A Russian Tale

[mjj55409]

So I will try my first story/game report (more of a game report in this case)...

Playing as Catherine, Standard continent maps, Noble difficulty, No city razing selected, and space victory turned off.



The Russian settlers emerge from the forest and liked what they saw. This is a good spot for a camp. The river is a good source of fresh water, while giving access also to the sea. On the other side of the river lies a vast swath of forest. There are sheep and even elephants, both of which are bound to come in handy in the future.



Now, it is time to explore the surrounding world, and see if we can figure out how to put these animals to work.

Here is a look an the initial exploration of the area. Some good resources here. Even more elephants, marble, stone, corn. Plans are put into place to send out more settlers. One, north along the coast to secure the remaining elephants and marble. One, east for the flood plains and corn. And one, southeast for the stone.



As the Russians continued their exploration northward along the coast, they met another tribe, calling themselves the French.



The French have established a settlement to the Northeast, at what appears to be the tip of the smallish continent. The intial meeting witht the French is friendly, but the tribal leaders are well aware that competition for resources could prove severe.

 

[mjj55409]

A larger look at the resource picture of the majority of the continent:



The next period for the Russians was the expansion of settlements, mainly with an eye towarding securing more resources. A group was sent to the north, establishing St. Petersburg, securing the remaining elephants and the marble. Another was sent south of Moscow, founding Rostov on the coast just before the plains gave way to the tundra of the south. Rostov quickly went to work gaining access to the wild horses roaming the area. Novgorod was settled due east of Rostov on the opposite coast, giving the burgeoning society both a stone quarry and a copper mine.

As the tribal elders long ago feared, the French were quick to establish their own settlements in prime spots. On the Northeast spot with the flood plains and corn, Orleans was built. Also, on the river between Moscow and Novgorod, Lyons was established. Lyons was close enough to put the copper mines of Rostov at risk, though the natural creativity of the Russian people made the cultural boundaries strong.

The northern cities:


The southern cities:


This period of expansion was peaceful, the only fighting being done by the garrison of Rostov, fending off the barbarians coming up from the icy south. During this time, some fateful decisions were made by the Russian leadership. First, it was clear that conflict with the French was inevitable, so it would be best to be the first to prepare. With that in mind, effort was made to work the copper from the mines at Rostov into spears and axes. Also, priority was placed on the development of what Russian engineers called "siege engines," large catapults designed to bring down the defenses of cities.

 

[mjj55409]

While both the Russians and French were taking what they could peacefully, the Russians were developing a plan to subjugate the French. Pursuing military technologies at the expense of others, and making use of their natural resources of copper, horses, and elephants, Russia placed a premium on building a strong army.

In the Spring of 680AD, the Russians forces gathered outside of Lyons. During the buildup toward war, Russia treated France with respect. France was unsuspecting of the violence to come. As a consequence, Lyons was only lightly defended, one unit of spears and one of archers. The Russian plan was to strike at Lyons, and then move north toward Orleans and Paris, taking out the core French cities. That would leave the minor cities of Marseilles and Tours (the frozen fur trading post in the South) to be cleaned up. Even though the Russians have not been able to get a close look at Paris, it is expected the majority of the French troops are located in the capital.


Russian army gathers outside Lyons


Russian axemen charge the Lyons garrison

Lyons quickly falls to the Russians. The Russians forces hole up in Lyons to heal and wait for archery reinforcements to arrive from Moscow to secure the city.

During the battle of Lyons, Russian observers notice a French sword unit leaving the city to the south. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. When this was reported back to Moscow, however, Russian leaders took notice. They had heard vague tales of a substance stronger than copper, but Russian engineers had not yet discovered the technique of working with it. Clearly, the French had. Russia still felt that their elephants could deal with these new swords, but this news compelled them to push the war effort even faster.

After securing Lyons and picking up some reinforcements from the Novgorod garrison, the Russian army moves toward Orleans, destroying the French copper mines in route.

Meanwhile the French land two units of swords north of Novgorod for a counter-attack.


French galley

Attacking the French in the open plains, the Novgorod garrison has no problems dispatching the French.


Horse archers


Axemen

The French have Orleans a little better defended than Lyons, with two units each of spears and archers. Still no match for the Russian forces.


Russian army at the gates of Orleans


Orleans falls

Archery reinforcements arrive from Moscow to secure Orleans, and the army pushes on to Paris.


Russians arrive at Paris

Notice the axemen on the hill to the south of the Russians. It will turn out that that is the French source of iron. And as expected, Paris is a little better defended.


Paris garrison

The French sword to the south is escaping with a settler; the French will found Chartes on the bay while Paris burns.

The French use most of their offensive force in Paris to attack the Russians outside of the city. The terrain around Paris, however, is very tough on the attackers. They are soundly defeated, and Paris falls easily after that.


Russian axemen storm Paris

 

[rbis4rbb]

Nice story

 

[5star_US]

Kool.

Update Soon!

 

[Psycho Mantis]

Interesting, your campaign settings(Catherine/Russia, map size, VC's) are identical to the campaign I just started!

Hopefully mine will be as successful as yours!

 

[mjj55409]

Meanwhile, the Russians assembled a smaller force in the South to deal with Tours.


Russians at Tours

A French archery unit tries to flee Tours to the north. A Russian axe unit attacks from the hillside, but the river slows them down enough for the French to beat back the axemen. However, the Russian archers on the hill easily pick off the remaining French archers.


A valiant effort


Death on the ice

After taking Paris, the Russians were quite surprised to find out that Paris was not the end of the world. A pennisula extended east of Paris and at the end was the city of Rheims, a city as fully developed as Paris.


Russian army at Rheims

As throughout the war, Russian catapults proved to be the difference, devastating the Rheims garrison.



After taking Rheims, the northern Russian army marches toward one of the two remaining French cities, Marseilles. The southern army, meanwhile, having taken care of Tours, moves toward the newest French city, Chartes. Both cities manage the best resistance of the war, but by this point, the result is inevitable.


Marseilles burns


Chartes falls


Marseilles defenders


The last defender


The end of the French

It was a long, and at least for the French, bloody war. The Russians increased the number of cities under their control from 4 to 11. They controlled the entirety of the continent. The war, also, was the primary objective of the Russians for a long time. This militarisic focus produced a large, but relatively backward and culture-less civilization. The next chapter for the Russia? Reconstruction, or perhaps more accurately, construction.

 

[conquer_dude]

Great story. I'll be watching this one. Can't wait untill the next update!

 

[mjj55409]

As the French war ended, Russia was a large, but still relatively underdeveloped country. Travel between cities was difficult, except in the French north, as roads generally did not fully connect cities. The government was still a barbaric despotism and did not have the economic infrastructure to support an empire of its size. One result of the capture of Paris, however, was the discovery of the great Pyramids built by the French, and its cache of documents describing the various forms of goverment. As if by magic, Russia emerged from the war with a representative form of government. It's economy was still a decentralised barbarism, but its leadership knew that had to change if Russia was to make the most use of its now vast land.


Russian goverment at war's end

Preoccupied for centuries with the French, the Russians never developed the ability to explore the world. As far as the general population was concerned, Russia was both the center and the end of the world. The was a general sense among the leadership that there were more people out there, people more cultured and more advanced. But until an English caravan sailed into the harbor at Moscow in 1460AD, the Russians were kept isolated from the rest of the world.


Russian culture in 1300AD


World religion in 1300AD

By 1600AD, the Russian infrastructure was on solid footing. They had developed a robust economy as well as a solid educational system. And they had formed a picture of the rest of the world as well as their place in it. England was the most technologically advanced civilization, and Eygpt, birthplace of many of the world's relegion, was the most cultured. But all things considered, Russia was the strongest.


Eastern hemisphere


Western hemisphere


Eygpt


Central Highlands


The South