Vanilla, small, continents (not small continents), king, russia.
(read a if it was a history channel documentary)
It was the first king game of ciVand it wasn't going too well. The year was 1905 and The russians had 1880 era tech, and where behind in other areas. They had only 5 cities (alot for how I usually play but as Russia that's bad). Ghandi had become a runaway monster, having killed off the mongols, all but 3 CS on the shared continent, and all but two persian cities deep in the southern tundras. Ghandi then turned his wanton aggresion at technologically inferior russians, hoping to crush the last major power on his continent. He marched across the almaty borders to the east west and the Russian boders to the west (a 9 tile stretch of land where out continent connects) With the first wave he brought 5 infantry and an AA gun, intending to take the city of Novgorad. To stand against him, was but a single rifleman, a few cossack divisions, two cannons, and novgorad itself. He pushed in, his proud armies laughing at the lack of border defense. That was when russian cannonfire struck. Over the hills, Cathrines cannons fired, striking his forward most men. The indian's where unmoved, taking 20% damage to only their front. Then, the stomping of hooves. It grew louder and louder, the sound resembling thunder. The mighty cossacks road over the hills, using the roads to navigate quickly over them. They wreaked havoc on the advancing indians. Though armed only with sword and rifle, the brave cossacks inflicted heavy losses on the unprepared indians, still rejoicing over the inefficiency of the cannon barrage. Before the year was out, two indian divisions lie dead in their camps, as the cossack retreated to lick their own considerible wounds. The following year, the indians advanced again, though more catiously than before. They expected the cossacks to be too battered from their previous raids to do any considerible damage. Again the outdated cannons struck the forward most units, and again the thunderous clomping of hooves grew nearer. But when the cossacks came into firing distance the indians where stunned into silence. Rather than facing a battered unit at only 2/3 streangth, they faced fresh divisions itching to charge into the fray. As it turns out, the russians had held two cossack divisions in reserve, knowing their previous 4 would need time to rearm and resupply.
Another of Ghandi's divisions fell as the cossacks faded into the steppes, howling victory cries. The next year the Indians (now at half streangth), pressed forward into the hills, now directly facing the Russian cannons. The cannons, led by general Hernan Cortez, stood their ground and fired at the encroaching Indians, not wantin to be pushed into the outskirts of Novgorad until they absolutly had to. The still weakened cossacks Flanked the forward Infantry and AA gun and crushed them, allowing the second cossack army to heal. By the end of the year however, Ghandi moved an additional 4 infantry divisions in, making his force nearly equal in strength to the army sent in 3 years ago. While the battle on the land was heating up, the war at sea was also raging. A fleet of 3 caravels, known as the "st. Petersburg Pirates" was making an array of hit and run attacks on indian infrustructure, killing off indian fishermen en masse, devastating the whaling industry, and slipping back out to sea before the much stronger Indian frigates could catch them. In the fourth year, another three men crossed the first line of steppe, bringing them within firing distance of the Cannons. Knowing the cossacks where too weak to hold them, the connons retreated into the forts adjacent to novgorad, leaving the rifleman in his powerful citadel, built in the 13th century by famed russian general, William the conquerer. The Indian reenforcements reached the front, as the first batch of artillery pressed againat the border.
The followin year, the Indians moved into firing distance of Novgorad, entering the last of the stepes before the forts of novgorad. The canons fired, as did the cities defensive guns, though the riflemen remained fortified. The Indians where then flanked by the now rejuvinated russian cavalry, now experienced in fighting in rough terrain. Ghandi's men took heavy cassualties, as the cossack tore into the exposed flanks. However, it was not all successes, as one green cossack division finished off the last survivors of the Indian 6th infantry division, it was quickly pinned down by an adjacent units cover fire. 1910 was a catostrophic year for the russians. The pinned cossack division was routed, and quickly crushed by the advancing enemy, and as a new wave of indian reenforcements arrived, the russians began to lose hope, knowing that every kill leads to two taking his place. At sea the pirates where getting pummeled, as costal cities began strikin back, and by the end of it, one of the pirates was sunk. For another 5 years the indian's continued their slow onslaught, disregarding huge losses as the russians simply could not replace the few they lost. The Indian artillery began to hit the city center, and the Infantry eventually overran the citadel, forcing the two now defenseless cannons to retreat behin the city. The cossacks, now battle hardened veterans, where slowly realising that the situation was bear hopeless, as their hit and run attacks wittled down their remaining strength. Then, just when all seemed lost, a massive cloud of dust apeared in the distance, growing closer and closer. When it came into view, the battered russian troops lifted their weary heads and cheered, renewed in vigor. While the war was raging, queen Cathrine was slowly but surely enlisting and conscripting new cossacks, building up 6 new divisions. As well, Russia's ally Khazakstan (Almaty) sent them a division o elite T-34 tanks, right off te assembly lines. With the new army, Ghandi's men where routed, Crushed, and the remnants pushed back to the Indian border. Ghandi was forced to sign a peace treaty in 1930, ending the war.
I really liked this particular game o civ, as it taught me properguerrilla warfare and the strength of cossacks, which allowed me to hold off, and eventually defeat a force that otherwise would have been able to easily curbstomp mine. Even though Ghandi would go on to win a space race victory, I still call this a moral victory.
