- Map –

The map I am playing on is a special mod of the planet Earth. It has 24 nations on it that start in their proper starting locations, and then you just expand from there. It comes with a 23 nation alteration that gets rid of the Celts, which I used for this particular game as it allows for a little more elbow room in Europe.

- Background –

Rome started out with an aggressive behavior that quickly saw the end of the Spanish Empire before the year 1AD. This was followed swiftly with a lightning strike of Praetorians against French Paris and French Orleans, which drove them off the European continent. Rome followed next with another lightning strike against the Germans in Europe, capturing 4 of their cities which chased them off Europe.

Following this, Rome had gained the ability of Vassals. Rome turned toward Athens now for what was hoped to be a quick and decisive annihilation of that nation. Athens fell within a short period of time, but the Greeks were not destroyed! Somewhere out in the world they had established at least one other city (I later learned that they had established a couple of cities in Asia). A peace treaty was established, and Rome then struck out against the Ottomans, taking two of their cities. They fought back, killed one Grenadier, then capitulated and became the first Vassal of Rome.

Rome then built a third army (an army at this time consisted of 6 Grenadiers and 2 Catapults) before launching an all out, pincer attack on Russia. After seceding 3 cities to the Roman Empire, the Russians capitulated. This was followed by a quick recovery and troop movement to the southern border of the Viking Empire, only to find out that the Vikings had 2 defensive pacts; 1 with Japan and 1 with Inca. Rome waited a couple of turns to see if the pacts would end. After they didn't, Rome figured that the Japanese and Incans were too far away to do much, so declared war on the Vikings and plowed into their nation. After losing 2 cities and with 2 armies closing in on a third, the Vikings capitulated. The Japanese and Incans never sent anything after Rome or any of its Vassals. Soon, the Incans came begging for a peace treaty and tributed to Rome some 160 gold or so. A few years later, Rome sought peace with Japan so it could focus on some peaceful buildups.

By this point, continental Europe was firmly under control of the Roman Empire and its vassals. Britain was still a very good friend, so it was decided to focus our efforts on an economical and defensive military buildup. It was during this that Rome's southern friends, the Egyptians, had had war declared on them by the Carthaginians. A few years after its start, the Egyptians asked Rome to assist them in their defense against Carthage. Rome agreed and soon had forces in Africa and commenced a conquest of the Carthaginian Empire. 3 cities later, with a 4th within sight, the Carthaginians capitulated and joined the Roman Empire.

This led to a period of peaceful economic and military expansion for Rome. For centuries, Rome worked to buildup her cities to great powerhouses of culture and production. The military had expanded to include 2 defensive armies patrolling the interior of Roman borders in the event an enemy landed on Roman shores from the Atlantic, with 3 offensive armies merged into one mega-army. This army was at first poised for an eventual invasion of Germany, but plans for such were pushed back as the Germans, along with 2 other nations, were Vassals of the large and mighty Persian Empire.

As the political climate began to shift and opinion of the Chinese and their 4 Vassals dropped in world view, Rome redeployed her forces into Africa to the Malinese border (a Vassal of the Chinese). Eastern border cities were heavily militarized for defensive purposes as the entire offensive might of Rome was poised for an invasion of Malinese. It was the plan to strike out against this only western/southern foe should hostilities with China arise. Shortly before the beginning of the 20th century, Egypt asked to peacefully become a Vassal of Rome. Rome accepted.

((This is a story, I am just providing some general background before getting started.))

It looks pretty good so far.

- World War -
1903

Augustus had come to power in before the close of 19th century. He was a young lad of only 14 when his father had died of disease at the age of 45. Augustus was still mostly a boy when this occurred and now suddenly found himself thrust into the role as leader of a nation. And not just any nation.

The Roman Empire had been growing for millennia prior to Augustus ascending the throne. It had become the dominant nation in Europe, and the only one on continental Europe. England was the only free nation that remained in Europe. However, relations had always been strong with them and no previous Roman ruler had seen any need or desire to strike out across the channel to hit the British Isles.

Other nations that had once inhabited Europe had long since become nation-states under the rule of Rome. Rome had long established a wall of nation-states around itself to the east and south. For the west, it was hoped that the great ocean would prevent any aggressors from striking that way.

But Augustus had no vision of expanding the Roman Empire further. Being only 14 he had no visions for any empire. However, he would now have to end his childhood and grow up to become Rome’s next leader.

The defensive ability of the Roman cities had been built up over the years to make them highly impregnable fortresses. The eastern-most cities had been fortified even more so as that was the easiest route from which enemy forces could strike.

With this in mind, Augustus set about increasing the treasury and expanding Roman technological knowledge. Great cultural strides were also accomplished in the first years of Augustus’s rule.

At the turn of the century, things began to change. Augustus was thrown into more and more tense political situations. Nations from Asia were demanding the technological teachings that the Romans had strived for. Fortunately, Augustus was not one to be easily threatened and refused all these threats.

In the spring of 1902, it was becoming clear that the world politics were also coming to a boil. Alliances were being formed; nation-states were appearing under the rule of tyrannical and just nations alike.

Rome remained quiet and out of these discussions. The young Augustus was not ready to fully charge into the political climate, or devote resources to any military endeavors by any nations requesting it.

The following year saw the boiling over of the political pot. China had finally had it with India and sent out a declaration of war. The Chinese nation-states were quick to follow suit.

Augustus began to worry about a widening war. What he feared even more was the fall of India and the Chinese pressing westward, toward Rome and its nation-states. Thus, Augustus enacted a lend-lease program and began selling Roman technologies and equipment to the Indians with promises of reimbursement to come after the end of the war.

After a few months of no gains made by the Chinese, Augustus relaxed some. In the middle of the year, he nearly broke out in tears of celebration as the Persian Empire and its nation-states were drawn into the war against China. England soon followed with a declaration against China.

Augustus began to breathe a sigh of relief and turn the majority of his attention from the war. He returned his focus to improving Roman society and way of life. Just before the holiday that celebrated the founding of the city of Rome several millennia ago, word came from Augustus’s military intelligence that China had taken an Indian city in late September. This was followed up with another Chinese victory against Mongolian forces in the middle of October.

This had Augustus once again worrying. Not only were the Chinese fighting a multi-front war, but they were actually winning! War was surely inevitable for Rome and its nation-states. It was now the job of the 22 year old Augustus to ensure his people would survive and show that they could stand against enemy aggressors. So, he instated a military mobilization before the month of October ended.

The 1st Army was sent into Roman held African cities that had been captured long ago during the war with the Carthaginians. These forces were poised for a strike into the Malinese lands, the only western nation that was a nation-state of China. In addition, the 1st Air Force was sent down into Africa as well.

Things were poised, but would Rome be truly prepared?

YES!!!!! What year is it? Anyway, great job!

That latest chaper is 1903. If you look at the top, I post something of a "chapter title" in between dashes (-) with a date below that.

- Rome Enters the Conflict -
1904

In the first weeks of 1904, a Chinese ambassador arrived in Rome to address Augustus. He spent several hours trying to persuade the ruler into joining the war against the Persians.

“This Emperor Cyrus has declared war on the Chinese people,” he said. “They’ve no business in our disagreement with the Indian Nation. Surely you must see that this fool of Persia is merely after military gains of their own at the expense of Chinese citizens.”

Augustus rose to his feet holding a hand up to quiet the ambassador. “Your nation has declared war on the Indian Nation for seemingly little or no reason,” said Augustus. “You have no reason to be attacking the Indian people. As I see it, Cyrus and the Persians have come to the aide of the Indians as they attempt to fend off this incursion by an aggressor who is only after territorial gains.”

Augustus waved his hand to his guards who came from their posts and lifted the Chinese ambassador. “Before you go, ambassador, take a note with you back to your leaders. Rome does not condone the actions of China, and will not stand for them.” With that, the guards escorted the man out of the audience chamber.

Knowing that such a response to this Chinese request for assistance would not be met well by the leaders of China and its vassals, Augustus called an emergency meeting of his military commanders. It was thoroughly agreed to put all forces on alert to be prepared for possible Chinese retaliation. The army near the Malinese border was made ready, and the 1st Air Force was also put on alert.

Hearing of the events that had unfolded in Rome, the Persian leader had seen an opportunity to approach the Roman leader and attempt to get Augustus to side with the Persian plight.

Augustus met with Cyrus in a friendly embrace that was made publicly viewable on televisions throughout and without the Roman Empire. Following the public display, the two men retired in private to discuss the reasoning behind Cyrus’s arrival.

Though Cyrus pushed hard to make Rome join the war against China, Augustus could just not see a full reason to join in just yet. “I concede that China has launched this unprovoked military campaign into India, and we understand that your defensive pact with them forced you into the war, we have no pact and no ties to India. However, we have been assisting the Indians. Until we see that the Indians truly need our help, we must remain neutral.”

Cyrus hung his head, but accepted the words of the young Augustus. Cyrus would spend the night in Rome before returning to Persia.

The following morning brought news that Chinese forces had made a successful amphibious assault on Indian holdings in the East Indies. This made the situation more dire for the Indians whose citizenry were begging for assistance, but whose leader remained quiet.

Before Cyrus left in the afternoon, he made a final attempt to plead his case after hearing of the latest Indian losses. Augustus remained silent and perhaps somewhat distant as Cyrus delivered another speech to him and his military tribunal.

“Lord Cyrus,” said Augustus finally looking at him and rising from his throne. “The people of Rome have had a somewhat aggressive and barbaric past. Our armies were unleashed throughout Europe bringing the entire continent under our authority. I am not overly proud of what was done in the oppression of these once glorious nations. I do not think I can sit idly by and watch it happen again.

“Lord Cyrus, Rome shall assist you in your crusade against the Chinese!”

Within a matter of days, a declaration of war went out to China. The Roman city-states all followed suit declaring war on the nation of China and its vassals. The great war was now a World War.


May 12, 1904
Africa – Roman/Malinese Border

“Hey Lucky, you heard the reports from Rome?” asked a somewhat giddy private as he opened the flap to one of the Roman tents.

Lucius “Lucky” Vitus looked up from the book he was reading. “No, what happened?” he returned to the private as he marked his place in the book and set it aside.

The private came on in and plopped down on crate across from the bed where Lucky was now sitting. “The Roman Senate has declared war on the Chinese! We’re going to be moving soon.”

“Oh joy,” said Lucky as he got up.

From outside trumpets began to sound with music that gave the order to prepare to move out. Lucky moved to the foot of his bed and grabbed a hold of his gear. War had finally come and it was time to move out.

“Looks like we get to march across that desert after all, Valerius.”


As the 1st Army packed up and started its trip across the desert to the nearest Malinese city, the 1st Air Force was sent out on ahead to commence bombing the city. However, the new and inexperienced Air Force was ill-prepared for taking on the Malinese who had strengthened their anti-air defenses leading up to the beginning of the war and in the last year since it began.


May 19, 1904
Africa – Outside Malinese City Timbuktu

“Skies are clear for final approach to target,” came the call from the squadron leader across the radio in Lieutenant Agrippa’s cockpit. “All craft engage city defenses at discretion.”

The twelve-plane squadron, accompanied by nine others, closed in on the city of Timbuktu. Agrippa smiled as he looked over at his wing-mate’s plane and gave him a thumbs-up. This was going to be the easiest attack in the history of Roman warfare. He knew that Roman intelligence had pointed out the Malinese had never gotten any aircraft of their own. Whatever they had was miniscule and in the prototype phase right now and would be of no consequence.

“Let’s show them how it’s done, Ripper,” came the voice of Agrippa’s wing mate. The squadrons broke up by pairs and commenced the first round of bombing.

“Watch out, they’ve got SAM!” came the voice of one of the pilots over the radio. The next thing Agrippa knew, planes began exploding all around him.

“Nero, break away!” yelled Agrippa to his wing mate as he yanked back on his throttle. His plane went into a climb as he attempted to pull up out reach of the SAMs. Forgetting about the stall that comes at the end of a vertical climb, Agrippa was suddenly shook up when his plane choked twice and then the rolled over and plummeted back towards the city.

Agrippa pulled hard on the throttle to straighten his fighter out, completely ignoring the Roman planes and Malinese missiles exploding all around. At about a thousand feet, his fighter finally straightened out and began responding.

“Ripper, you gotta be more careful with that stunt pulling,” came the voice of Nero.

“Ah shutup, Nero.”

“All fighters pull out! Return to base immediately!”

“Let’s head out, Ripper. Looks like the Mali win round one. Hope our ground boys do a better job.”

The surviving fighters scattered as they retreated back northwest.


As the Roman 1st Air Force withdrew to repair itself and recuperate, news came in from the eastern front that the Chinese were continuing to make gains. Another Indian city fell on mainland Asia. As disturbing as this news was, what really worried Augustus and his military commanders was that another Mongolian city had also fallen.

This made it clear that not only were the Chinese extremely aggressive and prepared, but were winning the war on their southwest and on their northern flanks. They were winning a two-front war.

This also meant that Chinese forces were holding off Persian assaults from their west. These Chinese had been preparing for a war for a long time and were now proving their tenacity. Things were not looking good.

Nice job!!

- Roman Siege of Timbuktu -
1905

June 23, 1905
Africa – Sahara Desert

“There it is, Lucky,” said Valerius as the column closed in on the city of Timbuktu.

Lucius looked up at the distant horizon and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Looks like,” he said simply.

For a long time now, the Roman 1st Army had been marching towards the Malinese city of Timbuktu. The march through the desert had not been an easy endeavor, and Lucius was glad that Rome had seen fit to send the 1st down into Africa a couple of years prior to the outbreak of war. Although far from home, it had given the troops plenty of time to adjust to the desert climate.

Lucius was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound whistling of inbound artillery. Lucius had no idea who had fired it, but once the explosions began to appear around him, he knew who had fired.

“Find cover!” came the voice of one of the commanding officers. Troops scattered in every direction as they sought cover behind dunes and wreckage.

“Damn Val, there’s a ton of debris around here,” said Lucius ducking a bit as a shell exploded close by.

Valerius turned to Lucius with a gloomy face. “That’d be what is leftover of our fly boys from last year during an attempt at an air raid. It’s up to us to show the might of Rome. Our air forces are just too inexperienced.”

As quickly as it had begun, the barrage was over. The troops were gathered into smaller platoons and each one charged forward using dune and debris for cover as they moved on the city.

Lucky was forming up with his own platoon when several Roman artillery pieces arrived and began setting up. As they moved out, the artillery opened fire sending a barrage of fire over the advancing Roman troops. Structures and buildings within the city began to explode from shell impacts.

“Find cover!”

Lucius and Valerius dove for cover behind some rubble from an old downed aircraft as Malinese aircraft erupted from the city and began strafing the troops and artillery.

“Repeat, over!” said a voice from behind Lucius and Valerius. The two turned around and saw a radio operator trying desperately to listen in on the radio. “Confirm siege of Timbuktu order, over!” Another moment of intense concentration. After a moment, the operator reached around himself and hung the phone up. “Major, our orders are to hold position on this eastern side of the city. Other forces are deploying to encircle the city and lay siege. All artillery to unleash constant barrage.”

Another man moved up to the operator. “Get a hold of the divisions on our flanks and coordinate ground movements with them. Captain Fabius, you work with our Corporal here on the coordination of troops. I’m going to get the men to work on foxholes.” The major then turned to Lucius and Valerius. “You two head south on the line and get all troops to dig in by order of the RMC.”

Lucius and Valerius jumped to feet, but quickly ducked down to a crouch after realizing that Malinese aircraft were still overhead. They then saluted to the major and moved out toward the south.

Roman forces had arrived at Timbuktu. However, after their long march across the unforgiving desert, the troops were attacked by Malinese artillery and fighters. This all combined thoroughly exhausted the troops. Thus, orders came down from the Roman Military Command to lay siege to the city and hold off on direct attacks until a later date.

I can't believe nobody else is posting on this besides me and you Sultora.

Lots of views, but few posts. Maybe they're shy?

- Battle of Timbuktu, Part 1 -
1906

The Roman artillery divisions continued to bombard the city of Timbuktu. Some of the presently neutral nations began to speak out about the bombardment of a city with civilians still within it.

“People who would willingly sacrifice their freedoms to follow in the footsteps of a tyrannical nation are as guilty as those who lead them,” said Augustus during a press conference in regards to the actions of the war. “We are fighting for the freedom of people who enjoy it and wish to fight to keep it. If the Malinese citizens take up arms against the free peoples of the world … [then] they share the fate of the tyrants they follow.”

Though some people continued to speak out on the matter of bombing civilian targets, most people were eventually swayed to view of Augustus and Rome.


February 17, 1906
Africa – Timbuktu

Lucius poked his head up from the foxhole he and a handful of other troops had been occupying for nearly eight months. Of course, it wasn’t a lack-luster foxhole. Besieging the city of Timbuktu for this length of time had allowed for the development of some rather exquisite trenches and foxholes. The west season had caused some dreariness to circulate through the lines as trenches filled with water, but the most part the troops remained content and eager for the final push.

“See anything worthwhile, Lucky?” came the familiar voice of Valerius, Lucius’s closest and best friend.

Lucky shook his head and turned to Valerius. “Nope, but the rumor is we’ll finally be pushing in soon.”

It was at this time that another soldier called out for recognition. Lucius, Valerius and the other troops in the foxhole seized their rifles and were just aiming when a confirmation of the Roman trooper was received. The newly arrived trooper jumped down into the hole with the others.

“All troops are to make ready for covering fire action,” he said. “RMC has a little trick up their sleeves to toss at the city first to attempt to confuse them. We’ll then be looking at a follow-up with the rest of the line.”

“Is that an immediate action, Private?” asked one of the other troopers in the hole, a corporal.

“Yes, sir, very shortly.” The trooper un-shouldered his rifle and moved to the side of the foxhole that was closest to the city and aimed toward it. Lucius turned to Valerius who was already grinning at him, then they too joined the troops in taking aim at the city.

It was then that music filled the air, giving Lucius the desire to stand up and charge at the city. It was a very fast, but brief verse. However, it was followed up by the sound of galloping feet.

“What the hell is that?” asked Valerius.

“The trick,” said the new soldier amongst them.

Several hundred horses burst from behind a dune and charged toward the city. Their riders held rifles in their hands beginning to take aim at Timbuktu. As they closed in, shots rang out from within the city, which was quickly replied to with fire from the cavalry.

“Covering fire!” came the order up and down the line. It was then the trenches and foxholes came to life with barrage after barrage of gunfire.

Lucius couldn’t help but smile at all the firepower they were pouring into the city defenses and defenders. However, his smile was soon wiped off as machine gun tore from the city. The lines of cavalry began to stumble and collapse before they could even reach the outer limits of Timbuktu.

“My god, they’re getting annihilated!” yelled Lucius as he started to step out of the foxhole.

“Not yet, soldier!” yelled the corporal in the hole. Valerius quickly grabbed Lucius arm and pulled him back down. As Lucius watched, several of the cavalry began jumping over barricades and making their way into the great city.

“Hold your fire!” came the new order. All the trenches soon began to quiet, leaving the only the sounds of those coming from within the city.

“This is bull, Val. They’re getting slaughtered.”

“All formations, charge!”

The trenches unleashed their soldiers as wave after wave of troops began their run toward the city. Machine gun fire opened up, but was noticeably lighter than when the cavalry had gone in.

Lucius was one of the first to reach the edge of Timbuktu and leap over the barricade. A bullet hit a wall section right near him forcing debris to fly into his face. He quickly dropped to a prone position as he worked to remove the debris from his face.

“Lucky, you alright?” asked Valerius coming up behind him.

“Yeah, just missed me.” Lucius got quickly back up to his feet and poked his head around the corner of the wall. Several shots rang out, and Lucius quickly ducked back. “Two Malies at second-story windows. Give me covering fire and I’ll move in through one of the lower windows.”

Valerius nodded and the two switched positions. On a silent count to three, Valerius leaned around the corner and opened fire on the second-story windows. After a couple of shots rang out, Lucius charged out, zigzagging between items of cover as he closed in on the door.

A shot came from one of the windows and ricocheted off a wall and then hit Lucius’s helmet. The force of the hit knocked Lucius off his feet and sent the helmet flying. He quickly pulled himself up behind some crates he had found himself behind just as dozens of bullets began to land all around him.

Lucius shook his head a couple of times to get rid of the ringing he was still hearing. He then reached down and grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin and chucked it into one of the second-level windows. A brief moment and then the explosion came launching one of the Malinese shooters out the window to land only a few yards from Lucius.

Looking back, Lucius saw Valerius and a few other soldiers running up with guns trained on the windows but not firing.

“Good work, Lucky,” said Valerius kneeling down next to him. “Malies are retreating into the interior of the city all along the front. Now we get to go rout them out.”

When I first came here I didnT post for almost a year.:wow:Anyway, great job!

Thank you, Zixk. I think maybe most folks like pictures to accompany stories. I'll have to keep that in mind for my next one, if I make a next one.

I think most people must be in absolute awe before they will post they like it.

So far, I like it :)

Rav

Your welcome.You should make a another one.

Ravellion Awed into silence? I like it! It's as good an excuse as any.

Zixk Well, perhaps I will make another one after I finish this one. If things hold out, this'll be a long one as it is. I'm only a few years into the story, there's decades worth to go through.

- The Battle of Timbuktu, Part 2 -
1906

February 20, 1906
Africa – Timbuktu

Lucius took a moment to sit down on the crumpled remains of a wall. He leaned back against a rise in the debris and sighed. “Three days, Val,” he said closing his eyes. “We’ve been fighting it out for three days in this damned city. It’s hot, humid-“

“And just plain shitty,” finished Valerius. “It’s only a matter of time, Lucky. We’ve had this city completely cut off for months, and have been pushing the Malies back into the interior for the last few days. They’ve nowhere to run. We’ve captured a lot of supplies.”

“I know. I’m just griping to myself.”

“Soldiers, back on your feet!” came the order from the sergeant in charge of the squad. Lucius and Valerius stood up and fell into step with the rest of the unit.

Suddenly, a shot rang out. One of the soldiers immediately fell to the ground dead. The rest were momentarily confused until one shouted out “Sniper!”. They then dove for cover hoping they hadn’t ended up on the wrong side of their cover.

“Anyone got the location of-“ said one of the soldiers who was then abruptly hit in the head with another shot.

“That building at the end of the street, third floor, second from the right,” said Valerius as he slowly brought his rifle up into a ready position. However, he forced to duck back quickly as a bullet grazed his cover kicking dust into his face.

“Lucius, decoy now!” ordered the sergeant.

Lucius jumped up and sprinted out from his broken wall cover. He began to juke back and forth making two shots just miss him. As he did this, Valerius slowly leaned up and took aim before squeezing his trigger. The sniper grunted loudly before falling forward and out the window down to the street

Lucius halted his sprint at the corner of a building across the street from where the sniper had been perched. He took a moment to visually ensure the sniper was not moving before poking his head around the corner. A machine opened up and Lucius withdrew, falling back onto the ground. Several other guns joined the machine gun for a brief period before all went quiet.

As the rest of the squad ran to catch up with Lucius, he turned to them and yelled: “MG nest!” The troopers smashed themselves up against the wall of the building that Lucius was using for cover from the nest and crept up behind him.

“I need that door open,” said the sergeant pointing to the door of the building where the sniper had been. Valerius and another soldier opened fire on it, aiming for the hinges and knob. Once satisfied, Valerius took a grenade and tossed it to the door where it exploded and finished knocking the door off the hinges and inward.

“Valerius, Agrippa, Julius, get in there now and outflank. Everyone else…COVERING FIRE!”

Lucius quickly lay down and leaned around the corner and opened fire on the nest as fast as he could. Two other rifles joined his as the three soldiers dashed across the street. Two went through the door, but Valerius decided to show off and dove through one of the windows. Perhaps it wasn’t a show off as it did allow them all to get out of the line of fire much more quickly. As the machine gun came to life, Lucius ducked back behind the corner.

“Lucius, Fabius, we’re retracing our steps and going in that window,” sergeant said as he pointed back about 20 yards.

They got up and moved back swiftly. Fabius reached the window first and poked his gun in for a sweep before declaring clear and climbing through. The sergeant was next followed quickly by Lucius.

The group quickly found another window partially looking into the nest. The sergeant pulled a grenade and tossed it into the nest. There was a satisfying explosion followed by several screams and moans of pain.

It was at this point that gunfire erupted. Lucius risked a glance out the window and saw Valerius and the other two soldiers charging down a slope of ruined building. All three were firing their rifles at the survivors of the grenade.

“It’s Val!”

The sergeant climbed out the window with Lucius quick on his heels. They moved across the few feet to the nest rapidly with guns blazing. A handful of Malinese troopers tossed their guns aside and raised their hands in surrender.


Roman troops managed to take the city of Timbuktu completely from Malinese hands before the end of February. As Roman forces set about establishing their own defenses within the city, a Malinese force arrived. It was believed they had been sent to attempt to break the siege of Timbuktu, but had come too late.

So, on the 5th of March, they settled for assaulting the still being prepared Roman defenses. Casualties were light on the side of the Romans who quickly repelled the Malinese troops and all but annihilated their relief force.

That was the most intriging post yet.:goodjob:

- Years of Attrition -
1907 – 1910

The march across the desert had thoroughly exhausted the Roman 1st Army. The attacks on the Malinese city of Timbuktu had further depleted and exhausted these troops. Casualties in all had been moderate, but would require reinforcements.

Wounded filled the hospitals that had been established in Timbuktu. Several Malinese troops found themselves in these hospitals. Some had been captured during the assault on the city, while others had suffered injuries carrying out guerilla raids against the occupying Romans.

On the Eastern Front, a small Roman air force arrived in the Indian territories and began to recon Chinese and Arabian (a nation-state of China) territories within reach. This was the point at which Rome learned how badly the Arabians had suffered from their submission to the Chinese. Their cities were defended by ancient and grossly outdated Longbowmen.

“This shows that our next target to remove the war should be Arabia,” said the head of the Roman Air Forces in a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“The General does have a point,” replied the head of the Roman Armies. “Add in the fact that the Arabian nation’s main territorial holdings are in the Mid-East, which puts them right in the midst of Roman territories and nation-states. The fact that they’re so inferior is what has saved us so far. Removing their holdings in the Mid-East will not only supply us with additional oil sources, but remove that thorn in our middle.”

It was agreed upon that Roman military assets would be redirected to Arabia following the defeat of the Malinese. Though Rome would be unable to lend much support to attacks on Arabia, ambassadors in the Roman nation-states told them to commence assaults on the Arabs.

Before this period closed, the Roman 1st Army had finally recovered and reinforcements had arrived to garrison Timbuktu. With this now completed, the 1st Army set out southward to the Malinese capital. Taking it would not only deliver a significant blow, but would also cut the Malinese nation in two.

((Sorry for the short post this time, but these years of the game were rather quiet, so not much to write about.))

Thats fine. Keep' em comin'.

can u post a link to the map

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179246

That's the thread for the map. The download link is the first line of the first post.

- Favor Returns to China -
1911

In March of 1911, Roman agents in India reported that the city of Bombay had fallen to Chinese assaults. Things were clearly not going well for the Indian nation which deeply disturbed the now 29-year old Augustus.

Among many new policies created, Augustus set about the work of a new army that would eventually be deployed into Asia to help the Indian nation against their Chinese oppressors.

The call went out for volunteers from all over the Roman nation and its nation-states. Thousands poured into the city of Rome to sign up for the military and begin their training. Most would end up in the new 2nd Army that was organizing in the Mid-East for a push into either Arabian territories or deployment into Asia. A few were trained and sent into Africa to reinforce positions and as replacements for lost troops.

With the advance of Chinese forces deeper into India, Roman Air Forces on recon missions in India were forced to rebase further inside the Indian borders to remain away from and out of reach of the advancing Chinese.

A couple additional squadrons arrived in the Indian capital, but they were given the task of strafing the Chinese armies throughout the Indian countryside. Though they did much damage, Chinese SAM missiles heavily damaged these strafing runs forcing Roman planes to ground for repairs.

On the African front, the Malinese had finally developed a full-scale air force and were using it without hesitation. However, rather than use it on the Roman military, they struck out against soft targets, such as agricultural regions and collapsing mines, trapping the workers within. Many Roman cities in Africa began to starve as their foodstuffs were cut off.

Citizens in other Roman cities setup food collection centers that would send out canned and dried goods to Africa to assist in the food shortage. However, what was gathered was too little and did not travel into Africa fast enough due to Arabian interference in the Mid-East and Malinese plane attacks in North Africa.

I'm running out of compliments.:D

Did you use Brilliant yet? Encore!

Thanks folks. Still plenty to come. Not quite a decade into the war yet.

ArmoredCalvery:No, I did not. Brilliant! Thank you ArmoredCalvery.
Sultora: Not even a decade! wow.

Hey just started reading your post/s, the story is fantastic, i especially like the mix of characters on the ground, politics and the fact that there are so many vassal blocks fighting each other.

BTW, hope Britain has joined you in the war, sounds like England might just be a vassal in all but name.

PLZ post again soon.

Dnomal

- “Help!” -
1912

With the new year of 1912 came a brand new grand offensive from Chinese forces. Roman air recon observed as numerous tanks and marines charged throughout the Indian countryside capturing a couple of cities and almost completely wiping out all improvements.

The situation was clearly dire, but Rome had a full commitment in northern and central Africa against the Malinese threat. There was also no super big push for pushing into Asia as Persia was in there fighting against the Chinese. If Rome split her forces, she’d be forced into a lengthened war with the Malinese by being unable to lend full focus to that front.

But could Augustus ignore the Asian front? The answer was yes, he had to in order to give full attention to the Malinese.

The war was being fought on four continents between 16 nations. How could any one nation be expected to fight on all those continents?

“Lord Augustus, the Indian leader Asoka is here to see you,” said one of officials in the audience chamber where Augustus had been dining.

“Let him in,” replied Augustus. The official disappeared for a brief moment before returning with Asoka behind him.

Augustus got to his feet and embraced the physically older looking Asoka. The man had clearly been through much in the last few years. “Welcome, my friend. How is your family?”

Asoka was escorted to a chair where he sat. “They are well, though understandably stressed,” replied Asoka. “I have come to ask for assistance from Rome. Our people are starving and dying. We desperately need the assistance of Rome and its magnificent armies to stop the Chinese invasion of our home.”

“I understand your plight, Lord Asoka, but we are committed to Africa and the defeat of the Malinese. Are not the Persians and their nation-states lending any sort of assistance?”

“The Persians are too busy trying to hold onto their own lands. They have no ability to strike out against the Chinese directly.” Asoka heaved a sigh. “What if Indian agrees to become a nation-state of the Roman Empire?”

Augustus raised a brow and leaned back in his chair. “Our economies would definitely benefit. The border taxes would be negated and movement of supplies would be easier. If you will do this, we will dispatch our 2nd Army which is in the middle of organizing.”

Asoka smiled and nodded as he jumped to his feet. “Then it is settled, Augustus Caesar!”

With India now a nation-state of the Roman Empire, Augustus was compelled to send anything he could spare. This included the 2nd Army that was still being organized in the MidEast. Hopefully the unfinished 2nd Army could stall the Chinese until the defeat of the Malinese could allow a shift of forces to Asia.

:clap::clap: Bravo,Bravo:clap::clap: Oncore!:clap::clap:

:)

most people dont come to this forum maybe ? Anyway I love your story keep going, you just made another fan :D

Sultora, you are completely amazing! How were you to write all that stuff down?

Thanks folks. Sorry for the lack of regular updates. Got new job and am working on settling into the schedule. I hope to get up another update on Sunday.

Swedishguy - As I played the game, I just wrote a general summary of each turn. I am now going back through and rewriting it into a story.

Aha! Smart thing there, Sultora!

:thumbdown













Ohhhh man I'm sorry. :blush: I accidently clicked on the wrong smiley.
Here are the correct ones... :thumbsup: :goodjob:

Drooling worse than a samoyed in july for more. :drool:

That's a large post, unscratchedfoot?

That's a large post, unscratchedfoot?

Saltora hasn't updated this for quite awhile so I thought it needed some filler to keep the readers' hunger from getting out of hand. Same concept as drinking a lot of water to stave off your hunger when there is no food nearby... it fills you up though it is not what is really needed.

Sorry for not getting that update up. I am working on it, but it's a bit long and I've been busy. Hopefully within a couple of days I'll have it up.

Thanks for stickin with me.

Saltora hasn't updated this for quite awhile so I thought it needed some filler to keep the readers' hunger from getting out of hand. Same concept as drinking a lot of water to stave off your hunger when there is no food nearby... it fills you up though it is not what is really needed.
Did you have to do that, starving and all!!!??? :eek:

- Malinese Capital -
1913

With the continued onslaught of the Chinese forces into Indian lands, public opinion was become very depressed in Rome. It had been years since any sort of victory had been made by the Roman troops. Something needed to happen and happen soon.

So, Augustus sent out a personal letter to the 1st Army in central Africa. He complimented the troops on a job well done in the Africa campaign. He mentioned that the people of Rome were in full support of their efforts and new celebrations were being planned in their honor. He closed the letter by encouraging a stronger and quicker advancement to the Malinese capital.

His words would not go without heed.


March 23, 1913
Africa – Kumbi Saleh

“All squadrons break by pairs and engage Mali forces at will,” came the voice of the squadron commander across Agrippa’s radio.

“Nero, let’s do this,” said Agrippa as he broke from formation.

“Woohoo, Ripper!” came Nero. “Payback time is now you Mali bastards!”

Nero came in behind Agrippa as they both began to dive for the city of Kumbi Saleh. Agrippa could only smile as he watched the Malinese troops running for cover or SAM batteries. He squeezed tightly on the primary weapon trigger and his fighter let loose a barrage of machine gun fire on the fleeing soldiers. Several of the troopers fell before the onslaught, but many made their way into cover. As Agrippa pulled up and away with Nero close by his wing, other Roman fighters began their sweeps.

“Wing leader to all fighters, come about for another run!”

As the fighters came about, several Malinese fighter craft appeared from the horizon. Agrippa aligned his nose and opened fire for a short burst before pealing off. Malinese machine gun fire poured into the Roman air wing as SAM batteries also came to life.

“Nero, hard to starboard!”

Agrippa yanked his flight stick to the right and again opened up with his nose gun. He then pulled once more to his left and swerved off. Agrippa knew things could turn into a repeat of the last time the Roman Air Force engaged the Malinese.

As Agrippa and Nero battled it out alongside their Roman brethren against the Malinese, word came over the radio to drop payloads and get out. Agrippa came about, leaving the Malinese fighters behind him. He knew such a move was not the wisest he could have made, but the Malinese were still a bit off. Maybe he could drop the payloads before the Malinese were completely upon them.

“Ripper, they’re coming up on us fast!”

“I know, Nero. Drop your bombs then we’ll go out to meet the Malis.” Agrippa quickly flipped the secondary weapon switch and pressed the trigger on his flight stick. A handful of bombs fell from the wings of the fighter and began their lazy descent toward the city, exploding in great bursts upon collision.

With his ordnance now dispensed, Agrippa pulled up and to the left to come around and bring his nose onto the Malinese, who were now nearly upon them. He quickly flipped the secondary fire control switch and squeezed the trigger to unleash a hail of machine gun fire.

For his troubles, Agrippa got the satisfaction of seeing a Malinese fighter ignite and turn toward the ground. But that wasn’t the only thing Agrippa got. His own fighter had taken several hits and his engine began to sputter.

“Nero, I’ve been hit and going down!”

Agrippa never heard the reply from Nero, if there was any. He was too busy trying to fight for some control over his fighter for at least a somewhat controlled crash. He managed at the last minute to bring the nose up just enough and land on the belly of his fighter. The sand blasted up all around his craft. The cockpit canopy shattered, allowing tons of the sand to flow in and consume Agrippa in darkness.


The first stage of Operation Takedown had been an all-out strike from the Roman Air Force. Though there was a reason behind the actual air attack, many of the pilots themselves saw it as a chance for revenge for the defeat they had suffered in their first fight.

Though the pilots took casualties, their losses were a fraction of what they had been in their first engagement. They had succeeded in dealing massive damage to the defenders within the Malinese capital before pulling out. Even though more outnumbered this time, including facing Malinese pilots for the first time, the Roman Air Force pulled it off and delivered a blow they would never recover from.

It was then left in the hands of the 1st Army to move in and take the city.


March 24, 1913
Africa – Kumbi Saleh

“Lucky, wake up!” shouted Valerius as he prodded his friend with his rifle butt. “Our artillery has stopped, we’re making ready to push into the city.”

Lucius pushed his helmet up out of his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He let out a yawn then grabbed his rifle and stood up. “I didn’t even notice. They’ve been shelling the city since our flyboys left yesterday. Guess I really went deep in my slumber.”

Lucius got up and took a quick look over at the city of Kumbi Saleh. Though still in the desert, this area of Africa did have some other features besides just the sand. Lucius and his squad had actually been hunkered down under a couple of palm trees close-by some medium-sized boulders.

“Third squad, listen up!” shouted an approaching Sergeant. “We’re fixing to move out. Our company will be moving in on the right flank of the advance.”

Nice. Honestly.

Keep it up. I just wandered into this thread tonight. Really good writing.

This story is awesome... I love it!! Keep up the good work!!

Incredidididble!

Keep it up!

It's to great to be true!

omg i love this so much keep it up its too good too stop now!!!
:goodjob: :thumbsup:2 thumbs up

Keep writing Sultora!

What they said. :wow:

This is one of the best stories i have read on this forum for a long time. Great job keep it up

- Battle for Kumbi Saleh -
1913

March 24, 1913
Africa – Kumbi Saleh

Lucius and his small squad moved along behind their Sergeant on the right flank of the main advance. Machine gun fire tore out from the Roman lines toward the city to cover the charging troops. Lucius was quickly finding himself out of breath as he charged the many meters across near open ground to the capital city of the Malinese.

There was little gunfire from the city. Lucius was one of the first from his squad to the reach the outskirts of the city. As he did, machine gun fire opened up from everywhere within the city at once.

Lucius quickly threw himself into the door of the closest building. He stumbled as he entered, which ended up saving his life as bullets blasted all around him. He rolled on through the door, coming up to a kneeling position. Lucius brought his rifle to bear and fired two quick shots before diving to his right into a small coat closet.

Not waiting for the Malinese to make the next move, Lucius quickly grabbed a grenade from his chest strap, pulled the pin and tossed it around the corner in the direction of the gunfire. He was rewarded with shouting from the Malinese followed by a loud explosion.

Lucius jumped to his feet and leapt out of the closest with his rifle trained on where the enemy had been. A couple of survivors were moving and crying out. One reached for a nearby rifle, but Lucius would not give him the chance to use it. He pulled the trigger of his rifle and shot the soldier in the head. He then quickly shifted the barrel and unleashed several shots at the other Malinese soldier.

“Damn, Lucky, save us some!” yelled Valerius as he came in the door of the house finally. The rest of the squad finally appeared in the house as the machine gun fire echoed throughout the city.

“Good job, Private,” said the Sergeant walking in. “Now listen up, we’re going to be moving in on a house by house search.”

The soldiers shouted out an understanding, then went single-file back out into the street. The machine gun opened up once more, allowing only Lucius and Valerius to get out the door and into a narrow corridor between two buildings.

Lucius leaned out briefly and fired a couple of shots in the general direction of the machine gun before falling back into the cover.

“On three, Lucky,” said Valerius. “One…two…three!” They both jumped around the corner and fired shots as they ran forward and dove into the next building through an open window and a shattered window. Behind them, two more Romans took their place in the small cover as the machine gun opened fire.

Inside the new house, there came a bunch of yelling as Malinese troops were startled by the rather abrupt entrance of Lucius and Valerius. They immediately opened fire as Lucius brought his rifle to bear. He squeezed the trigger as fast as he could until the clip ran dry. He then dove behind a small end table and drew his legs in close to protect them.

As Lucius ejected the spent magazine and rammed home a new one, an explosion erupted and threw debris all over Lucius. Lucius looked up and saw Valerius jumping to his feet. Following suit, Lucius spun about and went into a kneeling position as he leveled his rifle over the top of the end table. This time Lucius’s rifle shots were accompanied by the fire from Valerius.

“Clear!” shouted Valerius. He quickly moved forward to investigate the adjacent room, where he fired off a few more shots. Leaving Valerius to finishing off the downstairs, Lucius moved up the stairs to clear out the upstairs rooms.

The first room he came upon was rather empty save for an upturned bed. It would have been poor cover from rifle fire anyway. As Lucius moved back toward the door, gunfire from across the hall forced to flatten his back against the wall just inside the door. He leaned out briefly to fire off a few shots before ducking back. He waited for the sound of gunfire from the other room, before twisting out into the open and kneeling. He brought his rifle up and aimed it at the door across the hall. When the Malinese trooper poked his head around the door frame to fire again, his aim was too high and a single shot glanced off the wall above Lucius. Not waiting to give the enemy another chance, Lucius squeezed the trigger and fired a shot right into the Malinese trooper’s nose.

It was at this point that more gunfire came from further down the hall, pecking at the wall and frame, splintering wood chips into Lucius’s face. Lucius shielded his face with his hand, then reached down and grabbed another grenade. He pulled the pin and chucked it down the hall. The gunfire quickly stopped, followed by an explosion.

Lucius stood up and charged out and down the hall with his rifle on his hip. A single Malinese soldier crawled out into view. It didn’t take long for Lucius to halt his movement with a few well placed shots.

In the room, all Lucius found were several bodies and smoking debris everywhere.

“Well done, Lucky,” said Valerius coming in behind him. “The sergeant and rest of the squad finally found that machine gun and took it out. They’re downstairs now. He met up with a captain who said all fronts are advancing. This city is ours, Lucky!”

The city belongs to Lucius! Hooray!

yup this the best story Ive read since some of the old Civ 3 classics....this thread is definitly underrated

its a very nice story i like it

Thank you all for your kind words. I know my updates have been rather sparse, but work keeps me busy. I hope to get an update up with the next few days.

Thank you all for your kind words. I know my updates have been rather sparse, but work keeps me busy. I hope to get an update up with the next few days.
You have a nice mind for this! Your skills in writing fascinates me! I hope that the update is coming soon! Keep it up!

- Incan Cancels Deals -
1914

With the fall of the Malinese capital, leaders back in Rome breathed a sigh of relief. With the capital now in Roman hands, the backs of the Malinese had surely been broken. Their attention could now be turned toward the Mid-East and Asia.

While the Roman leaders celebrated the victory over the Malinese, the leader of the Incan Empire came to Rome. He seemed very distraught and not a very pleasant man. He immediately demanded an audience with Augustus, which was granted. It was in this meeting that the Incan cancelled all deals and open border agreements with the Roman Empire.

This was some worrisome news, however, the Incan were far away across the oceans and would not pose any threat should they come after Rome. Besides, there was still a war in Asia to win!

Excellent story, very well written, although do you have any screenshots you can post with your story?

Keep up the good work!

wow, this is like, friggin awesome.

Ever consider going to a publisher?

Nice story, certainly among the better ones to come around in a while. The gritty battle scenes remind me of Call of Duty 2, and trust me, that's high praise!

: Yeah it reminds me of my Call of Duty "The Big Red One" Very realistic and I love it!


250 Post!!! w00t :woohoo: :dance: :band: :beer: :cheers: :clap:

wow what a great story well done!!! :goodjob:

keep it coming man...please! :ol:

It sure is very fashinating to read this story and imagine what it would look like in real life.

I just started reading it and i love it. maby you should pitch the idea to hollywood for the first game movie of Civilization lol.

wow you really have a great talent for story telling im amazed this is awsome keep on writin im wishin you the best! :D

Very good story. Im entertained!

Hey, Sultora can we get another update? Please?!?:please:

Yes Yes please I want to read more, I re-read it again and im even more hooked :D

Could you post some photos of the world so that I can understand where the different countries are in relation to each other?

I agree with what everyone else so far has said; good job.

maybe the person who made this has forgotton his story even exhists. sombody send a pm to him y dont ya?

Great story so far. Please finish it!

anyone know the mod he is talking, or a similary mod that basically only adds new civs, not much new content. It sounds interesting to play a mod that has the civilizations actually fill up the map. I know there is one (i think civ gold) that has over 50 civs (something like that), but that seems too crowded.

Wonderful!

What they all said. Just found this story today.

I must agree that some pics of the world would be appreciated.
Mainly though, keep posting!
:)

Hello again folks. Sorry for abandoning the story. I lost interest in it for a long while. It wasn't until recently I saw that many of you continued to read it and make comments on it that I decided to go ahead and continue it.

To those asking, there are no pictures for this game. I did not take any during its play. This is strictly a text story.

- Malinese Return –
1914

May 19, 1914
Africa – Kumbi Saleh

Lucius and the rest of the Roman forces had held a strong grip over the capital city of Malinese. Like most of the Roman troops, Lucius had become complacent and settled into a routine.

“Hey Lucky,” began Valerius as the two strolled down one of the many streets of Kumbi Saleh. “You think the Malies will come back? We did take their capital after all.”

Lucius just shook his head at Valerius. “No, Val, I don’t think the Malinese will attempt to retake their capital. Their army was here and we destroyed it when we took this place.”

They were quiet as they rounded a corner. Perhaps as a slight precaution, but still neither unslung their rifle from their shoulder. “Still, it’s been over a year. Surely they’ve scrounged up some bodies somewhere to throw at us, don’t you think? In fact, I bet you they return.”

“It’s possible, but nothing to worry about. They won’t have the combat experience we have, or the superior military training the Roman Empire provides.”

Valeriusl shook his head but was quickly interrupted by the sound of an explosion. The two threw themselves behind a pile of rubble as small amounts of debris fell upon them. Valerius smiled at Lucius and offered him his palm. “I win the bet.”

Lucius shoved his hand away. “I never took you up on it.” The sound of whistles began screaming throughout the city as sergeants and lieutenants called in their squads. Lucius and Valerius got to their feet and ran for the location that had been established as their squad’s barracks for the duration of the stay in Kumbi Saleh. As the two burst through the door of the ruined building that served as their barracks, distant cracks of guns began to sound.

“What’s happening, Sergeant?” asked Valerius once they were inside. Lucius jumped over to a window and looked out it.

“Don’t ask me,” replied the squad sergeant. “All I know is a mortar hit the one of the buildings on the interior of the city. I pulled out my whistle to start getting all you boys back in here.”

“Here comes the Lieutenant, Sarge,” said Lucius from the window. As the Lieutenant came into the building, Lucius backed away from the window and stood over near the Sergeant.

“Sergeant, the Malinese are advancing on the city. They only had a single mortar unit that was taken out abruptly by our machine gunners.” There was a cheer from the gathered squad at the good news. “Unfortunately, the building they hit housed this army’s commanders. The General and at least two of his aides were inside. I was sent over here to by a Major to get you guys over to the southern entry of the city.”

The Sergeant nodded then turned to the squad. “You heard the Lieutenant, let’s get going!”

The previous enthusiasm was gone now upon hearing of the loss of army command. Hopefully someone who knew what they were doing would get things organized. Right now though, that wasn’t a concern for Lucius. His duty was to head south with his squad and-what? They hadn’t been given any orders after that. Someone down at the southern entry had better know what was going on.

As Lucius and his squad reached the southern edge of the city, he was suddenly reminded that the war against the Malinese had not ended. The landscape was in ruins once again. The debris that had been cleaned up by the Roman troops was now replaced by more.

Lucius quickly dove behind a half-wall just sitting out in the open. All around small arms fire was going off, accompanied by an occasional machine gun nest.

“Lucky, they’re coming in at 11 o’clock!” yelled Valerius as he dove down next to Valerius. Valerius quickly popped up briefly and fired a few shots toward the advancing enemy. Lucius leaned out the side and fired a couple before bullets began to spring off their cover.

“That’s a ton of infantry, Val!” yelled Lucius over the sounds of the battle.

“No kidding!” The gunfire on their position died off and Valerius poked his head up again and fired off a few rounds before ducking once again. As Lucius was about to lean out, he paused.

“Hey, you hear that?” he asked of Valerius.

As Lucius strained to block out the sounds of the battle, he did hear the low rumble of an engine. “Sounds kind of like an airplane.”

“Yeah, but there is a noticeable difference.” As the two discussed the possibilities briefly, a large boom sounded and a nearby building exploded.

“What the hell was that?!” yelled Lucius before leaning out momentarily and trying to get a peak at what was the source of the mortar. What he saw made him freeze in position. Advancing on their position was a treaded car. It had a massive cannon on its top which spoke again and woke Lucius from his mortification.

“Where the hell is the crew that is firing that cannon?” asked Valerius as another building nearby exploded.

“I have no idea. Whatever it is, it is moving on the city and our rifles are just bouncing off its armor.”

Valerius quickly began tearing equipment off of himself and setting on the ground. “Lucky, give me your grenades.”

“What? Why?”

Valerius answered only by unbuckling Lucius’s harness that held his grenades. He tied his own grenades onto the harness. Then he untied a boot and pulled the lace from it which he ran through all the pins of the grenades before tying off.

“Voila! Homemade satchel charge. Now, give me some cover fire from the infantry and I’ll get this under that treaded artillery.”

Lucius nodded and brought his rifle up to the ready waiting for the signal from Valerius. Valerius poked his head out once before jumping to his feet and racing toward the advancing enemy. Lucius quickly leaned out and opened fire on the nearest infantry, taking out two quickly. He then focused his fire on other infantry that began to take notice of the Roman soldier running toward them.

Even though Lucius was an excellent shot, he just wasn’t fast enough to catch them all. Two bullets rang out with his own shot and he watched as Valerius fell to the ground. Lucius couldn’t believe his eyes. It wasn’t until a shot of dust from a near-miss that he woke up. He then began squeezing off round after round screaming as he did so until the clip went dry.

The massive barrel of the treaded artillery moved in and focused on Lucius’s position. Lucius jumped to his feet and made a run for it. The cannon fired causing a nearby building to explode sending Lucius flying through the air. He was thrown against the wall of a still mostly standing building, then down to the ground.

Lucius suddenly found it hard to breathe and his ears were ringing. A soldier ran up to Lucius and yelled something at him that Lucius could not hear. The soldier spoke again before grabbing Lucius by his overcoat and dragging him away from the line and back into the city.

As he was drawn away, Lucius spotted movement near the treaded artillery and soon recognized it was a person in Roman uniform. The soldier was covered in blood and seemed to be missing his right arm. The soldier was determined though and chucked Lucius’s homemade satchel charge at the treaded artillery. One of the treads exploded as the vehicle attempted to flip over before coming to rest once more on its now broken tread. The top of the treaded artillery popped open and handful of Malinese soldiers crawled out.

One of them pulled out a pistol and fired at the soldier who had invented the homemade satchel charge. Lucius could only watch in disbelief as his friend was killed again before he was dragged behind a building and out of sight.

Although the Romans were ultimately victorious against this new weapon, they sustained massive casualties as the forces defending the Malinese capital were reduced to nearly 40% of their original strength. The Malinese armored division survived intact although with heavy casualties of their own.

As the Malinese retreated back across the desert, the Roman military command knew they could not let them escape only to return again and cause problems in the near or distant future.

The Malinese armor and pursuing Roman forces played cat-and-mouse for the rest of the year before the Romans finally caught up to them outside the new Malinese capital of Gao. After another bloody battle, the Romans finished off the Malinese armor and then fell back to Kumbi Saleh. It would take a long time for the Roman 1st Army to recover.

- Roman Army Air Force Engages Chinese -
1915 – 1919

As the small, mostly incomplete 2nd Army trudged across Asia toward the Chinese, the Roman recon forces already stationed in India received additional reinforcements. With these new forces and the constant pleading from Asoka for the Romans to do something against the Chinese, the Roman Military Command saw fit to change the objectives of the Indian Recon Force.

Once the latest batch of fighters arrived, they informed the Indian Recon Force Command of the new orders to begin engaging Chinese ground forces encroaching on Indian territory. With the new orders, the IRF began running daily missions against Chinese encampments and forces within Indian territory. Though they struck hard and fast and dealt massive amounts of damage, there were just too many Chinese to successfully strike them all.

Back in Africa, a few divisions of the 1st Army were created from the remnants and newly arriving reinforcements. These divisions were tasked with heading after Gao that had been discovered back in 1914. Roman Military Command knew they needed to knock the Malinese out of the war quickly before they could bring more of those tanks to bear.

Keep going man!

Looking good, and like Mansa Musa said, "Keep going man!"

so sad about valerious. I hope the romans catch up with the malinese. Keep going! :bowdown::whipped:[party] :bump: :run: :rockon:

hey im new to this story but i just caught up.
keep it going i love it!

Great job man

Nice job, just read through the whole thing. Great stuff, and keep it up!

The people demand more!:D

Last couple days of the semester...Once I finish them and after a brief reprieve, I shall continue the story.

Automatic Bazooka! That is what I want!

Why would you want that?

The people want more of this story!;)

- Siege of Gao -
1919

June 12, 1919
Africa – Near Gao

Lucius stopped in his tracks and held up a fist as he knelt down to one knee. The rest of his platoon followed suit. Lucius strained his ears to find that rumbling sound again. It had been a rumbling sound some four years ago that had meant massive devastation to the Roman 1st Army in and around Kumbi Saleh. That battle had affected Lucius in many ways.

Lucius had lost his long time friend and comrade-in-arms Valerius. The two of them had devised a sort of satchel charge to use against attacking Malinese tanks-the name that Roman High Command had learned and passed on down the ranks of the military. Valerius had charged at the tank but was shot. Though Valerius was killed, with his dying breaths, he threw the satchel charge under the treads and blew the tank up.

It was during that battle that Lucius himself had been caught in the blast of one of the explosives the tank fired right at him. Quick reflexes had saved his life. He was pulled off the frontlines to recuperate in Timbuktu for the better part of a year. Following that, Lucius was promoted to Sergeant and given light duty briefly in Timbuktu before being shipped back to Kumbi Saleh.

Lucius was bewildered by the life that had come to Kumbi Saleh since he had been gone. The city now held more civilians than infantry and nearly all debris had been cleaned up. Though shocked by the change, Lucius had little time to consider it as he was given command of his own platoon that was being sent with remnants of the 1st Army to take out the new Malinese capital of Gao. Now, after months of trudging across the desert, his platoon, with others, found themselves approaching Gao.

“What is it, Sarge?” whispered the trooper right behind him, Rufus was his name.

“Thought I heard something,” replied Lucius. After straining for a moment, Lucius directed his men to find cover while he, Rufus and another trooper scouted around to find the rumbling sound Lucius had heard.

They crept forward slowly while bent over at the waist to stay low in case someone decided to open fire. They paused at a ridge and fell down to prone to gaze over the top. Lucius pulled out his binoculars and scanned the horizon.

“There it is, Gao,” he said. “I can’t see anything but a few troopers moving around in there. No indication of the rumble I heard.”

One of the Roman soldiers crawled up behind the scouting party. “Sergeant Lucius, General Claudius on the horn. He says all troops are to converge on the city and hit it.”

Lucius took the phone from the trooper and put it to his ear. “Sergeant Lucius here, General. Over.”

“Sergeant, the army has surrounded the city and I am giving the final order to move in and engage all hostiles in and around it. Over.”

“General, do we know if there is an armored presence in Gao? I think we heard some rumbling. Over.”

“Negative, Sergeant. Intelligence assures me that the first and last armor the Malinese had was launched against Kumbi Saleh. Now move in! Over.”

Lucius only shook his head as he handed the phone back to the radioman. “Alright, establish mortars behind this hill and put two of our MGs on top, everyone else to move in on the city.”

The radioman and the other troopers with Lucius fell back from the hill to the rest of the platoon to forward his orders. Lucius himself remained on the bluff and directed his binoculars toward the city once more. Now even the troopers he’d seen before had disappeared.

A sudden sound caught his attention and he switched the binoculars toward it. Several Roman units had opened up on the city to cover advancing troopers. Lucius’s own men just finished establishing themselves on the hill and the rest had crouched down just behind him. Lucius waved his arm forward and got up to advance on the city.

Behind him, the motar crews opened up and began to lob explosives at the city perimeter that Lucius and the rest of his men were advancing on. Just as they reached the bottom of the hill, the rumbling poured into Lucius’s ears. From out of several hiding spots emerged several tanks. They moved forward only a short distance before stopping and firing a massive round against the Roman troops. After that, they charged forward again while their crews reloaded before stopping and firing again.

Lucius gave hand signals for his men to scatter and find cover. “Find cover!” he screamed to add more emphasis. The tanks hadn’t opened up on his own platoon yet, but that could change at any second.

Lucius jumped down into a little natural crater only to find it was a mostly dried pool. Below the top layer of the sand was mud. Well, better to be dirty than dead. You can clean up later, but you only get one life.

It was then that a Malinese machine gun zeroed in on Lucius’s position and opened up with everything it had. Sand was being thrown everywhere as Lucius attempted to push himself deeper into the hole. Around him, several of his men opened up with their rifles on Gao. The MGs back on the hill added in their own firepower which eventually pulled the Malinese machine gun off of Lucius.

Lucius took advantage of that fact and popped up briefly to see what was going on. Already several Roman troopers were retreating from their advances on the city and back toward their original positions.

The radioman dove into Lucius’s hole and handed him the handset. “Captain Ro, Sergeant!”

Lucius took the set. “Sergeant Lucius, go ahead! Over.”

“Sergeant, all Roman forces are to pull back immediately to original positions!”

Lucius gave a confirmation before throwing the handset back to the radioman. “First Platoon! Fall back behind the hill!” Lucius jumped up repeating the orders and waving toward the hill. His men came out of hiding and began running back over the hill.

As it turned out, Roman intelligence had been badly mistaken about the Malinese position within the walls of Gao. The Malinese not only had numerous infantry, but had managed to bring in additional tanks to defend the city.

With heavy losses sustained by the Roman 1st Army, RMC saw fit to withdrawal just outside of the city and lay siege. The Malinese city saw near daily artillery barrages while the Romans awaited reinforcements.

In India, the Roman 2nd Army was given to the Indians who quickly nationalized it and sent it out to defend the Indian homefront. Hopefully RMC could get some reinforcements to help, but with things up in the air in Africa, it would be unlikely.

Excellent! Keep it up.

Congrats to Lucius...he deserved the promotion. He's pretty smart.

- Gao Falls, Part 1 -
1920

As 1919 gave way to a new year, things at Roman High Command were becoming tense. The Indians continued to pressure the Romans into sending everything they had against the Chinese in their homeland. This in turn led to the leadership in the Roman High Command to begin squabbling over how best to deal with the situations, both in sending the aide the Indians requested and how to best finish off the Malinese in Africa.

General Claudius, commander of Rome’s 1st Army, demanded that his troops lead the attack on the city of Gao and General Vitus’s reinforcements merely support them. As most knew, the Malinese were approaching defeat. They hadn’t launched any counter-attacks in a few years and their air raids had also ceased. These two generals were down to arguments over who should be allowed to deliver the assured death blow to the foe that Rome had been fighting for over 15 years.

As no agreement could be reached, General Claudius made his own and sent out a dispatch to his forces in the field to assault the city once more without the reinforcements and secure it before Vitus’s troops could arrive.


February 23, 1920
Africa – Outside Gao

Another nearby barrage shook Lucius out of his sleep. For the better part of a year, Romans and Malinese had been lobbing artillery shells at one another. Though the Romans were hit on occasion, the real damage was to the city of Gao. How many Malinese remained alive among the debris was unknown, but the city was in ruins.

Not a single building over two stories stood any more, or had been reduced to less than that. Mighty temples and other great monuments that had watched over the city were now nothing more than piles of rubble. How Rome was going to pacify the people of the Mali lands after the war was anyone’s guess.

Lucius got all fours and crawled to the vision slit on his foxhole. He peered out with binoculars toward Gao to see what damage Roman guns would cause this time. Before he could learn much though, another trooper popped into his foxhole.

“Good evening, Sergeant Lucius,” said the trooper.

Lucius did not recognize the man but such was not necessary as soon as he realized the man wore captain’s bars. He threw him a salute, “Sorry that I don’t offer proper attention, sir, but this foxhole doesn’t have the highest ceiling.”

“Quite alright,” he replied and returned Lucius’s salute. “I’ve been ordered to take a small squad with me on a special mission. It was strongly suggested to me by your superiors that you and some of your men would be the ones for the job.”

“What sort of ‘special mission’, sir?”

“I cannot say unless you agree to participate in the mission. It is a need-to-know-only kind of mission and unless you sign on, you do not need to know. Anyway, I do not need your services right this minute, 1st Army does in taking out this city. Follow through with that and think about it. It will draw away from this front and the majority of your men. When you see me next, you will need to give me your answer.”

With that, the captain saluted and disappeared leaving Lucius to wonder if what had just happened had actually occurred. It was indeed a strange proposition and from someone he knew nothing of. Perhaps he should have asked the man’s name. Unfortunately, Lucius heard his name being called. He ran out and found his immediate superior, Lieutenant Silvanus.

“Sir?”

“Welcome Sergeant Lucius,” replied the Lieutenant. “Saddle up your men, we’re moving in on Gao again.”

“Without the reinforcements, Lieutenant?”

Silvanus shook his head and held up a hand. “Orders directly from General Claudius himself. 1st Army is to up from their positions and move on the city. He believes our bombardment has been enough to weaken for the final blow.”

Lucius nodded and saluted before disappearing to gather up his men.

Good writing so far. I am still interested in this story. WTG! :D

cool. congrats on ur graduation :) u did just graduate right?

Great story, just read the entire thing. Keep up the good work!

Nice story and one of those rare that tells about modern warfare. If only you could have maps it would be even better. the timescale is also a bit unrealistic but thats just civ :)

this dead?

this dead?
I hope not! ;)

a ripping good yarn old boy!

Looking forward to any future updates, will the war in the east be turned?

This story is great! The use of overall historical facts with personal in game stories makes every paragraph worth reading. Good drama, and even some tearjerkers. Please update when you have the chance.