running. I propped a laptop on my, um, lap, and typed away while the game ran on a desktop in front of me.

In case it helps, I lean heavily towards turn-based games, and get frustrated sometimes with real-time because I feel like I have to do a million things at once. If I stop real-time games to plot moves etc., they lose their much of their fun for me, so I tend to not like them as much. I feel real comfortable with this game. It's more like a "continuous play turn-based game". Long answer to a short question. Sorry about that.

[duckman]

Real time, but it's good. Really good!

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-Oh, You didn't know! Your ass better call somebody!

[Ben E Lou]

I know nothing about this game but it sounds interested. What time frame scenarios are available? A little help, please.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skydog,

EU is a global conquest and diplomacy game set during 1492-1792. There are a dozen or so scenarios and a 300-year campaign game. You can play most of these as the leader of any one of a number of nations, and if you edit some text files, play as almost any nation in the world in the campaign game. I haven't played all that much yet but so far so good.

Here is a url for more info:
www.europa-universalis.com/default.asp

[Godzilla Blitz]

1495
March 4th: Ryazan finally falls, and we sue for peace in lieu of total annexation. We gain the provinces of Ryazan, Lipetsk, and Tambow, but leave Kazan and Vorones in their hands. Polish forces are swarming outside the city of Vorones, which should fall to their troops soon. Fortunately, they are blocked from hitting Kazan by the provinces I have gained in the war. My only regret is that by not annexing Kazan completely, I still have no access east. The four provinces of the Golden Horde to our southeast stand in the initial way, then Astrakhan is behind them further to the east. By not taking Kazan, I have forced myself to take a long way around, and most likely forced myself into two more wars to do so. Perhaps the wrath of the world for annexing Kazan would have been a cheaper price to pay than having to wage two more wars. I will never know.

I turn my eyes towards peace after more then three long years of war. Our economy is weak, our military depleted. Time to crank on the ecomony, but without money there is little I can do right now. I decide to wait a bit for my economy to pick up. During the war we have established a strong economic position in Novogrod, and have made inroads in the grand prize of Venetian trade. We now have two merchant organizations set up there.

The remainder of the year passes quietly. We are pressed for money so there is not much that I can do. I improve the taxing process in Tver, a province to the south of Moscow, and continue to establish ventures in Venice. Our economy picks up a bit and at year end we gain a yearly allotment of 92 ducats!

[Godzilla Blitz]

1496
I want some goals. Our next target has to be the Golden Horde to the east. There are only four provinces, and Samara, the capital, is a gold producing city. Perhaps this would be the country to obliterate so as to gain a gateway to the east. In any case, the goal this year is to strengthen our ecomony and let our economics improve. If I can build up a 200 level ducat reserve, I can start to once again think of war.

Things float peacefully along. I learn that I have a casus belli against Golden Horde, which means I can declare war without suffering a diplomatic penalty. This settles the plan. Let my economy strengthen this year. Then build my military over the winter. Next spring we¹ll attack Golden Horde.

As the year ends we begin mobilizing our troops. We start the process of raising 50,000 men; this will double the size of our army and should get us started in a war with the Golden Horde.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1497
We expand our trade to the south east by setting up merchant ventures in Persia. Our troop production continures.

We declare war on the Golden Horde and launch armies simultaneously into Saratov and Kujbschew, two of their four provinces. The attack catches them completely unprepared and by May 23rd we have both cities under seige and a third army is on its way to besiege the capital of Samara. Things are going well, although both besieged cities are frantically mustering troops to throw off our invading forces.

In August our forces reach the surround the capital of Samara. The Golden Horde is stockpiling troops in their last unbeseiged province. They now have an army of 10,000 troops there, with more in production. Once again, we're broke.

By the end of November Saratov weakens considerably, but the snow falls in December and our troops dig in for what will surely be a season of high losses.

December 14th. Saratov falls to our armies! General Striga has taken the city!

[Godzilla Blitz]

1498
January 8th. With winter attrition wearing away at our invasion force, the Golden Horde counterattacks in Saratov, launcing 14,000 troops against General Striga's 11,000. In a masterful display of military leadership, Striga drives off the attackers and holds the province. He loses only 3,000 men to almost 8,000 of the attackers.

The sieges in other provinces continue, and we send reinforcements to replace winter losses.

In April Kujbyschew falls. As the weather turns favorable General Stiga marches onto Bogutjar. He wins another one by routing the 8,000 cavalry there. The city goes under siege. In August Samara falls to our forces! The interesting thing about this is that the land to the east of Samara, and likewise one can assume to the east of more northern Kazan, is permanent "terra incognita", which means I can't expand that way anyway. Apparently the only way east is through the route I am taking. The question once again is whether to totally annex the Golden Horde or whether to let them keep their capital. Samara is a gold producing city and would be an extremely valuable addition to our empire.

1498 ends with Striga's besieging troops outside the gates of Bogutjar, the last remaining province. Tough decision to make in the spring.

[daedalus]

Good reading!

I've been considering this game (but is at the moment occupied with Baldur's Gate/SMAC/SimSports). Thanks for the readings!!!

Keep up the good work!!!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Thanks Daedalus!

1499
On April 20th, the final city of Bogutjar falls to our forces. I decide to take a chance and totally annex the country of the Golden Horde. We’ll see what happens to our world relations after this! Our scholars warn us that the rest of the Sunni world will hate us for doing this, but they hate us already so I figure I have nothing to lose.

Once again it is time to rebuild. The city of Samara is a huge gain: a gold producing city of 9,000 inhabitants. It generates a whopping 71 ducats of yearly income. I am not yet sure what that means but it sure sounds like a lot compared to my other provinces we produce about 10 a year. We settle down once again to what I hope will be a couple of years of peace. Overall I would have to say that we have been fortunate so far in our endeavors. We have gained 7 provinces and made two alliances with countries on the other side of our bitter enemy. In seven years we have marched to what looks like 2/3 of the way to opening up the unexplored eastern reaches of the continent. If we can do that I would think we have a chance of becoming a world power over time.

The rest of the year passes uneventfully. We let our country rebuild a bit.


[This message has been edited by Godzilla Blitz (edited 03-14-2001).]

[Godzilla Blitz]

1500
The diplomatic hit we took for annexing the Golden Horde was not that bad, but I am not sure we could withstand another one like it. To the south and east lies the last obstacle to eastward expansion: the six-province land of Astrakhan. Time to rebuild and retool. I am wondering what else I could do here as Russia. I have no access to the ocean in the west, and major powers stand in my way there. The only option really is a military expansion eastwards. If I follow this with strong economic development, I can eventually come back and crush my enemies the Poles with impunity.

The first half of the year passes quietly. We focus on improving tax collection in some of our larger provinces, and try to establish more profitable inroads in Venetian trade. For a brief span of two months, we get a monopoly in trade there, but the local Venetian advantage is too strong and we quickly lose it. Our infrastructure improves significantly during the course of this year and we are able to build refineries now, if we had any money.

August 5th. General Striga dies! A great hero in the service of the motherland passes away in the southern province of Bogutur. The nation mourns.

Not much happens during the remainder of the year. We send a diplomat to France to try to improve relations there a bit. I am concerned that too much war will trigger the ire of the west.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1501
I am going to wait another year before declaring war again. I need a year to build up forces again, and I want to let European relations settle a bit too. There is plenty of time.

Time continues to pass uneventfully. I will start to mobilize for war in January of next year. Once again I plan to launch a spring offensive, this time slashing across three of the six provinces of Astrakhan. That should open up the doorway to the east and allow me to start expanding peacefully.

On August 6th, the king grants me the title of viscount for my service to the kingdom.

As we head into the fall, the negative European diplomatic reaction to our annexation of the Golden Horde seems to be dying down, although most of our near neighbors hate us with a passion. Probably has something to do with our propensity to kill lots of them, I would guess.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1502
We mobilize for war against Astrakhan. We have a casus belli against them so we won’t take a diplomatic hit for the declaration. The goal is to gain three provinces quickly then sue for peace.

Astrakhan is a country of six provinces, five of which form a west-to-east line. From west to east they are Donetsk, Lugansk, Volgograd, Uralsk, and Orenburg. South of these provinces lies the capital province, which goes by the name of the country, Astrakhan. The prize in this war will be the eastern-most province of Orenburg, which should allow us into the untamed wilderness of Siberia. All the Astrakhani provinces seem lightly or not at all defended, and we should make quick work of their military. I will launch my attack from Samara which borders Volgodrad and Uralsk on the north. I will need to take Uralsk to get to Orenburg.

May 8th. We declare war on Astrakhan. We have 67,000 troops massed in Samara. On the same day, we launch a two-pronged attack aimed at laying siege to the provinces of Uralsk and Volograd. Orenburg, to the east of Uralsk, will get attacked once we have established a siege around Uralsk.

Our 6,000-man army quickly establishes a siege around Volgograd but things go much worse in Uralsk, where our 12,000-man force runs smack into a 16,000-man force of the enemy. Despite a brave fight, we are beaten back with horrible losses. Less than 1,000 men make it back to Samara, and the enemy still has over 12,000 men in position in Uralsk. Where the hell did those troops come from? Intelligence said there was less than 1,000 men there! We launch a second force, of 21,000 men, into Uralsk on June 8th.

June 25th begins a two-week battle for Uralsk, which costs us 14,000 men but in the end drives away the defenders. We set up siege on July 6th, and launch reinforcements for Uralsk and a small invasion force for the further east Orenburg on the same day.

August 1st. Damn them! Astrakhan sneaks 5,000 troops into an undefended Bogutjar and I am forced to use a large chunk of my remaining reserve to dispatch them. Also, a 16,000-man force now awaits our small invading force in Orenburg. My force will get slaughtered so I hold them in Uralsk to wait for the last of my reserve force to join them for a doubled assault. Meanwhile I start to recruit more troops for the war. This is getting expensive. So much for a quick campaign. I feel like Hitler.

5,000 new recruits in Bogutjar flee from the enemy there.

September 12th. Our invasion force gets slaughtered in Orenburg. The battle is a complete disaster. We lose 15,000 troops to the enemy’s 1,000. I draw forces away from our Polish border in the west and hastily recruit 13,000 more infantry in Samara. This campaign is not going well. Damn these heathens! Why won't they die? The siege of Volgograd is the only part of this war that has gone well so far.

Towards the end of the month our 21,000-troop reserve force finally beats away the Astrakhani force besieging Bogutjar, pursues their remants into Lugansk, and eliminates them there. I didn't want to go there but I needed to crush this enemy force.

In November the snow falls. I leave a small force in Lugansk to lay siege to that town. As the year draws to and end we have forces laying siege to three Astrakhan provinces but the great prize, Orenburg, is still in enemy hands, and contains a battle-tested force of 17,000 troops. I will have to recruit more troops over the winter and launch a new offensive in the spring.

[Ctown-Fan]

Well Done! I'd give you two thumbs up, but sadly am allowed only one by the forum.

Anyway, this isn't something that would normally interest me, but I am very impressed by this "Dynasty" thread.

Good Work Godzilla Blitz.

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"I even bought coffee. I didn't know what size you'd want so I got you a small, medium, and large."

[RPI-Fan]

Great job Godzilla Blitz! Great story, keep it up, please!

[NoMyths]

Outstanding work, GB -- very interesting reading. I do have one question, though:

Godzilla Blitz:
[...]we have a casus belli against them so we won’t take a diplomatic hit for the declaration.

Does the game text actually say A casus belli? My Latin is fairly shaky, but casus belli sounds a lot like "cause of (to? i.e. "for") war."

Every so often a Latin question rears its ugly head and makes me realize what a slacker I was when I "studied" it.

Edit - Duh, I was staring at the answer and didn't even realize it. If casus belli IS "cause for war," then of course you would have "a casus belli" and not just "have casus belli." Sorry to trouble you with my little brain-fart.
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Assistant Director of Public Relations for the FOF All-Star Team.

[This message has been edited by NoMyths (edited 03-14-2001).]

[SplitPersonality]

Very good reading GB. I was on the bubble whether to pick up this game or not, and now I am convinced it is a good one.

Good luck against the heathens!

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GO VIKINGS! GO PACKERS!

[Critch]

Yeah, very good "dynasty" report. I put EU aside as I found it a bit unstable, but I think I might give it another chance, based on this.

With the death of your all-pro general, I hope you pick up a good young rookie in the next draft.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Thank you very much CTown-Fan, RPI-Fan, NoMyths, SplitPersonality and Critch! Much appreciated!

No Myths,

I am sure I have forgotten more of my high school Latin than you, so I may be wrong there. The manual does list it as "a casus belli", but the manual, I believe, has been translated from German, so who knows.

Basically the game starts certain of your international relationships with a "casus belli" to represent long-term hatreds between the nations. Russia starts with a lot of them. You take no diplomatic penalties when you declare war against a country you have such a relationship with.

Critch,
Yea, the loss of Striga was tough. I felt bad for the guy as he never got home to Moscow to see his family before he died. Bogutjur sounds like such a lousy place to die too. Who would want to die there?

But a new hero does indeed arise...

[Godzilla Blitz]

1503
Winter hits our troops hard. By early February, we are down to 6,000 men in Uralsk, 3,000 in Volgograd, and 4,000 in Lugansk. Not much left from an initial force of 67,000. Ouch. Behind them are 33,000 fresh troops waiting for the spring, but we are nearly at our limit of troop recruitment now, with only an additional 11,000 in production. This is also leaving us dangerously thin on the western front, where we only have 20,000 troops remaining. We need success this year.

February 22nd. Volgograd falls! But shortly thereafter our troops besieging Lugansk start marching back to Bogutjar against orders! What wimps! What gives with them?

February 27th. The now 21,000-man strong Astrakhan force in Orenburg breaks camp and heads west, but our scouts cannot tell what their destination is. I hope that the winter start whittles them down before they get to us. The nice thing is they are vacating Orenburg. Maybe I can sneak in a force behind them.

March 13th. The Astrakhani force is headed for Volgograd! I’ll let them put that province back under siege if I can sneak in a force into Orenburg, which is the province I want. I just need snow to melt to get started.

April 1st. The large Astrakhani force easily drives off our troops in Volgograd and puts the city under siege. I slide troops into a now undefended Orenburg and back into Lugansk and lay siege to those cities in return. Uralsk weakens considerably and should fall any day. The Astrakhani force in Volgograd now numbers 23,000, much more than the land can supply. I hope the siege there costs them dearly.

July 16th. Shit! The Teutonic Order declares war against us! The next day, The Hanseatic League, Brandenburg, and Venice join forces against us! Damn them to all hell! I have no troops in the west. I must do something quickly! The Tuetonic Order has a province on our western border, where I am completely exposed, and it's next to our two most populated provinces of Moscow and Novgorad. This could be disastrous!

On July 18th, Uralsk falls. We call upon Hungary and Bohemia, our allies, to join us in this escalating war. They join us immediately. Thank God for friends! Immediately after doing this, we rush a diplomatic into the Teutonic Order to see if they can be persuaded to change their mind and call off the war. We must have studly diplomats, or perhaps our alliance has turned them, because they accept our peace offer immediately. That leaves us at war with The Hanseatic League, which shouldn’t be a problem given their strength and distance from us. Venice and Brandenburg, likewise, have no access to our lands. I think we are safe for now! Meanwhile the war in Astrakhan continues with both sides sieging the other's cities.

October 28th. Volgograd falls back into Astrakhani hands! Winter approaches.

November. Astakhan invades our province of Kubjbyschew with their 21,000-man force! They set up siege just as winter sets in. I don't have enough troops to take out such a force now, and moving what I have to attack in winter would be suicide. I respond by sliding over the remainder of my now idle Uralsk detachment to put pressure on Vologograd and cut off their attack force's supply.

On Christmas day we set up a siege once again on Volgograd. Winter is taking a heavy toll on the Astrakani force in our province. As the year ends their strength falls to 13,000. In a brave battle 4,000 of our troops wintering in Bogutjar fend off a surprise attack from 9,000 Astrakanis.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1504
The war drags on into its third year. So much for a quick campaign.

January 5th. Lugansk falls to our forces. Shortly thereafter, the Astrakhani invasion force breaks the winter siege on our province and starts marching south!

February 3rd-19th. In on of our country’s most heroic efforts. Colonel Wladimir’s 4,000 men holding the enemy province of Lugansk engage the returning 10,000 troops of the Astrakhani invasion force. They hold their own for a week, when suddenly the Astrakhanis add another 10,000 troops from the south. Over the course of the next week Wladimir’s troops, despite being outnumbered 5-1, sustain only 1,000 casualies, inflict more than 4,000 on the enemy, and drive off the attack! We hold the province!!!!

April. The snow melts and we rush reinforcements into our positions in enemy territory. Orenburg is burning but will not fall.

June 3rd. Orenburg falls after a long siege. The prize is ours! With Volgograd burning fiercely though, I want to let the war slide on a bit. If I can retake Volgograd, I have a better chance of getting three provinces as tribute. Right now, it only looks like they would give us two.

August 17th. Volgograd falls to us for the second time this war. We attempt to sue for peace, but Astrakhan refuses our offer of three provinces. We march on Astrakhan, the capital, and reinforce Lugansk, where the enemy has built up a nearby 25,000-troop force.

The year drags on. We set up a siege around the Astrakhani capital and fend off some counterattacks around Lugansk. But they will not cede us Orenburg and so the war continues. They offer three other occupied provinces but not the one we want. If I have to burn the capital to the ground I will get Orenburg from them.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1505
Our king dies!!!!! Vassili III takes the throne, but he does not appear nearly as talented as his predecessor.

Early in the year, we get a talented new Lt. General by the name of Glinski. He takes command of the Imperial Guards in Bogutjar. He may come in handy in holding off the 31,000 Astrakhanis that have built up outside Lugansk over the winter.

April 24th. Lt. General Glinski soundly trashes a 10,000-man attack force after he shifts down to Lugansk. He inflicts 8,000 casualities and suffers almost no losses. Promising results for a first taste of combat.

Summer sets in and the enemy capital is burning! Life is good here now.

September 9th. The capital falls!!! We offer peace but still they will not cede us Orenburg. I want to close for the kill in Donetsk, but can’t press an attack before winter sets in. They have too large a force there and recruiting troops for this war is getting tougher and tougher. We shall build up our troops for one final assault next spring.

[WebEwbank]

Man, I started out thinking "who does he think he is - this is Gindinland", but after a year or two I was totally under the spell !
Don't stop ! Vladivostok or Bust !

[Godzilla Blitz]

Thanks Web!

1506
The war that will not end continues on.

In May our new troops are ready for combat. All roads lead to Donetsk, where the Astrakhanis 46,000-man force will make their last stand. My recruiting potential has been badly depleted by four years of bloody war, and the best I can do is muster 42,000 troops under the command of Lt. General Glinski. Still, this will be the largest battle in Russian history so far. I launch the attack early in the month with the hope that the superior leadership skills of Glinski can win us the day. A defeat here could prolong the war more than a year or two. Victory here and peace could be in place by summer.

May 16th. Despite horrible losses, Glintski beats away the larger force! The cost has been dear--over 25,000 dead, but we have them on the run now. Unfortunately a majority of their force managed to flee, and over the course of the summer and early fall we chase them through the land, gradually whittling their numbers down. By late fall, their remaining 20,000 troops set up a siege for the winter outside of Lugansk, while our forces settle back into a siege of Donetsk. So much for the summer peace.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1507
Januuary 24th. Donetsk finally falls; we annex Astrakhan the next day! The war is over, after nearly five years, although there is still one matter to be taken care of. The province of Norones, which borders us on the west, is now being held by a small force of the Hanseatic League. It is basically there for the taking. They only have 6,000 troops holding the place and we should be able to bring to bear almost four times that many troops that are left over from this war. Once the snow melts we shall march on this province and then attempt to sue for peace with them. Meanwhile the annexation of Astrakhan has opened up lands to the east. The small two-province country of Sibir borders Orenburg, and the uncolonized province of Alga lies to the south of that. Expansion here we come! We should be able to take Sibir once the diplomatic ire settles from our annexing Astrakhan, and perhaps we can immediately occupy Alga.

Whoops. Apparently making peace with Teutonic League a few years ago ended the war with their allies as well. I am not at war with the Hanseatic League (very embarassing this whole situation). Guess I'll leave that province as it is.

Judging by the amount of red I see on the diplomatic screen, I must be pretty close to pissing off quite a few countries. I better slow down with the military stuff for a few years. I am thin on friends and big on enemies already, and we have only been in charge for 15 years.

Time once again to let most of our soldiers go home to build things. That war took much too long!

We spend the winter tending to some tax collection improvements and letting the country heal. As the weather turns good, I send General Glinski and 30,000 men east towards the province of Alga. This is the first unheld colony we have seen, but it is inhabited by an estimated 4,000 highly aggressive natives. Also, I move some troops around to get a better balance of men on the dangerous western border with Poland-Lithuania.

May 27th. Natives ambush General Glinski’s 12,000-man force in the wilderness of far eastern Alga. Silly natives. Badly outgunned, outnumbered, and outmanuevered, their force is completed slaughtered in less than two days. Alga is ours! Better yet, beyond this province lies vast tracks of uncharted lands! Exploration here we come!

(I have just spent sometime with the manual, and have learned a couple of things. First of all, I can only enter unexplored provinces with a conquistador in charge of my troops, or if my land technology is level 11 or better (I'm at three now!). Conquistadors appear in the game at certain times for certain countries. Russia has the potential to get them after 1550. In short, this means that I can't explore the lands to the east of Orenburg until 1550, as there is no way I can reach level 11 land tech quickly. I've chosen to write this up in the story as a reluctance for Glinski's troops to continue under his leadership.

Second, in order to generate colonists that can develop unowned provinces, I must have a port province. Right now I am landlocked. Therefore a key goal for Russia in the next couple of decades will be obtaining a port. The obvious choices lie on the Baltic, west of our current holdings. Back to the story…)

In June, Lt. General Glinski's troops, short on food, long on war, and fearful of the evils of the dark unknown, are reluctant to start on an expedition that could cost them all their lives. Despite Glinski's leadership abilities, they refuse to continue, and Glinski begins the long march back to Moscow.

Time to regroup strategy-wise. With public sentiment, for the time being, against the expansion into unknown areas, eastward expansion will have to be put on hold. I have decided to spend the next couple of decades working on a few other long-term goals.

First, I want to gain a port on the Baltic sea. There are a number of options. Pskow is a tiny country immediately to the west of Russia. It has only one province and is relatively neutral towards us. I cannot afford another military annexation, so instead will take the long-term project of peaceful vassalization and annexation of this land. The second possibility with regards to a port on the Baltic lies with militarily gaining the province of Inger Manland, the province of the Teutonic Order just north of Pskow. For the time being this will have to wait, as the Teutonic Order is allied with Poland-Lithuania, and war with them would be disastrous at this point in time. But it is something to keep an eye on. I may be able to jump in and grab the province should the political situation change over the next few years.

Second, I want to build up the economy and infrastructure. This should happen naturally if I can restrain my military urges over the next couple of decades.

Third, I would like to work towards peacefully annexing the remaining province of Kazan, as well as the eastern country ot Sibir. These two countries will remain thorns in my side, but perhaps can, over the long run, be persuaded to join us.

We send diplomats with letters of greeting to Kazan and Pskow. The letters improve the relationships slightly. Our king's diplomatic skills are pretty lame, and this undoubtedly is weakening the effect of our diplomatic corps.

Poland has increased the number of troops on its northern border. A couple of years ago they only had 10,000. Now they are back up to 40,000. I better keep an eye on this.

In late fall our troops make it back to the western border. I station Glinski and the Imperial Guards in Moscow. Poland’s buildup along our border has stabilized at 40,000 troops. The rest of the year passes uneventfully.


[This message has been edited by Godzilla Blitz (edited 03-17-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Godzilla Blitz (edited 03-17-2001).]

[WebEwbank]

Bummer you couldn't open up the East (yet).

A few decades on infrastructure, economy and popularity should position you nicely for another bout of bloodthirstiness, though.

I may have to get this game ! I think it has LAN and WAN capabilities. Would you be up for a joint effort where we try to cooperate (England and Russia, for example) ?

[Kosta]

Nice dynasty Godzilla, I am hooked on your tale as well.

------------------
Proudly representing the entire Southern Hemisphere

[Godzilla Blitz]

Thank you Kosta. I'm glad you like it! Don't know if I can get Russia to Australia but I will try.

Web,
Yeah, I wish I could have expanded peacefully for a while. My biggest concern was that the game was going to get boring in that I wouldn't be able to do that much without being able to go east, but boy was I wrong there.

I would love to try the multiplayer, but I want to finish this campaign first. Would it be ok if we talked about it after I finish this and when you get the game? There may be others here that want to play too. We could perhaps try a game with a few people.

I do wonder how the game would play multiplayer though. I heard that Civ2 was a great solo game and not so good as a multiplayer game. I wonder if this may be the same. Sometimes you want the game to go fast, other times you stop the game so you can make lots of decsions, etc. In multiplayer the game always runs at the same speed. In either case, though, it would be fun to try.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1508
We send another diplomat into Pskow, where for some reason the relationship has gotten worse over the course of the past year.

We begin saving to construct a refinery, which would be our first major improvement. We need over 700 ducats to build it, and we stand now at 186.

Our economy has begun to stabilize. The eastern cities have rebuilt after the destruction of the Expansion Wars, and with their contributions the economy begins to grow. We are now profiting over 5 ducats/month, and inflation is stable at 3%. In other economic areas, we make improvements to tax collection in Orenburg, and aggressively try to expand our trade position in the Flanders market.

Our relationship with Pskow slides further into the negative. No idea why.

On March 18th, war explodes to the south of us. Poland-Lithuania declares war on Crimea, a Sunni Moslem nation to our south. Before the day is out, the Hanseatic League, Brandenburg, and Venice have all joined in with Poland, and Turkey jumps in with Crimea.

By early June all of the provinces to our south are free of Polish and Hanseatic League troops. This could be too good of an opportunity to pass up. If Poland gets drawn too far south, I may go for a quick grab of a couple of provinces. If I can get Poland at war with six or seven countries, I may be able to weaken them considerably.

July 15th. Polish troops take the Crimea’s capital! They now have a force of 50,000 on the march further into the country. In August, I start 15,000 troops from Novogrod towards Lugansk, on the border with Polish-occupied Crimea. If I go to war, Poland could launch north from Crimea into our lands, and I want to make sure I have something there to make them think twice. The other thought is that if Poland starts to rout Crimea, I could always jump in against Crimea as well, and try to grab a province or two before the war ends. Both countries hate us. Overall though I am hesitant to go to war now though.

In mid-October, Poland takes the port province of Azov from Crimea, then sues for peace, gaining some money and the province as tribute. This is not good. Poland has gotten significantly stronger in the war, and now borders us on our vulnerable south. Crimea, on the other hand, is now a mess. Split into three pieces and still at war with Persia, their future looks bleak.

Novemer 1st. Peasants revolt already in Asov against their Polish overseers! The 40,000 Polish troops there quell the rebellion, but they lose 7,000 men in the process. This could be a good omen for the future. If this province can put a drag on Polish resources, there may be an opportunity to launch an attack and weaken them.

For us the second half of the year was quiet construction and economic growth.

[Godzilla Blitz]

1509
February 1st. Another revolt breaks out in Azov. Too bad. Our coffers increase to 335 ducats. Almost halfway to the refinery.

Crimea continues to spiral downward. Persia has taken the province of Kouban, reducing them to 5 provinces.

May 1st. Yikes! Here we go! The Hanseatic League declares war on us! The next day Venice, Brandenburg, Teutonic Order, and Poland all jump in! Overnight the world has changed, and we are at war with five countries.

May 2nd. I call on Hungary and Bohemia to join us against our vile oppressors. They reply in the affirmative and the war expands. Desperately I send a diplomat to Poland offering peace. He is rebuffed.

This could be devastating to our country. Poland is both large and powerful, and borders us along most of our western border. Teutonic League has one province that borders us on the west, and although weak, is strong enough to take Novogrod and launch an attack on Moscow. The Hanseatic League has a neighboring province with us from the war against Kazan, and can also present problems. In addition, both countries can launch attacks at us through Poland, which makes the situation even worse. I am hoping that Bohemia and Hungary can help us here, but I don’t see how we can come out of this war stronger than we are now. Lt. General Glinski, we need you now!

I begin a massive recruiting effort and call over 68,000 men to arms from all points in Russia. This is the limit of our capability. I hope it will be enough. My strategy is to bend now and hopefully not break. I am clearly on the defensive, and I want to use the Russian winter as my ally. I will attempt to let the enemy in now, let winter wear them down, then launch counterattacks in the spring.

I can’t see too far into enemy territory, but I can see that the 33,000 Polish troops in newly occupied Azov are headed for Lugansk, where our 14,000-man Army of the Baltic lies in wait. Also, in the north, 11,000 men appear to be marching on Lipetsk, where 9,000 defenders wait, and another 6,000 appear headed for Tyer, where 10,000 Russians stand in wait . The Hanseatic League and the Teutonic States have yet to make moves.

May 4th. Yes! Things appear to have changed drastically! Bohemia and Hungary have masses of troops headed into Poland! The northern Polish attacks are turning back from our borders, and the Hanseatic League and the Tuetonic States are sending their border troops south! The only attack still heading towards us is the huge force of 33,000 heading towards Lugansk. I order the 18,000 troops in Astrakhan westward to reinforce the Lugansk contingent. With this new situation, a new plan is called for. I will wait for the border troops to put some distance from us, then launch into Poland, the Hanseatic League, and the Teutonic States all at once. Somewhere in here is the chance to grab a port province.

May 9th. Oops. Sweden joins the war against us. I don’t see any troops on their borders with our most northern lands, but I have to imagine that it is just a matter of time. Damn. I send a diplomat to their enemy, Denmark, but our relationship is not strong enough to offer an alliance. I improve relations slightly with the communication. If I can get Denmark on our side, I should be able to weaken Sweden’s position against us. I order 10,000 men from the Imperial Guard north towards Onega, the northern province that borders Sweden.

May 22nd. Poland hits Lugansk. Our reinforcements are not in time and our forces, badly outnumbered, fall after two weeks of figthing. I hold our reinforcements arriving from the south in Volgograd. I’ll regroup there and launch a counterattack as soon as I can. The Poles immediately launch a devastating attack on the city's fortress and nearly take it in early June. Meanwhile, in the north, I decide to attack rather than wait. With the enemy clearly heading to stomp out problems caused by my allies, I want to take the offensive. Glinski and 11,000 men set out of Moscow towards the Polish border province of Tula, and 9,000 men from Lipetsk towards the Hanseatic League province of Vorones to the east of that. I should have taken that province from Kazan when I had the chance. Reports come in that Sweden is recruiting troops.

June 5th. Moldavia, a tiny nation to the east of Hungary, is favorable towards us. I offer a royal marriage which is accepted. I hope to get them on our side before this war is over. Just a little more pressure on Poland.

June 13th. The Teutonic League troops have vacated Inger Manland, one of our desired port provinces on the Baltic. This is too tempting of a target. I launch 10,000 men from our Polish border towards the province. This would be a nice prize.

June 21st. We set up siege around Vorones! Lugansk is still holding out against the Poles down south. Southern Poland has erupted in massive fighting among Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, and Brandenburg. A 40,000-man Hungarian army is making rapid progress into the country.

June 24th. Glinski’s Imperial Guards begin a siege of Tula.

July 1st. The plot thickens. A revolt breaks out in our province of Astrakhan. 15,000 rebels launch an attack against 4,000 new recruits that just formed in the city. On a positive note, 8,000 rebels in Azov have taken over the province there from the Poles.

July 3rd. The recruits have no chance against the Astrakhan rebels. I order them just north to Volgograd, where the bulk of our southern troops are bivoacing.

Many or our other recruits begin to form up. I order 12,000 Moscow recruits into the vacated Polish province of Welikia. I really want to keep the pressure on them.

July 5th. Lugask falls to Polish troops! They launch their 26,000-man force west towards Donetsk. In the next few days our reinforcements arrive in Volgograd, swelling the numbers there to more than 38,000. I think I may need Glinski down here more than up north, so I pull him and a small contingent of troops out of the siege of Tula, and order them back to Moscow. I will send him from there to join our troops in the south.

July 30th. My troops in Volgograd have two problems to deal with: the Polish army to their west advancing away from them towards Donetsk and the 15,000 rebels ravaging Astrakhan. I don't have enough strength to split the army and deal with both at the same time, so I gamble. I send all of our 39,000-man force south to Astrakhan to try and quell the peasant rebellion. The goal is for them to wipe out the rebels and make it back to Volgograd before winter hits, to be in a position to attack the Polish army in the spring.

August 4th. 4,000 Swedish troops are heading towards Onega. Our now 9,000-man force awaits them.

August 13th. Polish troops set siege to Donetsk. We return the favor in Welikia.

August 15th. The 35,000-man strong Army of the Baltic arrives in Astrakhan to face the 15,000 rebels outside the city. In an eight-day battle that lifts our country’s morale tremendously, they obliterate the entire rebel force, suffering only 3,000 casualties in the process! We leave 10,000 troops there as a garrison, and rush the rest of the army back north to Volgograd. The gamble succeeds!

August 23rd. Sweden now has 13,000 troops on route to Onega. I now have 13,000 troops there in defense. I hope I can hold. I have nothing else left up north. To stop them with something else, I would have to pull off some troops from our Polish or Teutonic State sieges, or divert badly needed southern troops.

We now have a siege set up around Inger Manland in the Teutonic States. This port city would be a great prize.

September 2nd. Sweden hits us in the north, and the battle swings away from us in the first week. I order our troops to retreat and divert 6,000 men heading south back north to help. Onega, without a fortress, immediately falls to the Swedes. We’ve now lost two provinces in this war. We need a success badly.

September 18th. Poland has pulled their huge army off the siege of Donetsk and rushed them westwards. Where they are headed is anyone’s guess. A 26,000-man Hungarian army joins our siege of Vorones. I order our Army of the Baltic, fresh off their victory in Astrakhan, to try to retake Lugansk. We have also assembled a 26,000-man army of fresh recruits in Bogutjar. They are awaiting General Glinski. Once he is there I can do some damage.

Maybe not. On September 25th, Sibir, to our east, declares war on us, making it the seventh nation we are fighting at once. They have about 26,000 troops on our border next to Orenburg, where we have none. If Kazan, who has 51,000 troops built up, jumps in to this war we could be in extreme trouble.

Damn! The Swedish troops from the battle of Onega press the attack and hit Novogrod on the tails of our retreating troops. This is not good. Our reinforcements arrive from the south in mid-battle but they are not enough to turn the tide. Our troops are defeated and Novogrod, the center of eastern European trade, goes under siege. This effectively cuts off our troops sieging Inger Manland, so I pull them off in an attempt to retake Onega, which would in turn cut off Sweden’s Novogrod troops just in time for winter. On an up note, Sibir’s troops are not moving.

Yikes! I was wrong about Sibir. They now have Orenburg under siege. I await Glinski, rushing down from the north, to head east and take them on with the troops in Bogutjar. This war is quickly turning disastrous. To boot, Bohemia and Hungary have refused to declare war on Sibir, which breaks our alliance. They still remain at war for the time being though.

November 3rd. Good news at last. Our forces fleeing Inger Manland retake the province of Onega and cut off the Swedish invaders in Novogrod just as the snow falls. Oops. 44,000 Swedish troops are heading for Onega from the west now. Damn. So much for the good news. I have only 10,000 there to stop them.

November 21st. Vorones falls to the allied Hungarian-Russian force, and we take control of the city!

Winter arrives in full force. I am hoping this will chop down the armies outside of Orenburg and the invading Swedish mass that has just taken over one of our colonies in the north. I offer this lost Far Karelia as tribute in a peace settlement to the Swedes, but they refuse the offer. 35,000 troops are headed for Onega now. This could get ugly.

December 18th. Sweden’s 35,000 troops hit Onega, where 16,000 men under the command of Colonel Berelowitch await them. For two weeks the battle rages, and despite the presence of Swedish artillery and cavalry, Berelowitch holds off the assault and inflicts heavy casualities. Still, the odds look grim when suddenly things get even worse. The 8,000 Swedish troops besieging Novogrod join the fray, which give the Swedes a 34,000 to 11,000 advantage two weeks into the battle. I am just about ready to order a retreat to save a disaster, but instead decide to wait a day and see what happens. In a battle that will live in Russian history forever, Bereowitch refuses to budge, and over the next week breaks the Swedish attack and sends them retreating home! What a glorious victory! This could change the course of the war if I can follow it with an attack into Sweden in the spring. Things suddenly look much better! Instead of facing 30,000 Swedish troops in our backyard with nothing to stop them with, I have 9,000 fired-up men on the Swedish border, and a ravaged army running from them!

The year ends with the war a twisted tangle of nations dancing around burning cities. As it stands now, we have lost Lugansk in the south to the Poles and the frozen colony of Far Karelia to the Swedes. Eastern Orenburg is under siege from Sibir. We have gained Vorones from the Hanseatic League, and threaten to take Tula and Welikia in the north from the Polish. We also threaten to take back Lugansk from the Polish in early spring. A Hungarian army has set up a winter siege on the Polish province of Azov. All in all I’d have to say that we have done fairly well, but a huge question mark is the silent 51,000-man Kazar army located in our midst. So far they have remained at peace with us, but if they strike I have literally nothing to stop them with. I must negotiate a peace with someone in the coming year.


[This message has been edited by Godzilla Blitz (edited 03-19-2001).]

[Ctown-Fan]

War Games aren't really my thing, but this is excellent reading.

My only question is this (and forgive my ignorance sicne I have never played the game). Wasn't it a big assumption that Sweeden would have been affected by the winter in Russia? I understand the difficulties in keeping the supply lines running, but it would seem to me that it wouldn't create a tactical advantage like it would over Poland.

Anyhow, keep up the great work!

[Godzilla Blitz]

C-Town, Thanks again! I will try to do a something sports-related next time. I do feel kind of bad posting a strategy game story on this board.

Good point on the weather! Up until now, I have assumed that winter affects all nationalities of troops the same. I haven't thought that Russian troops would have any advantage over even Spanish ones with regards to surviving a winter, and the game seems to play that way, but now you've got me thinking about it and I'm not sure. I wonder if the opposite is true too. Would my Russian troops have more trouble in the desert? Thank you. Excellent observation. I'm going to keep a closer eye on this in the future.

What definitely happens though is that all troops out of supply in the winter seem to suffer high losses to some degree. If you can force an army to march in the winter they seem to wear down even faster. Not only that but each province has a unique supply potential, so if you can catch a large army out of supply in your country in a poor province during the winter you can really clean up in the spring.

Overall the manual mentions that troop losses due to non-combat factors during this time period were much higher than in modern times. Disease, lack of supplies, poor medical care, poor equipment, and desertion took a high tool. The game seems to model this well. I looked at my losses in the game so far (the game keeps track of all this stuff) and saw that my non-combat related losses are higher than my combat losses so far. Just marching troops a month or so costs you a few thousand men if you army is large.

[Ctown-Fan]

GB,

thanks for the quick response.

Anyhow, last time I checked the description for this forum states:

Dynasty Reports
Share your stories and dynasty reports here.

It doesn't specify what types of dynasties

Anyhow, it does seem that the game has a very deeply modeled engine (how deep I honestly don't know) and the idea that weather would be in important aspect I find very interesting.

Another question, do non-combat casualties have an effect on your opponent? What I mean is this:

Can desertion add troops to the opponent, or do the just "run" back to the farm near Moscow when they leave (can a high desertion rate lower you population slightly or increase an opponents?)

Do your troops' diseases attack the opponents? In this time period it was a common tactic to throw bodies over cities walls during seiges, this would promote the speread of disease (viral and bacterial) offering the first glimpses of biological warfare. Is this included in the game?

I am impressed with the detail so far.

------------------
Kent Reed! Kent Rite!! Kent State!!!

[petrochile]

Godzilla, excellent dynasty thread, it has made me unporductive at work for a hour, so it that is a good compliment. How does it feel to have 7 countries at war with you? I would think that would inflate your ego somewhat

[WebEwbank]

Well, I ordered the game last night, and I'm already training/brainwashing/educating my precocious eight-year-old as my Grand Vizier.

I think a solo game first makes sense and then perhaps we can combine to rule the Known World !

[RPI-Fan]

Is there a way to promote Colonel Berelowitch?

------------------
Exacto knives are a necessary evil!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Petrochile,

Thanks for the compliments! Glad you like it. I have to admit I do get a special warm and fuzzy glow when I think that seven major nations are trying to rape my women and loot my cities. . But it gets worse...

Web,
Sounds good! Be interested to hear what you think of the game. I'm not sure it's fair though that you get the help of a Grand Vizier!

Ctown,
The game doesn't go to quite that detail, and I think the manual mentions that the desertions just go home, so you don't see troop counts go up as your opponents go down. The other thing I thought I would mention is that this really isn't supposed to be a "war" game, although that is impossible to tell given the mess I've gotten Russia into. There is actually a lot of development, exploration, politics, and religion to the game. It's just that I seem to have drawn the wrath of the world for pummeling my now-defunct neighbors to the east, and have spent most of the beginning of the game in serious trouble.

RPI-Fan,
One of the things I wish was that your generals' ratings would improve, or that you could promote them, but alas, nothing like that seems to be in the game. But for Berelowitch the fates are even crueler...

[Godzilla Blitz]

1510 (first half)
January 6th. Berelowitch dies of wounds suffered in the Second Battle of Onega. He is posthumously awarded the Order of Ivan.

January 8th. Colonel Platonov, Berelowitch’s replacement, routs a small invasion force of Swedish troops in Onega.

January 26th. Hungary retreats from their siege of Azov and joins us in Lugansk. I send 5,000 men south to try and take Azov, which is already heavily damaged by the Hungarian siege. Azov, a Sunni Moslem province, would be difficult to hold because of the religious differences, but could be valuable as it gives us the port we desperately desire.

February 8th. Sweden, spawning a seemingly endless supply of troops, has 37,000 men on their way to Onega again. Many of them are the remains of the last invasion force. I am hoping that winter marching and their low morale will give our 7,000 men enough of an edge to whittle them down somewhat. I have little hope here though. With Berelowitch gone troop condition is not what it is was two months ago.

March 4th. 31,000 Swedish troops rout our 7,000 defenders in Onega. This time there are no heroics, and we inflict little damage on the attackers. Our troops flee south to Novogrod. The Swedish army takes Onega for the second time.

March 8th. Lugansk falls to our troops, but Orenburg falls to Sibir troops. The Sibir troops in Orenburg head towards Astrakhan. I now have our star, Glinski, and 35,000 men in neighboring Uralsk. As soon as the snow melts I will let him loose to crush these barbarians in our land.

March 25th. The Sibir army reaches Astrakhan and puts the city under siege.

April 1st. Spring arrives. I send Glinski and 19,000 men towards Orenburg and start to divert some of the now idle troops from the siege of Lugansk north to deal with Sweden. We send more troops south into Azov to help the ones currently there besieging the city.

April 11th. Major enemy troop formations have been reported to be marching north from the south of Poland. This could get ugly.

April 13th. In a sad moment of Russian history, the remants of the Onega defense force--mostly veterans of the heroic Second Battle of Onega--get wiped out when the huge Swedish army attacks the city of Novogrod. The city comes under siege again from Sweden. They have 27,000 men there this time. Damn. I try, once again, to cut off their supply by sending troops into Onega from behind them. I have 17,000 fresh recruits assembled north of Moscow.

April 27th. Glinski routs the defenders of Orenburg, puts the city back under siege, and cuts off the supply of the Sibir troops besieging Astrakhan. In the north, our 17,000-man force retakes Onega, likewise cutting off the supply of the Swedish troops attacking Novogrod.

June 12th. The northward movement of troops in southern Poland has reverted to a mixed pattern. Things are unusually quiet lately. We are trying to starve the Swedes in Novogrod and keep reinforcing our position in Onega. Likewise, in the south, Glinski still is trying to take Orenburg. Elsewhere troops besieging Tula, Azov, and Welikia all report progress, but no final success. If these three Polish cities fall perhaps they will sue for peace?

[Godzilla Blitz]

1510 (second half)
July 3rd. Sweden breaks its siege of Novogrod and sends its troops north towards Onega in an attempt to regain supply. I have 23,000 troops waiting for them there. They will probably strike with around 25,000. The Third Battle of Onega is only a couple of months away.

July 28th. 22,000 Swedish troops attack Onega. We gain a slight advantage over the first two weeks of fighting, and then 11,000 reinforcements from Moscow arrive to help us. The epic battle rages on through the end of August. The Swedes take tremendous losses and the battle looks to be swinging in our favor, but finally on September 11th, our troops morale cracks under incessant Swedish artillery barrages and we retreat east to Vologrod to the north of Moscow. Clearly a pyrrhic victory for Sweden: despite gaining the province, they have lost 21,000 men in the five week struggle. The Swedes only have 1,000 men left, although they have some reinforcements on the way.

While this long battle has been going on, we have major success elsewhere, as we capture Tula, Welikia, and Orenburg. But in early September, the Hanseatice League manages to sneak in 5,000 men to Vorones in an attempt to retake that city. I hastily group the idle Tula troops and some recruits in Moscow to try to drive them off.

September 16th. 13,000 men head towards Vorones in an attempt to drive off the Hanseatice League.

October 5th. Our 13,000-man force wipes out the 5,000 Hanseatic League troops trying to retake the city. The siege is lifted.

Swedish troops take another northern colony from us and their reinforced troops in Onega have shifted south to besiege Novogrod for the third time. Once again, I pull my northern troops into the unoccupied Onega to starve them out.

November 4th. We retake Onega as winter sets in. I send a small detachment north to try to retake the undefended northern colonies of Far Karelia and Kola, which Sweden grabbed without me seeing it.

On Christmas day we retake Far Karelia and I send the 1,000 men that did so further north to try to retake Kola.

The year of war draws to a close. A positive year all in all. We have taken Welikia and Tula from Poland, and put Kursk under siege as the year drew to an end. The siege of the port city of Azov on the Black Sea continues. We have regained Lugansk from them as well, and their military production appears to have ground to a halt. Against Sibir, we have retaken Orenburg, cut off their besieging army in Astrakhan, and put their province of Irgiz under siege. The Swedish front has been a see-saw battle but we appear to be holding our own up there. If I can reach a peace agreement with a nation or two early next year, I should be able to bring more strength to bear on them. And so far Kazan has still kept out of the war.


[This message has been edited by Godzilla Blitz (edited 03-20-2001).]

[Godzilla Blitz]

1511
January 15th. We retake the undefended colony of Kola in the far north from Sweden.

January 26th. We lose Astrakhan to Sibir, but their once strong army has been reduced to 14,000 men in the process. We still have Lt. General Glinski and 25,000 men just north of them in Orenburg, just waiting for the snow to melt so they can attack.

January 27th. Great news!!!!! Sweden sends us a diplomat offering peace and 250 ducats as tribute. Apparently they are exhausted from this war. I would be a fool not to take the offer. With the Swedish campaign troops free, I can put more pressure on Poland, and perhaps even gain Inger Manland from the Teutonic Order. I accept the peace.

January 28th. The war with Sweden ends, but in the far southeast, Sibir sends half of its force in Astrakhan eastward. I am eagerly awaiting the spring thaw to let Glinski loose. The nation is reinvigorated with the Swedish peace!

February 15th. Outside a snowy Orenburg, our star General Glinski is defeated by half his number of Sibir troops! Irgiz falls to our troops to the east, but now they are cut off by Glinski's defeat to their west. Glinski retreats westward. What happened here? He is our poster general and he loses a defensive battle with a 2-1 advantage?

April arrives and the snow melts. I make some moves. First, I send 12,000 troops from Onega into Inger Manland to try to take the port. Second, I start to mass troops in northern Poland. There is a force of 18,000 Brandenburg troops headed for Welikia and I would like to hold them off. I have 15,000 troops immediately on the way, and another 16,000 coming from other provinces to help. Meanwhile Glinski and his 20,000 men regroup for an assault on the 10,000 troops holding Orenburg hostage. Kursk and Azov continue to burn. They should fall shortly.

April 12th. Brandenburg’s army and our 15,000 troops meet head on in Welikia. They have an amazing 80 cannon, and it is too much for our forces to withstand. We are routed in a matter of days. I shall regroup forces in Tver and try at them again. They put the city under siege. The cannons devastate the city, which should not hold long against such force. Meanwhile, I send Glinski towards Orenburg and give him a chance to redeem himself. Our forces set up a siege around Inger Manland on the coast.

April 28th. Over the course of a week, Glinski is driven back again from Orenburg. Damn. I build some artillery in nearby Uralsk. I shall get them yet.

May 17th. The port of Azov falls to our forces!

[Godzilla Blitz]

1511 (second half)
June 14th. Kursk falls to our troops! We make an offer of peace, demanding Azov and Tula as tribute. Polans accepts! I am not sure what happens now with Brandenburg, the Hanseatic States, and the Teutonic Order. We send a diplomat to the Hanseatic League as well. They refuse our offer of peace in exchange for Vorones. Apparently the war continues against these countries.

June 17th. Kazan enters the war against us! Damn them. They have 51,000 troops in Kazan, and I don’t have much to stop them with. In an effort to free up men, I send a diplomat to Sibir and offer Astrakhan in exchange for peace, but they refuse me. Damn it. Azov also will present a problem, as it is a province with a high likelihood of revolt. I’ll need to keep troops down there to quell rebellions. Out of the pot into the fire.

June 18th. The Kazan force starts marching south. Gold-producing Samara? Kujbyschew? My only hope is to capture their one province, Kazan, to wipe them off the face of the earth before their massive army can rip up my heartland. I take everything that isn’t sieging Inger Manland and send it towards Kazan. I should be able to put together about 30,000 men.

July. Kazan troops besiege Samara, and The Hanseatic League gets 2,000 men around Vorones. My troops arrive on the outskirts of Kazan. I send 18,000 men into the province and hold another 12,000 in neighboring Ryazan. Sibir sends 7,000 men from Orenburg to besiege Irgiz. I respond by sending Glinksi and his remaining 15,000 men towards Orenburg at the remaining 4,000 Sibir troops about to take Orenburg. He should be able to win this one, the wimp.

July 27th. Orenburg falls before he can get there. Elsewhere I divert 5,000 men from Ryazan to try to lift the siege of Vorones.

August 11th. Finally Glinski gets a win. He wipes out the 4,000 troops around Orenburg and sets up a siege around the city. Later the same day, the Hanseatic League offers us a white peace. We accept and give back the province of Vorones. Apparently this means we are at peace with everyone else in their alliance too, as our troops in Inger Manland lift their siege. That is fine with me as I have got a port in Azov now and need all the help I can get against Kazan and Sibir, the last two remaining enemies in this war.

August 24th. We rout 17,000 new recruits that try to lift the siege of Kazan! They run north towards Vladimir, our most northeastern province. I dispatch the 12,000 man reserve from Ryazan north to meet them. I want to catch them disorganized.

The 44,000 Kazan troops besieging Samara decide to assault the garrison there. In one of the bloodiest assaults in history, the 10,000-man force there loses only 500 men over the next week, but kills more than 10,000 of the attackers!

September 22nd. A Sibir diplomat shows up, offering us peace, 111 ducats, and the province of Irgiz. This is a great deal! I accept immediately. That leaves only Kazan. Very quickly things are looking hopeful. Light at the end of the tunnel.

Kazan breaks its siege of Samara and starts to head back towards Kazan! They still have 30,000 troops left. I await in Kazan with 15,000 men, but I send the troops in the surrounding areas into the capital to bolster the troops there.

October 30th. The Kazan troops arrive in the city before our reinforcements, but their morale is low from the failed assault on the Samara garrison, and the are broken despite outnumbering us 2-1. They flee to tiny Tambow and set up a winter siege there. This province is tiny and can't support half their number of men. They will starve in droves over the winter.

The remainder of their troops, the recruits that were routed from the city a few months ago, attack Kazan again on December 27th. They too are repulsed. This time none of the 6,000 attackers survive.

The year ends much better than it started. It appears as if we have survived this huge war, and managed to come out ahead as well. If we can just finish off Kazan…

[daedalus]

Nice recovery!!!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Daedalus, thanks! I think I got lucky though. If Kazan had entered the war a half-year earlier I think I would have been screwed.

1512
Winter does a nasty job on the Kazan troops in Tambow. By March 1st, there are only 9,000 of the 21,000 men left that started the winter. I add reinforcements to the siege in Kazan. General Glinski also gets sent in with a detachment of artillery to help accelerate the siege.

May 23rd. I muster 17,000 men and send them at the last 7,000 Kazan troops besieging Tambow.

June 6th. The Kazan cavalry in Tambow puts up a brave fight that rages for more than three weeks, but in the end they are completely wiped out by our attack force. We lose 11,000 men in the process, perhaps too much of a price, but our land is free of the enemy! The war appears to be drawing to a close.

June 26th. Damn it! Crimea, to our south, declares war against us! No peace for us. I send as much as I can south to defend my lands, but this long war has reduced our fighting capabily tremendously.

July 23rd. 10,000 Crimean troops hit us in Azov. Armed with artillery, our 13,000 defenders extract more than 9,000 casualites from the attack force. I rush these defenders into an attack against the province of Kerch, another port city to the south of Azov. Crimea hits again before we can pull this off, and our attack force is forced to regroup, although the tiny Crimean force is crushed in the process.

October 1st. Tula, the northern province we got from Poland, revolts! We have been slowly rebuilding our troops up there, and send 8,000 men to supress it. The rebellion is snuffed out before it can grow.

November 24th. Kazan falls. This time I do not make the mistake of allowing them to survive. I annex them. An enemy in our midst was too much trouble. Now, if I can just settle with Crimea and get back to peace. This war has been so long. We should be able to bring everything to bear on them now.

Wow. Somewhere back during that war Austria annexed Hungary! They are no more, and Austria has become quite a powerful nation. I am so glad they hate us too. I send diplomats to Denmark and Bohemia to try to set up a new alliance. Both nations accept and we now once again have friends on the other side of enemies.

Back in the Crimea, we set up a siege in Kalmuk, to the east of Azov, and continue to rebuff assaults out of their capital against our troops in Azov.

December 24th, Christmas Eve. Turkish infidels join the fray, appearing out of nowhere with 34,000 men and 110 cannons to attack our troops in Azov. Damn. I have 29,000 men there. The battle rages over New Year’s day, Turkey adds some reinforcements and yet surprisingly we are holding our own. On January 16th, we repulse the attack!

[Godzilla Blitz]

1513
On February 13th, we are attacked again, this time by a mere 7,000 Turkish troops. What 34,000 men and 110 cannons couldn't do two months ago, 7,000 gets done this time. Our weakened force can’t hold, and we are sent out of the province. It goes under siege.

March 1st. Uprising in Tula again! This time the rebels have more success and kick us out of the province. I rush Glinski, on his way back from Kazan, to try to put them down.

March 15th.Crimean Kalmuk falls to our troops. I need to end the fighting, as Asov is about to fall, and Crimea has built up an army of 40,000 men there. I simply do not have recources to fight them. I send our last available diplomat to Crimea and offer a white peace, which luckily they accept. The war is over! Except for the violence in Tula, we can, I hope, relax a bit.

The war has been an exhausting ordeal! It’s gone on for four years, and we were at war with Sweden, Poland, Kazan, Teutonic Order, Hanseatic League, Sibir, Crimea, Turkey, Venice, and Brandenburg. Somehow we managed to come out of it with four more provinces, and we have gained a port on the Black Sea. The loss of life has been incredible though, and our coffers are empty. Please let the peace last long enough for us rebuild! Enough fighting.

With a port in our hands now, we get our first group of colonists. We send them to Alga to build our first colony!

April 10th. The rebels from Tula chase our troops into Moscow, where they reengage our forces. Despite weakened morale, our troops this time are victorious. The rebels are wiped out. General Glinski is now about a month away from the rebellion, but he may not be needed. I send the Moscow troops back towards Tula to try to regain the city.

The province of Hannover successfully rebels from England and we have the game’s first new nation!

Finally a quiet few months. Our relations with the world though are horrible. Bright red on the diplomacy map. We are the bad boy, and I would bet the annexation of Kazan didn’t help either. Unless I can stop this cycle of war I would think that I am not going to last long. I hope I can hang on to peace for a few years.

June 6th. Word from Alga comes in. The settlement there fails. All 100 colonists perish within the first few months. Next time I’ll try to set up a trading station there first.

Our troops set up siege around the rebel held city of Tula. Glinski arrives with his artillery. The city begins to burn in July.

August. Another group of settlers is ready to go to Alga. This time we opt for a trading station instead. It should have a higher chance of success.

A quiet autumn. We have no money and therefore are limited in what we can do. We manage to establish a trading post in Alga. This action claims the province for Russia.

Just before the year ends Tula falls. We are at peace for the first time in four years.

[WebEwbank]

Started with Fantasia (Ukraine), expanded to about ten provinces before imploding. What a game !