La France Longtemps de Phase! (Long Live France!)

This is a story based off of my mod, Reconquer the World (v. 1.6). It's a real world mod, somewhat simialar to TETurkhan, etc. and I've added new units, governments, techs, civs, etc. But you'll figure it out as we go. So, without further ado...

Modern historians tell us that the great nation of France began somewhere around 4050 BCE. People had lived in the region for a long, time, since around 7500 BCE, but were now beginning to settle down. As rulers fought for power, one tribe finally united them all under one great tribe, the Franks.


France was a delicate cradle, surrounded by hostile nations, some powerful, others less. The ruler of France, Leader Joakin I, appointed a warrior division to go seek out and observe enemies, and attempt to meet and befriend possible allies.

Utterly fortunately, the first other tribe met was small and agreed to join the nation of France, supplying them with a settler.


The second tribe met by the French warriors was called the Kelts (or Celts). Their leader was entirely unwilling to join the French nation, but hammered out a treaty that greatly benefitted both tribes.




However, Joakin's good luck faded after that. The next neighbors they met, the Etruscans, were hostile and sent out a band of warriors to confront the French soldiers. However, the well-trained French warriors dispersed the barbarians, and invaded their small city, taking all of the city's riches.

France was now a small, but budding nation, laying the groundroots for one of the most reckonable civilizations in history...

This update was fairly short, but the next will be longer (I have like 10 pics to use for the next one).


Any comments, questions, random thoughts, concerns, and constructive criticism is heartily welcomed.

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I look forward to following this one.

Good good good. The next chapter is about halfway done, so expect it by tomorrow or Monday.

Your thread titles means nothing...

Long Live France = Vive la France

Steph said:

Your thread titles means nothing...

Long Live France = Vive la France

Click to expand...

*Shrugs*
I don't speak much French, so I used a translation from dictionary.com...

OK. Note to self: do not use dictionary.com if I need a correct translation .

Did you play on a custom map or random map?

Your start location is quite good.

It's a world map with correct start locations. One reason I like France is because it has a nice start.

That last update was most certainly a teaser. This will be a story told through "stuff."
Including...

• Pics
• Wikipedia Entries
• Personal Points of View
• Collective Points of View
• Contemporary Cartography
• Period Cartography
• Etc.

So, this one will be in personal point of view with a Wikipedia article at the end.


The two regiments under his Generalship Philippe I of France trekked slowly through the seemingly endless forests, attempting to locate the base of operations of their enemy, the Etruscans. The small force of 2,000 was vastly outnumbered and they knew it. Still, they had better discipline and were much calmer in battle.

So, they trudged on, through the unfamiliar and barren land, vigilant for any movement at all in the trees. It had been a tough couple weeks. Rations were low. Tempers were high. Not a good combination.

Odo was just as fatigued if not even more so than the men he was supposed to show leadership toward. He was exhausted from trying to manage his men and keep firm and strong. Morale was low, and twice he had had to threaten men to force them to keep moving forward.

Ironically, his catchphrase would be adopted by the survivors of the impeding barbarian battle, and would be written into French folklore forever. In an attempt to gain international buyers, a Japanese company called Toiotrois (toy-o-twa) by the French (Toyota in Japanese) would coin it as their own motto.

Odo wasn’t sure how he could boost the mood of his troops. They were down in spirits. Only the fear that stopping would make them sitting ducks kept them moving. Many were about ready to collapse, all energy reserves gone. Odo himself was in a horrible mood.

Without any warning whatsoever, the Etruscans were upon them. The stealthy fighters had crept up on them with the slightest sound, unheard to the loudly marching army. Without any notice, thousands of barbarian swordsmen poured out upon the French soldiers, showering them with javelins and arrows.

Odo’s adrenaline began pumping through him. He barked out orders, yelling for his troops to manoeuvre into defensive positions and prepare for a fight. Incredibly, they needed no order. Within seconds, the entire company he commanded was prepared to defend themselves. Odo himself stepped up to the battle line, prepared to help fight the enemy.

As the swordsmen came crashing on them, the lines wavered, but held. Helped by Odo, they stemmed the tide of fanatical barbarians, forcing them to fight hand-to-hand with the unit. As Odo thrashed forth with his axe, he hacked and slashed, forcefully. He was pretty sure that if his men kept their calm, they would emerge victorious.

Then, reality crashed upon them. After the first wave, came a second, third and fourth of crushing and seemingly endless Etruscan swordsmen. Arrows and spears fell like rain, and men around Odo began crashing to the ground, many dead or dying. Screaming and the horrible stench of blood filled the air as his lines and the lines of the rest of the army gradually began to fall inwards, forming a small circle of survivors. The few archers the French had were not enough to stem the tide, and Odo realized that all was lost.

Although several thousand enemy swordsmen lay dead, not enough Frenchmen were left to stem the ever-crushing tide of Etruscans.

Suddenly, Odo felt something hit him hard somewhere under his shoulder. He looked, a long stem was poking out of his body, and blood was streaming. He felt more crimson flowing from his mouth. Things began to become fuzzy and sounds were reduced. All he could hear was the thudding from his ears.

Odo fell on his back, hands holding him up crab-style. As the world began to really spiral, he saw a man dressed in furs standing over him, a long spear in his hands. Odo saw in plummet downward, slamming into his chest and spattering him with scarlet blood. The world faded as Commander Odo fell to the ground, dead.

Paris soon heard of the bloodshed. Great Leader Louis II was furious and vowed to avenge his brave fighters. He pledged that the Etruscans responsible would be pounded to the ground until they begged for mercy…

Not long after King Louis II declared war on all Etruscans, his troops began gathering to mount a raid on two Etruscan encampments. This time, they gathered several thousand troops and prepared to attack the badly defended southern camp. But, Louis II also decided that the founding of a second major city in the empire was even more imperative.



After building up defenses in the new city of Orleans, he slowly began drawing up a few thousand more troops from both Paris and the new Orleans (and no, I'm not talking about the American city of New Orleans), and charged.

The attack was successful and the small city was pillaged, giving the French government quite a bit of money.


To top off the victory, French scientists discovered that bronze could be forged into a powerful weapon, allowing for more powerful troops in the field.


Louis II ordered the scientists to look into even more advanced forging techniques.

Despite the setbacks posed by the annoying Etruscans, France was poised to regain power and continue on her quest for eternal glory...
Period Map by Richar the Cartographer

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Nice. Looks crowded better get ready for war.

Well, yeah, it's Europe so it's gonna be crowded. I'm thinking of invading Rome first because the way I modded this, once they get going, they get better chariots (Equites, which are horseman, but still have attack 3, def. 1 like I modded chariots but move a whopping three moves a turn), their legionarres get +2 health (ouch!), and they have more powerful catapults.

I wanna nip them in the bud before they start owning everyone.

Expect an update this weekend, I'd say. Thanks for all the praise!

Good to get very interesting really fast then.

Good luck.

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, but I've got quite an update in the works. It'll be worth the wait.

Let's just say that heads will roll. Thousands, in fact.

For the following years, France met many new neighbors, some hostile, some friendly. France's view of the world around it was greatly changed. For years, they experienced great prosperity and growth.

They soon met a people who called themselves the Romans. They had a fairly developed culture, a fine economy, and posed a threat to the French Empire. The Leader mentally noted that one day soon, the Romans would have to be dealt with...




Soon, French scientists discovered how to weld iron into armor and weapons.



The French Leader decided it was necessary to gain access to this iron in able to be able to effectively combat enemies. So, he ordered the building of a new city where iron could be found.



Soon, the French Crown was formally introduced to the Northern Nederlanders. Their leader called himself William van Oranje, and he dealt fairly with the French. The two became fierce allies.



Soon, the French began gearing up their European Swordsmen, stationing them in various places around the empire.



However, the city of Paris, overcrowded, went into a state of civil disorder, which could only be remedied with the appointment of entertainers.



After, massing about 15,000 European Swordsmen, the French formally began their war with their enemy, the Romans...

The French, with their swordsmen, immediately invaded Italia, taking on spearmen who were escorting a settler.



The first attacks however, were repulsed astonishing the leadership. They continued their assault with veteran troops, finally taking down the spearmen, and taking 5,000 Roman slaves.





The current king, Louis, decided it was important to have allies in this war, so he contacted the Kelts, who lived near the Romans. He planned to gain an alliance and gain valuable aid in the war. Eventually, they struck two separate deals, gaining valuable technology and the alliance.





Plus, they got an audience with the recently discovered Greeks. They were cautious, but agreed to a deal in which they also declared war. It was the Grance Alliance, the French Coalitian against the meager Roman Confederation.

With their growing authority, the French were named the most powerful nation in the world!



The siege of Rome progresssed well, European Swordsmen slowly encircling the city.



Plus, with new books being written by French scholars, the first library was christened in Orleans.

Slowly, French catapults and other siege devices began to wear away at Roman resilience, crushing the fields where their grain was tilled from.



On a side note, Louis was introduced to the Queen of the Anglo tribe that had settled in the land called England. She was interested in the French culture and the two civilizations also became allies.



Meanwhile, on the front, French troops surrounded Rome, and the citizens began to starve. Repeated assaults began to wear them down. Thousands of French troops were being lost, but the Romans were clearly losing their footing.



Finally, after years and years, the Roman city fell.



There was celebration all about France. Cities declared holidays and flooded the streets. Patriotism and nationalism was the mood. The war was declared a complete success.

As usual, commentary is graciously welcomed.

Oh! And a notice. Since this difficulty is a bit lower than what I could probably manage to win on, I will make revolts more realistic. When I am in anarchy, and some cities are really angry and in super-disorder, what I will do is, gift the citie(s) or small region to a civilization like Rome who's only cities are way in the wilderness. I will bring them up to speed by gifts in technology.

Then, I will declare war and be forced to "regain the seceded areas."