Show me your orders/battle plans!

das said:

Now if only andis could post his...

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Total Spending points: 6 (economy: 4/0/2)
- use 6 eco.points to recruit 12,000 Katarakti infantry. ( 6 ep x size 2 x 1,000 = 12,000 ) (divide this by 4, I didn't remember about the lack of tin)

Total army size: 16,200 Katarakti infantry, 300 Chariots, 3000 Spearmen, 2000 Archers, 1000 Axemen


Tactic: oblique infantry deployment *The following tactic will become a default tactic for all future engagements.

The idea of the tactic is to mass chariots and a large body of Katarakti infantry on the right wing of the army, into at least 50-men deep column. The weakened left wing and center would then be drawn up so that they were further to the left and rear of the proceeding column, in the so-called Echelon formation, while other supporting units would be protecting left flank.

In battle, the strong right wing will engage the enemy and "push" their way through the weaker enemy left wing (in phalaxes, depth=pushing power). By the time the weaker center and left wing advanced to the point of engaging the enemy, the enemy left wing would be devastated. Half of the chariots (which had been protecting flank of the right wing until now) would then pursue the remnants of enemy left wing, while the right wing would move to encircle the enemy and charge enemy center from behind, crushing it against Our center. When enemy troops in their right wing see themselves being encircled, they would panic and rout from the field in effort to save themselves. The other half of chariots would then charge and pursue the fleeing enemy right wing with the help of Our left wing and other supporting units, driving the enemy from the field.

Order of battle in short:
1) Our strong right engages enemy.
2) Our strong right has fought it's way through the enemy left, chariots start pursuing the enemy left, first units in our center engage the enemy center.
3) Our strong right moves behind the enemy center and charges it, while rest of our center engages it's front.
4) Enemy center is crushed between our right and center, enemy right panics and flees, while rest of the chariots and our left pursue it.
5) Rest of enemy army is driven from the field.

4b) Enemy center is crushed between our right and center, enemy right doesn't panic, in which case our chariots charge it from behind while our left engages it's front.
5b) After destroying enemy center, our center and right move to encircle and annihilate enemy right.


How to counter enemy chariots:
When enemy does a frontal charge with their chariots, open up the battle lines just before the impact and let their chariots to run through our battleline, and then close the line again to present it undamaged against the enemy line. Special task forces formed out of archers and spearmen will then destroy the enemy chariots (archers kill either the driver or one of the horses, thus stopping the chariot so that the spearmen can catch it and kill rest of the crew).

Military campaigns:

Armygroups:
1st army: 7,000 Katarakti infantry, 1,000 Spearmen, 1,000 Archers, 500 Axemen, 150 Chariots
2nd army: 8,000 Katarakti infantry, 1,000 Spearmen, 1,000 Archers, 500 Axemen, 150 Chariots
3rd army: 1,200 Katarakti infantry, 1,000 spearmen

Map of campaigns: http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/180/urbattleplanng3.png

1st Army:

First army will begin a counteroffensive to occupy territory between euphrates and tigris. With the help of our navy 1st army will cross the river and engage the enemy army and destroy in one desicive battle using oblique infantry deployment tactic. Katarakti infantry will form the left wing, center and and right wing, 500 spearmen and 500 axemen protect the left flank, and 1,000 archers and 500 spearmen form the task forces to counter enemy chariots.

Once the enemy army is defeated, 1st army will be split into two smaller armies which can more easily and faster seize control of the lands between euphrates and tigris.

2nd army:

2nd army will begin an attack to the core of Medes. The strategy is fairly simple, find and engage the enemy army and destroy it in one desicive encounter using oblique infantry deployment tactic. Katarakti infantry will form the left wing, center and and right wing, 500 spearmen and 500 axemen protect the left flank, and 1,000 archers and 500 spearmen form the task forces to counter enemy chariots.
After the desicive battle, send several small detachements of units to occupy the Medesian countryside while the main force advances towards medesian capitol and sieges it.

3rd army:

3rd army has the small task of destroying new armenia, which is puppet kingdom of Medes. Armenian army is small and weak, and can be easily destroyed with oblique infantry deployment tactic. Spearmen will form the left wing and center and Katarakti forms the right wing.

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Total Spending points: 7 (economy: 5/0/2 (-1 point from raids)(+1 point from Medes))
- use 3 eco.points to recruit 1,500 Katarakti infantry
- use 1 eco.point to recruit 500 archers
- use 3 eco.point to build 30 river boats

Total army size: 3,200 Katarakti Infantry(UU), 300 Chariots, 1700 Spearmen, 1800 Archers, 400 Axemen

Military campaigns:

Armygroups:
1st army: 700 Katarakti Infantry, 50 Chariots, 700 Spearmen, 300 archers, 30 river boats.
2nd army: 2,500 Katarakti Infantry, 150 Chariots, 1,000 Spearmen, 1,500 archers, 400 axemen.
3rd army: 100 Chariots

Map: http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/176/urbattleplan9ik9.png

If not instructed otherwise, use oblique infantry deployment. Encourage generals to come up with new ways to apply the tactic in different situations.

1st Army:

The main goal for 1st army is to use the rebuilt fleet to anchieve total naval superiority on tigris. It is likely that Medeans are building new ships, so this won't be a easy task. Use following tactic to decimate enemy fleet:

Form my fleet into one big spearhead, and drive it directly into enemy fleets center. This maneuver will cause chaos and split their fleet in half. After the spearhead attack, the boats will start systemically destroy the enemy fleet. My boats will operate in pairs, each pair concentrating one a single ship at a time. Either destroy the enemy ship by ramming it from opposite directions and crushing it between, or alternatively board the enemy ship with both ships and overwhelm it with superior numbers. Use the 700 spearmen to provide additional marines on the ships to make the battle go smoother.

Once enemy fleet is destroyed and Tigris is in our control, 1st army will burn down all the bridges crossing it to prevent enemy from attacking. The fleet and 700 spearmen will guard the river and destroy any medean attempts to build new bridges. Meanwhile, rest of the 1st army ( 700 Katarakti Infantry, 50 Chariots, 300 archers) will march west all the way to Euphrates and secure the rich farmlands. Then, after leaving small diversion force near the border in the north to confuse the defenders, main army will cross Euphrates in the south and go around the fortifications, then taking them by suprise with an attack from behind.
Incite rebellions amonst the hittites by promising them autonomy if they rise in arms to support us. This should at least make the Hittites look us more favorably than the Medeans, and make the "liberation" of their lands go smoothly.
Once forts are taken, occupy rest of the Medean western provinces and harness the riches of this territory for our warmachine.

Plan B: IF the liberation of hittite territories doesn't succeed as planned because enemy garrisons in the area are vastly larger than expected, promise the hittites full independence if they rebel and aid our forces to destroy Medes. This should make the hittites much more willing to support us than mere autonomy.

2nd army:

The task for 2nd army is to delay the Medean assault east of tigris as well as they can (like using chariots to attack enemy supply lines), and when there are no other options then fight a pitched battle on highly defensiveable terrain. The main bulk of the forces will take positions in a narrow valley which would render the superior numbers of the enemy useless. In the Valley, deploy army as following:

The Katarakti infantry will form the centre, while spearmen form the left and right wing. Archers, axemen and chariots will be deployed behind. Unlike before, army will not be deployed in oblique infantry formation. Instead they are deployed in normal battle line. One important part of the strategy is that our army will not move an inch from the defensive positions it has, forcing the enemy to charge our phalanx.

There are three ways to counter the new enemy UU. First one is chariots. When the enemy forces charges towards our army, suddenly open up a hole in our battle line through which our chariots will charge out directly towards the attacking enemy infantry. Such sudden maneuver will take enemy completely by suprise and leave them unable to counter this new threat in time. Chariots will likely cut down thousands of their infantry before they are repulsed.
Second one is archers. Since medean UU carries two axes, it will be unable to carry a shield, thus making it very vulnerable to arrow fire. We will use this to our advantage. Deploy several spotters behind the main battle line, in such positions that they can see over the heads in front of them and spot the enemy UU's. Once they see the UU's spotters direct the archer's arrow barrage on the enemy with several simple commands. This will extract massive casulties from the enemy while they try to penetrate our phalanx.
The last resort will be axemen, who will be sent to reinforce that part of our line in which the enemy UU's have managed to penetrate our phalanx.

Once the impetuosity of enemy charge is gone and their UU's repulsed, our phalanxes will start pushing their way through enemy. On generals command, each soldier in phalanx will take one step forth, pushing the enemy with their pikes. This will be done several times in a row, and on each time every soldier lets out a shout. When several thousands of soldiers do it at the same time, it will become a warcry, and when on every shout the army unstoppably advances a step, the warcry will have a add great demoralizing effect on the advancing phalanx. The army will continue "pushing" untill enemy army breaks and routs from the field. To prevent enemy from rallying on another day, pursue the enemy to their camp and disperse it.

If the battle is victorious and enemy army destroyed, start advancing into Medea.

3rd army:

3rd army will operate from armenia and start making hit and run attacks into medean mainland, burning down crops etc. If enemy attacks the province of armenia, use scorched earth tactic and harass the supply lines of advancing enemy.

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Total Spending points: 8 (economy: 5/0/3)
- use 4 eco.points to build 40 river boats.
- use 4 eco.points to recruit 2,000 Katarakti infantry. These new Katarakti infantry will be armed with additional swords which they use to defend themselves when Medean UU's get too close.

Expeditionary force sent from Dillmun: 30 Galleys, 1500 Spearmen, and 300 Archers.
Hittite patriots: 3,000 spearmen

Total Army size: 3,050 Katarakti infantry, 300 chariots, 1,050 archers, 1,750 spearmen, 300 axemen, 3,000 hittite spearmen.
Total Navy size: 43 river boats, 30 galleys.

Military campaigns:

Armygroups:
1st army: 550 Katarakti Infantry, 50 Chariots, 300 archers, 3,000 hittite spearmen
2nd army: 2,500 Katarakti infantry, 250 Chariots, 1,500 Spearmen, 500 archers
River Fleet: 43 river boats. 250 spearmen, 300 axemen and 250 archers as marines.

Map: http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/196/urbattleplan10fu2.png

About tigris & river fleet:
The enemy forces which crossed Tigris last turn are the biggest concern atm. It can cross Euphrates again if Medeans manage to reinforce it with river boats. Enemy fleet however must travel south along tigris before it can reach euphrates, and our river fleet can intercept it there.
Alternatively enemy can attack along the land between the rivers and try to liberate their western provinces, in which case they have to bring their supplies across tigris.
In both above cases, the key to prevent enemy success is to control Tigris. This is the River fleet's task. Once river fleet is ready, it will set sail north along Tigris to engage and destroy the enemy fleet. It is unlikely that the enemy fleet is larger than ours, but even if it is, our naval tactics and additional marines will prevail over their numbers. Use same naval tactics as last turn.

Dillmunese expeditionary force:
When the Dillmunese fleet leaves it's home port it will first go to the province of new armenia and pick up the 100 chariots I have there. Then on it's way to Ur it will raid the Medean-held coastline with the purpose to destroy all shipyards and other docks that Medeans could use to build ships. This should at least delay the production so that I have enough time to finish my western campaign before their fleet is ready.
If Medeans have managed to build any ships, destroy them. If Medeans even have some sort of fleet ready there, use the Naval tactics I described last turn and destroy their navy.

Once the shipyards are destroyed, the expeditionary force will move to Ur, where it will join the 2nd army.

Western Campaign:
1st army, which is the same which conquered the hittite territories from medea last turn, will gather the hittite volunteers from the area and move back southeast, crossing Euphrates. It is important that the hittite spearmen are given some basic draining on the way, so that they can pull out tactical manouvers in battle and obey commands.
When 1st army has crossed euphrates, it will continue moving southeast against the Medean forces there. 1st army won't stand much of a change againt medean army there, being outnumbered and largely composed of ill-trained levies. Thus the 1st army's goal is not to defeat enemy in battle, but to delay their advance in by creating a threat to the enemy. Spread rumors that 10,000 fierce, bloodthirsty hittite warriors joined our army just to get a chance to kill Medeans. To reinforce this view, march our troops around in more loose formations than normally so it would seem that there are more of them, and every night when my army camps near the enemy army light additional campfires for 10,000 men. This seemingly huge army should make the Medean commander hesitate, and maybe even avoid battle. At least he would not be so keen to engage in a battle.

Now we leave 1st army to distract enemy and take a look what 2nd army is doing right now.

About at the same time when 1st army start it's distractions, the Dillmunese expeditionary force should have arrived at Ur, and the River fleet should have routed and destroyed the enemy river boats. If the latter however did not succeed as planned, use the 30 dillmunese galleys to reinforce our river fleet and destroy the enemy fleet.
Anyhoo, by this time the Tigris should be under our control, and the medean army should be running out of supplies due our blockade at the river tigris. The next step will be the annihilation of said enemy army. Plan is this:

Our river fleet and it's marines create several feint landings to distract the enemy while the main invasion force, 2nd army, lands at the southern tip of the delta between euphrates and tigris. The distractions should give 2nd army enough time to get itself on shore before Medeans manage to intercept.
Then, second army starts to advance north, it's goal being to engage enemy army and destroy it together with 1st army. When 2nd army makes it's landing, it will likely draw away the medean army from north where it was being distracted by 1st army. When medeans withdraw their army, 1st army will start following it closely. So, when 2nd army finally makes contact with the medean army, 1st army will also be there threatening enemy rear. Then force the enemy into pitched battle by manouvering our armies in such positions that medeans cannot escape.

What comes for the battle itself, the best way to fend off the enemy Khalishada infantry is to stop them with phalanx. Regardless how agile they might be, penetrating a phalanx formation by attacking directly to it's front is extremely difficult, and will result in insane casulties. Even if they are trained for it. So, organise our army into one battle line (I'm not using oblique tactics), and place the Katarakti infantry to the center of our army in 12-ranks deep formation (in that depth they can easily fend off the enemy infantry efen if they penetrate first few ranks), and place the new katarakti's with swords in to the first few ranks. Spearmen will be divided to protect the flanks of the phalanx, while chariots and archers are placed behind the main line.

The 1st phase of the battle starts when the armies engage in melee. Our phalanx will try to stay as organised as it can and avoid breaking the formation and so make penetrating the phalanx harder. At the same time our archers will concentrate their barrage on the enemy with the help of spotters. It will take enemy considerable time and casulties before they can penetrate even the first few ranks of the formation.
2nd phase of the battle starts when the enemy manages to get into close contact with the first few ranks of our phalanx. When it happens, we will use our chariots will flank the enemy battle line and charge it from the sides. The chariots charge will also act as an signal to the first army to start their charge against enemy rear. Enemy will be completely encircled and destroyed.

Eastern campaign:
When the enemy army has been destroyed all the lands west of tigris should be under our control, as well as the river itself. The goal is to liberate the Urrian territories which medeans currently occupy. Our whole military will be committed to this campaign, save parts of the river fleet which are required to prevent medeans from crossing Tigris.
The Invasion will begin with feint landings. These feints will be done from the persian gulf to the occupied eastern province, and this is aimed to lure the enemy army there to counter the invasion. Once the enemy armies start to get closer the landing zones, evacuate our forces from there and launch the real invasion. It will be done about 100km north of the gulf and the objective is to quickly advance inland, cut off the supply routes of medean army in the south at the gulf's coast. The medean army, even though it will likely outnumber mine, will be in major disadvantage: it cannot feed it's troops and the way to north is blocked by my army, while any possible routes to sea is blocked by the navy. They could try to go around my army, but scout the enemy movements well so that our generals can manouver our army into correct position to stop them. So, the only way how the enemy could save itself would be to force pitched battle against my army.
Now, the aces are in my hands. In this case as defending force I can choose the site of the battle. Place my army on high ground, and dig the ground in front of them full of obstacles to cause extra casulties to the enemy, like moats, concealed pits filled with wooden sticks etc. Be imaginative. Organise my army as shown in the western campaign. Once the impetuosity of enemy charge is gone, flank them with our chariots and use the same "phalanx pushing" tactic
I used last turn. Enemy army will be easily routed, and to prevent them from rallying pursue them to their camp and dispatch it.

Once enemy army is defeated, liberate all of the occupied Urrian territory and consolidate our gains.

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Total Spending points: 5 ( economy: 5/0/1, -1 spending point to Medes)
- The XXX are providing me with technology of Iron, sending enough advisors smiths etc. so that I can produce Iron age units this turn. Note this when calculating my new units. (One caravans arrives through arabian desert, while another travels around it.) This is a secret agreement, so don't reveal XXX name in the update. The northern barbarians should also send some of the swords and smiths they capture to us.
- use 2 eco.points to build 40 river boats ( 2 x 20 (iron age production))
- use 2 eco.points to recruit 4,000 Katarakti infantry ( 2 x size 2 x 1,000 = 4,000). All new Katarakti's will have additional thrusting sword to counter enemy UU's.
- use 1 eco.point to recruit 2,000 swordsmen ( 1 x size 2 x 1,000 = 2,000)

Total army size: 6,850 Katarakti infantry, 2,000 swordsmen, 300 chariots, 450 archers, 100 axemen, 2,700 hittite spearmen.
Total navy size: 58 river boats.

Deal: Announce to all my forces that the northern tribes are our allies and friendly. Give them their share of the loot.

Domestic stuff:

Relocate goverment in the dilmunese capitol. It will act as an temporary capitol for Ur.

The King Sargon will be marrying the Dilmunese heir this turn. Once the current king of dillmun dies, the sargon has the right to claim dilmunese throne, but there will likely be other heirs to claim his throne, which must be "removed" to make Sargon the only heir. Send spies to infiltrate the households of the other heirs as servants, and once the King of dilmun dies, these spies will kill the heirs using some poison which would make the death look natural (like heart attack, or some diseace. In the latter case, poison also other members of the household to make it look like epidemy.). Once the heirs are dead, make agreements (promise them good offices and such) with the several most influential nobles in the country and gain their support to back up Sargon's power and to prevent rebellions by opportunistic warlords/nobles. Once Sargons power is consolidated, he will be sole ruler of both Ur and Dilmun, and his heirs will also rule both nations. Note however that these nations will not be merged into one grand empire, yet.

Military stuff:

Armygroups:
1st army: 850 Katarakti infantry, 1,000 hittite spearmen, 3 river boats.
2nd army: 6,000 Katarakti infantry, 1,500 swordsmen, 300 chariots, 450 archers, 1,000 hittite spearmen
River Fleet: 55 river boats. 500 swordsmen, 100 axemen and 700 hittite spearmen as marines. It will mean roughly 22 additional men on each ship, and as original ships have a crew of about 50 men, it will increase the amount of marines by nearly 50% on each ship.

Map: http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/205/urbattleplan11cj0.png

River Fleet:

The river fleet has the essential task to disable the Medean fleet. The medeans likely think that we cannot afford to spend much on our fleet, and don't know about our iron age capabilites. Thus it is likely that the medean river force will be about the same size or smaller when compared to our fleet. We will rely on our additional marines and superior tactics to bring victory.

The tactic is same as before.

Strategy is to sail upstream the river Tigris and engage the enemy navy there, destroy it and prevent any enemy forces from crossing the river to the western bank of Tigris.

1st Army:

The 1st army will be positioned at the delta between euphrates and tigris. Their task is to fend off any medean attempts to cross the river. Use the 3 river boats to scout the enemy positions and to find out where they are building rafts. When the location is found, make QUICK raids to destroy as many rafts as possible and then retreat before Medeans can counter. This will however only slow down their landing. Prepare a good positions from where to defend the landings zone (it should be easy to guess once we know where the medeans build their rafts) and fill the shores with sharp wooden sticks which would stick through the bottom of their rafts and injure careless soldiers. This will slow down their landing enough so that my troops can assemble themselves and counterattack.

It is just as likely that they cross the river at the barbarians territory to the north. Send some scouts to the area and work with the locals to learn about possible invasion there in time to counter.

Another possibility is that the enemy marchers along the western bank of euphrates all the way to persian gulf. This area is now strategically unimportant due the goverment being relocated in dilmun, so just harass the medean supply lines by making quick raids with river boats. Once the enemy reaches the gulf, organise counterattack with dilmunese garrisons and while dilmunese attack from south, 1st army lands behind the enemy and strikes their rear.

Overall task for 1st army is to slow the enemy advance in the areas west of tigris, and extract high casulties on the enemy. It is not likely we will hold this area, but anyway put up a good fight.

2nd army:

The second army will be delivering the (hopefully) desicive blow on the Medeans. Medeans are likely going to launch their main attack towards the persian gulf near tigris, while sending smaller army to invade the new armenia.
Instead of defending our lands agaisnt the medean main attack, we will concentrate the whole 2nd army against their smaller force sent to conquer armenia. Assuming that the Medeans won't get their hands on iron, they can only produce weapons for 3,000-4,000 men in the eastern section of their empire, gathering an army of 5,000-6,000 men alltogether in the east. They can only spare only 1,000-2,000 men to attack armenia, and our 9,000 men army should not have any trouble to crush this force. In the battle, use Katarakti to bind them into battle while spearmen, swordsmen and chariots encircle this force. Leave a small way through which the enemy could theoretically escape, because if they don't have any way to run they will fight fiercely to the death. But if we leave them a way to escape, they will rout and then they can be easily cut down with minimal casulties.

Once that Medean army is destroyed, we will make a large scale manouver through the southern lands of Medes to strike the rear of the main enemy army and cut off it's supply and retreat route. Like last turn's "eastern campaign", prevent the enemy from foraging food by attacking their foraging parties and take a good positions in a high ground. They could try to go around my army, but scout the enemy movements well so that our generals can manouver our army into correct position to stop them. So, the only way how the enemy could save itself would be to force pitched battle against my army. And this time they will be outnumbered, about 4,000 men against my 8,000.

PLAN B: if the enemy somehow manages to secure tigris, they could retreat with their ships. In this case, attack and destroy the enemy before they get the chance to withdraw.

The tactic for the major battle is to place our Katarakti in deep formation at the center and hittites to protect it's flanks, while swordsmen and chariots will form the "Flanking forces". When the armies engage, Katarakti will tie down the enemy main forces at the center while chariots and swordsmen move to strike the enemy flanks. Use chariots in spearhead formation to break up the enemy formations and create gaps through which the swordsmen can infiltrate the enemy formations and use their swords to maximum effect. Enemy wings will soon break under the pressure (their formations were shattered in the charge to their flanks, rendereing them unable to continue effective resistance) and rout. Send couple dozen chariots to pursue them, while the main parts of the flanking forces will move to the rear of enemy center and attack it from behind (leave small retreat route to the enemy, to prevent "fight to the death") . At the same time the Katarakti phalanx will start "pushing" the enemy (I've described this method couple turns ago). The enemy center, seeing it's flanks fleeing and being pressured from all sides, will break and rout. Once the battle comes to this, it is over. Our swordsmen and chariots will cut down the fleeing enemy and then advance to disperce enemy camp, slaughtering those enemy troops which managed to flee from battlefield.

After this battle, Medeans won't have an army to protect their mainland. We will exploit the lack of their troops to the greatest effect by dividing our army in couple smaller groups and then quickly invading their core, each group sent after different important target (city/production area) so that we can conquer large amount of land in very little time. The goal is to conquer all Medean lands east of tigris as fast as possible.
When we arrive at the medean capitol, show no mercy to it's inhabitants. Torture the men until they are dead and rape their women ten times before crucifying them. Once the city is pillaged, burn it down and salt the ground so that nothing will ever grow on the spot.

I'm adding siege tactics here, use them on each city.

Siege tactics:

First try to capture the cities by sudden assault. Under cover of supporting fire from archers, some soldiers would form into a tortoise formation - holding their shields above their heads so that they overlapped to form a roof strong enough to deflect all but heaviest missiles - and undermine the wall with picks and crowbars. Another group would set ladders against the rampart and fight their way to the top, while yet another group would be ramming the gate. However, if the assault fails, siege the city and construct a rampart and several moats around it to prevent enemy from breaking out. Also start undermining the enemy walls to make them collapse, and use catapults and other siege weaponry (built at the site) to bombard the city with flaming missiles.

If there is a enemy force coming to relieve the city, build a another wall around the city, this time the defences (moats, traps etc.) facing outwards. This will help to repulse the enemy relief force.

The sieged city will be given an option to surrender, and if they do so the population will be left intact. However, if the city does not surrender before the battering ram first time rams into the city gates, the city will lose it's option of surrendering and once city is taken, the whole population of the city will be slaughtered or sold to slavery. This will give a warning of what will happen to those who oppose Sumer.

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jalnes update when i joined said:

Total Spending points: 6 (economy: 4/0/2)
- new UU - Katarakti infantry. Highly trained and disciplined warriors, who are armed with 5 meters long pike and have large tower-shaped shield strapped on their left arm to offer protection. They fight in phalanx formation. Replaces spearmen.
- use 2 eco.points to recruit 1,000 chariots. ( 2 ep x size 2 x 250 = 1,000 )
- use 4 eco.points to recruit 8,000 Katarakti infantry. ( 4 ep x size 2 x 1,000 = 8,000 )

If Medes attacks me, use my navy and small amount of marines to make hit-and-run attacks from the rivers against their supply lines and to prevent them from crossing rivers. Gather my full army against their invading force and confront it in one decisive battle. In battle, position the Katarakti infantry in the center and use chariots to protect it's flanks. Kataraktis can easily defeat the inferiorily equiped enemy infantry.

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Lord_Iggy said:

Yes, I didn't know that Dilmun was an Urrian ally there. If it hadn't been for that, I would have won on the first or second turn.

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Kal'thzar said:

Iggy, the trick is to not talk about how badly your annoyed with this tun of events (For instance, my playing of France in...I forget the Das NES number, but I got royally kicked)

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NES2 V, that's what I meant by five. Your allies were mainly Thlayli (Persia), and the HRE (andis), and maybe you could count me (India), IIRC.

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Iggy, the trick is to not talk about how badly your annoyed with this tun of events (For instance, my playing of France in...I forget the Das NES number, but I got royally kicked)

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North King said:

NES2 V, that's what I meant by five. Your allies were mainly Thlayli (Persia), and the HRE (andis), and maybe you could count me (India), IIRC.

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Holy Roman Empire [of the French Nation]
Capital: Paris
Ruler: Emperor Julien II/Insane_Panda
Government: Elective Semi-Parliamentary Absolute Monarchy
Centralization: Unitary
Tech. Level: Early Industrial Age
Army (Training): 105 divisions (Elite+3), 57 Foreign Legion corps (Elite+4), 1 irregular division
Navy (Training): 120 squadrons (Elite+3)
Economy: Monopoly (+6)
Size (points required): Gargantuan (6)
Leadership (Military/Civilian): Brilliant+2/Good
Infrastructure: Great
Education: Academic
Living Standards: Splendid
Culture: Hyperpatriotic
Confidence: Nation Personified+2
Projects: Noveau Paris (+1 Infrastructure, +1 Living Standards) (Done!), Le Canal de L'Egyptien (+canal, +1 Economy) (Done!), Project Unité (+1 Culture, +1 Infrastructure, +1 Economy) (Done!), Sciences-Po (+2 Civilian Leadership, +1 Education) (Done!), Leviathan (SECRET) (1/10)
Nation Background:

FORIEGN POLICY:

-The days of foriegn adventurism, atleast for the next few years, are over. Instead, now that we have crushed the opposition, the Empire is to focus on the development of a lasting system of alliances designed to protect the Empire and isolate its enemies. We will do this in the following ways:

1.) Foster lasting ties with the nations of Eastern Europe. The HRE must, if Russia's influence in the region is to never ascend to pre-war levels, create and keep strong alliances with the Kingdoms of Poland, Hungary, and Romania. Favor, in our diplomatic dealings, Poland and Romania, incase tensions erupt between the three nations. Reduce trade restrictions with these nations, and send a healthy flow of advisors, both economic and military, to these nations, in order to help them rebuild and recover from years of foriegn oppression. Provide the Polish Government with military technology, and also give to them the more obsolete portions of the French fleet as they are decommissioned. Romania's ports shall continue to serve the Imperial Navy as the headquarters of our Black Sea Fleet. (as per the terms of the Treaty of Paris). Finland shall do much the same, by providing France a port in the Baltic. In exchange, give these nations additional trade benefits in their dealings with the Empire. All in all, maintain a protective stance over the nations of Eastern Europe, and seek to counter any Russian attempts at rebuilding their influence in the region by tying these nations politically, economically, and defensively to the Empire.

2.) Counter the growing power and influence of Dar-al-Islam. Dar-al-Islam, though technically an ally, presents a real threat to the Holy Roman Empire's assets throughout the world, and the balance of power. (Russia, Germany, and Portugal were all allies at one point. ) To do this, the Empire must re-assert its presence in Sinai, Karachi, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Turn the Sinai colony, and L'Canal de l'Egyptien into a naval fortress - establishing it as a major base for the Imperial Navy, whilst creating a network of defenses around the canal to prevent an easy attack. Station a large portion of troops here aswell. In Karachi, do much the same, turning it into an important military and economic base, while fortifying its defenses. Also, secretly support the various separatist movements throughout Dar-al-Islam, focusing especially on the resentful Egyptians and the Hindu. Maintain a strong naval presence in the Indian Ocean all the while, making sure, when it is capable, to maintain within the ocean a naval force which is always larger than the total fleet of Dar-al-Islam. In Europe, improve our relations with the Byzantine Empire, (this should be much easier with the elimination of the Papal States as a seperate state - See Domestic Orders) and use the Byzantine's growing influence to counter that of Dar-al-Islam. Attempt to provoke tensions between Russia and Dar-al-Islam aswell.

3.) Counter the growing power and influence of the United Kingdom. We must do this, however, less overtly than what is being done against Dar-al-Islam. Instead of directly fortifying our possesions against Britain, use the power of another nation to counter Britain's rising power - the Union of Scandanavia. Maintain, atleast officially, our alliance with Britain, whilst propping up the Scandanavian government with decommissioned ships, aswell as economic aid (in the form of trade packages and agreements). These efforts, when combined, should do much to distract the English from establishing themselves as a world power, and force them instead to drain their resources.

4.) Continue to support the growing power and influence of Japan. Japan, in spite of its distance from the Empire (or more likely, because of that distance) is our strongest ally. Continue to support the Japanese government diplomatically as it expands its power accross the Pacific. Japans continued ascendency shall also negate any Russian attempts at reviving their own power in the far east.
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DOMESTIC POLICY:

- Move to finally smash the insurgency in Spain, using the tried and true methods of establishing control over all urban centers, developing these centers considerably whilst using the military to crush all traitors ruthlessly. Continue the economic development of Spain and of Iberia (turning Madrid into an EC, first and foremost) (BARCELONA SHOULD BE AN EC ASWELL.)

- Continue and finish the re-construction efforts within Alscae-Lorraine and the Carolinas, following the methods which were induced in the previous years. Establish a considerable flow of money into these regions, and provide tax incentives for businesses which invest in the region. Also, continue to sell land at a cheap price to those who wish to develop it. Re-establish the cotton industry throughout the South, diversifying into other such crops as legumes and tobacco aswell, whilst steadily building the shipbuilding and trading industry along the coast. In Alscae-Lorraine, encourage the continued growth of industrial factories and textile mills.

- Once we have decided the regions of the Americas to be considerably re-constructed, begin giving the French americans a greater level of freedom - eventually giving them self-governance in the form of the United Provinces of French America. The United Provinces (composing of the various Colonial provinces of Quebec, Acadia, Nouveau Bretagne (OTL New England), Virginie, and Carolina) shall have complete soveriegnty over all domestic affairs, yet subservient in foriegn affairs. Establish the state in order to downsize our Empire. (The level of independence given is much the same as OTL British Dominions, except perhaps a little weaker). Maintain our control over the Carribean, and use it as a naval base from which to exert our influence over the Americas.

- Establish our control over the realms of the Former Holy League. Due this in response to the republican insurrections which are beginning to establish themselves within Italy, and due to the fact that the Pope, seeing the influence of the Holy Roman Empire grow and establish itself as the protector of Christendom and western civilization, believes that the realms of the Holy League should be united with the realms of the Empire. Once Italy is under our control (if uprisings start, crush them as we did in Spain), integrate it into the Prefectural system, establishing a Prefecture of Italy and giving this prefecture representation within the Imperial Senate. The Pope, meanwhile, will be given a territory within Rome itself (Which consists primarily of the area surrounding St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican City), though the Empire shall maintain control over the rest of the city and indeed, the country.

- Concerning succession: I expect Julien to die during the BT (though I would not be suprised if he did not die, as he would be only in his early to mid 60s), or atleast, be fast approaching death as the BT ends. Therefore, the question of succession will need to be properly addressed, and Julien-François (his real name, as opposed to Emperor Julien), being a very pragmatic man, knows that he shall need a strong successor if the Empire should survive. The structure of the Imperial government has been set up, in part, to give the Empire a deal of self-sustainability, yet inevitably, a strong ruler is required. The laws of succession (primarily Salic in nature) allow for the Senate to appoint any Bourbon (now declared the Julien Dynasty) to the throne, yet it is the practice that the King (and indeed, it shall be required by law) creates, after 10 years of reign, a list of possible successors (of which one must be a Bourbon to be placed on the list - The Senate shall first and foremost review the list when making its decisions concerning succession to the throne.) Non-Bourbons are only allowed to be elected if they are approved beforehand by the Senate for induction into the King's list of possible successors. Julien-François' firstborn son, Valérien Emile Francois de Bourbon (b.1744) is his primary successor, and features firstly on the list of possible candidates for succession - the Emperor attaching a note declaring that Valérien is indeed the most wise choice, in his opinion. Julien, knowing the importance of succession, will have raised Valérien to acscend the throne all of his life. Throughout his childhood, the Emperor has seen to raise him not in France, but abroad. The first ten years of his life, naturally, were spent in France, yet afterwards, what followed was a nomadic life, first starting in Catalonia, where he was raised by his uncle, the former Prince of Catalonia (having now given up that title as the Kingdom became Empire). After Catalonia, the prince returned to Paris, attending to his schooling in the prestigious Sciences-Po. From Paris, he moved to Germany, and from Germany (where he was a deputy in the Prefect's Ministry), he moved to Japan, following the military attaches which frequented the country from France. It was in Japan that he worked in the state-department, eventually filling the post of Deputy Ambassador to the Japanese Empire. All the while, he maintained a long correspondence with his father, yet did not see him often (Julien thinking it best to leave his son out of his shadow, and instead allow him his own life by his own principles). Valerien, as a result of his nomadic life, is very much an worldly man - a worldliness which has left him quite empathetic to peoples of all nationalities, yet perhaps somewhat distant from his own France (though not by much). He is very well read, and a very hard worker, though does not have much experience in the field of combat. He is fluent in Spanish, German, French, and Japanese - his Chinese, meanwhile is passable. Valerien is to be the chosen heir, and once declared emperor, he will become Emperor Valerien.

- The crisis of Inflation, especially the counterfeiting, has the potential to destroy the economy, and thus, the foundation of the Empire. Emperor Julien understands the power, and the necessity to protect the economy of the Empire - the Empire's lifeblood. Therefore, the following measures will be enacted to ensure the cessation of this crisis, and the destruction of the counterfeiting schemes:

1.) Establish an Imperial Customs Service. The duty of this customs service shall be to regulate what goes in and out of the Empire, aswell as who goes in and out, to a certain extent. Specifically target the customs agents against Russian and Brandenburger nationals within our Empire, keeping tabs on their activities and business dealings. The Customs Service shall also have the duty of screening all Russian and Brandenburger trade shipments within the Empire. (also extend surveillance to the English imports and nationals, though less intense than (and rather limited compared to) those efforts against the Russians and Brandenburgers - we suspect that the English could have a hand in this, though are not sure)

2.) Introduce a series of measures to confuse the counterfeiters. First, create an official document which details changes to be made to the currency, in order to decrease our susceptibility to counterfeiting. This document shall include a whole list of security measures and obvious changes designed to stop the counterfeiters - the document shall also state the dates which this new currency shall first go into print. The Imperial Customs Service is to bribe several members of the underground into releasing this information, posing it as real, and selling it to the highest bidders. Once this is done, do not make any changes to our currency, and wait for the counterfeits to begin appearing on the open market - meanwhile, Imperial Customs agents are to track those which bid on the information, and those which the counterfeit money can be sourced to. Do not make any arrests yet. The counterfeiters, with this printing, shall have wasted a lot of resources, but we are not done. Once this printing is made, and the counterfeiters realise their mistake, wait for a period of time (a few months) and release a new set of information into the black markets, stating that this information contains the accurate information, and include on this new document reasons for delaying the printing of the first set of measures. Do not print any money, and continue to accumulate information regarding the conspiracy. Release the information a third time (with considerable revisions over all security measures from the last documents) (they are likely to fall for it twice, but the third time, they will not) - and then proceed to print it. Once the new money begins circulation, immediately descend upon those which we have evidence against, arresting them.

3.) Establish counterfeiting as a crime of the first degree, and any which are caught in the act are immediately convicted to death.​

- Continue the consolidation of the French Economy (ensuring that it stays at the balanced level of Monopoly/Economic Powerhouse) through the following means:

1.) The establishment of an Imperial Reserve System, which is charged with the duty of controlling and regulating the Empire's banks and monetary policy. It shall also centralize the power which the government has over the banking and monetary policy. The Imperial Reserve shall be declared "essential to the common good, and essential to the well being of the economy" (as it stands, the monetary and banking policy of the empire is a collection of agreements and laws build upon successive agreements and laws lasting back to the middle ages - this is unacceptable, and provides in the Empire a central weakness - therefore, as with all things which pose a threat to the Empire, it must be destroyed, or atleast, changed beyond recognition. We would annex it if we could, but that would prove difficult ), and the inflationary crisis of the 1750's should provide a strong impetus for support. The Imperial Reserve Headquarters shall be stationed in Paris, and there shall be 5 Regional Reserve headquarters in each of the prefectures. The IRS p) shall have the power to regulate interest rates (once the system is standardized accross the board) at which banks borrow money from the Imperial Bank, institute standard practice for the various other non-national banks throughout the Empire, and control the money supply and the value of money (in relation to the gold standard), and buy and sell government securities. Overall, the creation of the IRS should do much to centralize and streamline the Empire's banking policies, and thus create a much more open (and reliable) enviroment for commerce.

2.) The establishment of an income tax. The Empire, due to its immense size, can no longer rely on a system of sales taxes and tarriffs to raise constant revenue for the maintaining of the military and all basic services. Therefore, an income tax must be established (the first income tax was established in Britain in 1798, so I do not assume this to be unreasonable). The tax established is to be a progressive one, with more tax being charged as income increases. The lowest incomes of the economic ladder shall barely be taxed at all, whilst the incomes of the rich (all incomes over the relative equal to OTL 250,000 USD.) shall be charged at a flat rate of 20%. The Income Tax is to be charged on the following 5 schedules

- Schedule A (tax on income from Imperial land)
- Schedule B (tax on commercial occupation of land)
- Schedule C (tax on income from public securities)
- Schedule D (tax on trading income, income from professions and vocations, interest, overseas income and casual income)
- Schedule E (tax on employment income)

This income tax, once established, should greatly increase the revenue of the Imperial Government, whilst allowing us to lower the more unpopular tarriffs and sales taxes.

3.) Further establishing our monopoly on European, and thus, world, trade. The Empire controls the centers of trade and industry within Europe - indeed, the most productive and developed regions in the world, and shall work hard to push our control further, and to expand the benefits which the Empire recieves from its economic predominance. Establish firm regulatory laws concerning the quality of goods produced, abolish obsolete trade practices, and streamline the various regional industries by encouraging the growth of larger conglomearates. This should all, combined, turn the factories of Western Europe into the workshops of the world - producing everything which the Empire needs (with raw-materials provided from the colonies and from the vast base in Europe) and everything which the world wants to buy. Furthermore, economically muscle our way into free-trade agreements with the smaller states of the world, specifically, the Byzantine Empire, Hungary, Romania, Poland, the Union of Scandanavia, and Finland - this with the goal of establishing an imperial trade blanket over much, if not all, of Europe, and negating the influence of foriegn competitors (namely, Russians and englishmen). In essence, establish a continental system, though without clear restrictions on the trade with foriegners - simply make such trade unprofitable when such can be had from the Empire much cheaper, and much better (aswell as the promise of friendship with the Empire). Use our navy to establish our naval pre-eminence on all shipping lines. Economic dominance is the key to our Hegemony - thus, we must work hard to preserve it, and indeed, expand it.​

MILITARY ORDERS

- Establish clear expansion brackets so that our army does not dwindle in size or effeciency. Maintain our large, yet well trained armed forces. The army shall be kept, within a few ten thousand troops, at the size of 1,200,000 Regulars and 600,000 Foriegn Legionnaires. (120 Divisions, and 60 FL Corps, respectively.) Training standards, meanwhile, are to be kept at extremely high disciplines. The importance of the Navy, meanwhile, cannot be stressed enough. The navy is to maintain its size of 120 Squadrons, and these squadrons are to undergo intense drilling every year (to maintain its highly professional quality), with squadrons being replaced as needed if numbers slowly dwindle. The Navy will be charged with patroling the Empire's oceans, and it must due so with ruthless effeciency (move to readily supress all Pirate threats). The Military of France is to engage in an immense system of wargames accross the Empire and the colonies every year, simulating new doctrines and analyzing their effect on the nature of war. Also, establish the Imperial Marshallate as the organization which governs and commands the military (much like any General Staff).

- Continue fueling research into various military technologies which require researching. (machine guns, breech-loaders, and steel battleships). Project Leviathan should be done within a decade (if not faster, especially as we have a propensity for rushing most projects). Once Leviathan is done, begin to immediately produce a number of these behemoths to cement our naval superiority. (Our goal is to build a fleet of 20 of these (or whatever number seems reasonable, though 20 seems quite reasonable) by the end of the BT). These battleships, or, Leviathans, as they shall be called (the first ship being the IWS Leviathan), shall be designated as flagships of our various fleets, and establish groups of them in all theaters (the most concentrated ones being the Atlantic and the Indian oceans). These ships shall further cement our naval and military superiority.

COLONIAL ORDERS

- Expand vigorously in Africa. Expand especially in the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions, cementing our control over western Africa. Also expand heavily in Mozambique and Nambia. However, be careful not to involve ourselves in colonial tensions.

- Expand vigorously in the South Pacific (well, in Nouvelle Gaulle and Nouvelle Corse and Sardagne). Establish the former as a penal colony, and the latter as a far-off naval outpost. Use the growing English presence in the region to rationalise the need for expansion here.

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Same here. It's really unnecessary, unless you are a mod who inordinately punishes simple order senders.

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