[BTS] Cahokia - Dawn of a Civilization

[Gruekiller]

Sorry for the rapid-fire updates. I'm trying to finish this story up rather quickly.

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Revolution and Modernization: The Troubled 16th Century (Pt. 2)

Poverty Point in 1550.

"The Mississippian People's Republic condemns the German Empire's unwarranted attack on Sumeria." - The Mississippian premier, shortly before increasing arms shipments to Germany.
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In 1538, the German Empire and its vassals renewed hostilities with the Empire of Sumeria. German forces poured out from Frankfurt, only to be rebuffed before even making it to any Sumer cities. The initial offensive was sent fleeing back over the border into Germany by the Sumerians' more advanced cuirassiers, and the city of Uruk was reclaimed by a Sumerian attack force. These initial losses embarassed the Germans, but the assault would be renewed before long.

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By the end of the 1540s, reinforcements arrived en masse near Frankfurt, including a small Celtic army. Half of the German force marched into Sumeria and battered itself against Uruk's formidable defenses, before deigning to simply wander the countryside around the city, tearing apart roads and burning villages. The other half of the German force marched with the Celts to the old city of Eridu, where they stood a significantly better chance.

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Also of note is that in 1450, Carthage's pact with Germany expired, leaving Carthage without a master but still at war with Sumeria. It was unclear what role Carthage would play in the war, much less in world affairs.

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Though menaced by Sumerian raiding parties, the Celtic army performed bravely outside of Eridu, waiting patiently as the German siege machinery laid into the thick walls of the city. Sadly, they were to play little part in the ultimate attack of the city, as their forces were dwindled to almost nothing by Sumerian raiders. They were forced to retreat back over the border, leaving the Germans to take the bulk of the job. However, the oppurtune arrival of a great general inside the city steeled its defenders, spelling bad news for the city's attackers. Meanwhile, in the Sino-Mongol War, the Chinese city of Scythian was devastated by the seemingly unstoppable Mongol army. China capitulated to Mongolia, elevating the Mongols to the status of a major power.

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When the assault was finally launched upon Eridu, entire fields outside the city were littered with Sumerian and German dead. Vivid photographs of this event sent back home by Mississippian war observers, both horrifying and amazing citizens throughout the nation, who had not known war for a generation. Though this siege could be considered a failure, the Sumerian general was slain during the battle, dampening the resolve of the city's defenders. It would perhaps be more accurate to call the first siege of Eridu a draw.

Though the war was still dragging on, the second German campaign into Sumeria had ended in a spectacular failure, with the bodies of Germans and Celts scattered in the sand between Frankfurt and Eridu. Though inconclusive, this campaign was both interesting and informative to the Mississippian correspondents who observed it. It seemed that Sumeria was not a nation to be trifled with. Perhaps this would bring it into conflict with Mississippia sooner or later.

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It was Sumeria's turn for an embarassing defeat in the desert. This time, in Africa. Mississippian reports noticed Sumerian units moving through Damascus (returned to Arabia by the treacherous Afrikans!) into North Africa, where they began to lay siege to the Carthaginian city of Utica with an army primarily made up of cuirassiers, war elephants, and catapults. Where the cuirassiers had been wildly effective against the knights of the Germans, they were no match for the rifle-bearing cavalry of Carthage. In reality, the technology for rifling had been sold to the Germans by the Mississippians, and then, apparently, given to Carthage as well. The spectacular failure of a major power to inflict a defeat upon so minor a country as Carthage made Sumeria the butt of political cartoons worldwide.

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In 1566, an armistice was signed between Germany and Sumeria, ending three decades of pointless conflict. The war with Carthage continued, however.

 

[Gruekiller]

The 17th Century: Invention and Buildup (Pt. 1)

The SS Red Dawn, shortly after its upgrade into a battleship.

"The nation that rules the waves will rule the Earth." - 17th Century naval strategist.

As the century closed, Carthage and Sumeria signed a peace treaty, finally ending the decades-long conflicts that defined the 16th Century. The world was finally at peace, and would remain so for some time. The 17th Century was a rare period when, for decades on end, there was virtually no warfare worldwide. This brought an age of peaceful development for much of the world. Mississippia used this opportunity to modernize its navy.

The first steam engine had been built near the end of the last century, and its military applications soon became clear. Plans were drafted by 1610 for armor-plated ships which would protect Mississippia's coasts from any caravels or galleons foolish enough to venture there. These ironclad ships were powerful enough to sink with ease even the most advanced ships of the line. The first of these powerful ironclads was the SS Red Dawn, which launched from Mound City's drydocks in 1618. It was tasked to patrol the coastline several miles from the shore. More and more ironclads were constructed in that same city for similar purposes up and down the Atlantic Coast.

In international news, a resolution in the Apostolic Palace forced the German Empire to cede the city of Medina to the Arab Republic. This marked the end of the German military presence in the Middle East, leaving it with only Frankfurt in the Caucasus as a foothold in Asia. Crowds in Mecca rejoiced at having finally reclaimed the capital's sister city. The vote did not truly concern Mississippia, who had abstained any way.

Back home in Mississippia, meanwhile, the railroad revolutionized transportation, allowing civilians to cross the continent, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, in record time. About the same time, grenadiers were phased out of service in favor of Gatling-gun-wielding "machine gunners", who, it was promised, could stop a cavalry charge in its tracks one hundred percent of the time.

No sooner had the coastal defense ironclads been manufactured, when the first internal combustion engine was constructed in Mound City. The ships were upgraded yet again, into destroyers. Mississippia spent huge parts of its gold reserves upgrading its ships all over the world, which were being collected into three main bases (one for each ocean), into destroyers and transport cruisers. By this point, the Mississippian Navy could, without a doubt, crush any other navy on Earth.

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If you haven't noticed, from the Industrial Age on, I name all my boats and airships. xD

 

[Gruekiller]

The 17th Century: Invention and Buildup (Pt. 2)

The Indian Ocean division of the Mississippian High Seas Fleet on routine maneuvers off the coast of Yemen.

"... and Mississippia rules the waves." - That same strategist.
​

The last half of the century was rather uneventful, save for the final construction of the entertainment district in Teotihuacan. This district is known as "Broadway", a long street lit up by millions of incandescent lights, where plays and operas are performed regularly. The hit musicals which came from this district became renowned world over.

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The buildup of the Mississippian Navy continued all the way to the end of the century. The fleet was divided into two halves: one to protect the home front, the other to be based around the world for military purposes. Ships from the Mississippian Home Defense Fleet were divided into Atlantic and Pacific divisions, and the Mississippian High Seas Fleet was divided into three parts. The Atlantic division was based in Balkh, Ireland, the Pacific division was based in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the Indian Ocean division was based in Socotra. This was the navy as it stood in 1698:

MISSISSIPPIAN HOME DEFENSE FLEET
ATLANTIC HOME DEFENSE DIVISION
Destroyers: SS Indomitable, SS Hope, SS Impregnable, SS Red Dawn, SS Vengeful, SS Scimitar, SS Remora, SS Sovereign, SS Wildcat.
Transport Cruisers: The Atlantic Division presently has no transport cruisers.

Total: 9 destroyers, 0 transports

PACIFIC HOME DEFENSE DIVISION
Destroyers: SS Xachu, SS Shark, SS Pursuit, SS Tiger.
Transport Cruisers: The Pacific Division presently has no transport cruisers.

Total: 4 destroyers, 0 transports.

MISSISSIPPIAN HIGH SEAS FLEET
ATLANTIC HIGH SEAS DIVISION
Destroyers: SS Atlantic, SS Indefatigable, SS Dryad, SS Naiad, SS Shear, SS Bravery, SS Celtic, SS Endeavor.
Transport Cruisers: SS Myrmidon, SS Londres, SS Hyperion, SS Inferno, SS Beauregard.

Total: 8 destroyers, 5 transports

PACIFIC HIGH SEAS DIVISION
Destroyers: SS Cahokian Lion, SS Enterprise, SS Challenger, SS Pacific, SS Madagascar, SS Unsinkable, SS Hawaii, SS Vengeance, SS Alliance, SS Austere, SS Arrow, SS Basilisk, SS Arrogance.
Transport Cruisers: SS Aydab, SS Austral, SS Victoria, SS Enmity, SS Bukhara.

Total: 13 destroyers, 5 transports

INDIAN OCEAN HIGH SEAS DIVISION
Destroyers: SS Drake, SS Hydra, SS Goliath, SS India, SS Mound City, SS Fury, SS Hawk, SS Mississippia. (They are shown, in this order, in the photograph at the top.)
Transport Cruisers: SS Hannibal, SS Intrepid, SS Kestrel, SS Nautilus

Total: 8 destroyers, 4 cruisers

GRAND TOTAL: 42 destroyers, 14 transports.​

 

[MrBanana]

Wow, all this before 1700? What kind of victory you thinking of?

 

[Gruekiller]

Well, I turned off Time Victory 'cause it's kind of BS... and I turned off Cultural Victory because I don't like it. I think Space Race might be turned on, but I can't recall. If it's not, I'll just sort of have a self-made "historical goal" like in RFC after which point I'll consider myself to have won.

EDIT: Made up my mind. Tell me what you think about this one. Ensure that every civ on the map is one of a.) destroyed, b.) vassalized, c.) has a defensive pact with me, or d.) is "communist" (has State Property and Free Religion).

 

[Gruekiller]

I found, to my bafflement, that Sumeria has Free Religion and State Property, which essentially makes it communist, like me. I'm so conflicted. x.x

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18th Century: The Beginning of the Modern Era (Pt. 1)

Balkh's main avenue in 1710.

"S." - Guglielmo Marconi, via radio, to a receiving station in Algonquian.
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As the 18th Century dawned, the People's Republic of Mississippia entered the Modern Age. Guglielmo Marconi, a scientist from the Roman Empire, was contracted to work in concert with Mississippian scientists for research in radio communication. By 1706, radio was in widespread use around the Mississippian continent, linking together the vast nation with near-instantaneous communications.

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In 1722, a team of scientists in Mound City, led by German immigrant Albert Einstein, found that, through a sustained chain reaction, the splitting of an atom could produce incredible power. Its potential, both as a source of power and as a device of war, was discretely examined in the nation's many universities.

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In 1744, the perfection of the assembly line allowed more uniform manufacture of rifles, lending them increased power and accuracy. The Mississippian Army began phasing the older models out of service in as many of Mississippia's 75 or so footman divisions as possible posthaste. The tin hats and forage caps of the riflemen were also replaced with steel helmets, and the soldiers were christened infantry. These more effective soldiers lent the Mississippian Army a considerable upper hand over the riflemen of the world's armies.

 

[Gruekiller]

18th Century: The Beginning of the Modern Era (Pt. 2)

Mississippian soldiers during training for urban combat somewhere in the Great Plains.

"Marconi plays the mamba! Listen to the radio! We built this city... We built this city on rock and roll!" - "We Built This City"
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By the middle of the 1750s, music in Mississippia had evolved. A type of upbeat music, referred to colloquially as "jazz", had been popular around Cloverdale for a few decades. Eventually, a new genre of music developed from jazz, referred to as "rock 'n' roll". This new genre revolutionized music, and soon audiences all over the world clamored for rock singles from Mississippia.
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The second half of the 18th century saw the creation of many monuments and wonders in Mississippia. The first of these was the Statue of Liberty, designed by French architect Alexandre Eiffel. Erected in the harbor of Algonquian as a symbol of the freedom of Mississippia's people and workers, it stood forever after as a symbol of Mississippian culture and power.
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In 1763, the world's first tank battalion was organized in Cloverdale. These new armored vehicles would soon prove to be extremely effective on the battlefield, essentially replacing cavalry units throughout Mississippia's expansive domains.

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The next year, a tower in Teotihuacan which had been intended to usher in the 19th century was completed early. Designed by the same man who had designed the Statue of Liberty four years earlier, it was known as the Eiffel Tower. It served as a symbol of Mississippian nationalism which would inspire the nation's citizens for years to come.

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The world's first battleship, the SS Titan, was christened in Mound City in 1766. With a battery of high-caliber guns and thick steel armor, it was infinitely more powerful than even the Mississippian Navy's Red Dawn-class destroyers. Even the mere presence of a Titan-class battleship was expected to pacify the regions it docked by. The Titan was sent to Balkh as part of the Mississippian Atlantic High Seas Fleet.

 

[Gruekiller]

The Mississippian-Mongol War (Pt. 1)

Mississippian forces in Korea.

"As of this day, July 14th of 5772, a state of war exists between the Mongolian Empire and the People's Republic of Mississippia." - The Premier, before the People's Council.
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In the summer of 1772, the People's Council decided to go to war with the oppressive and theocratic state of Mongolia, a distant and almost land-locked nation in Asia with laughable military technology. This operation had the goal in mind of overthrowing the Mongolian government and setting up in its place an East Asian People's Republic. Committed to the war was the entire Pacific High Seas Fleet, save for the destroyer Arrogance and transport cruiser Bukhara, as well as eleven infantry divisions, with five tank battallions. Though the numbers were too small to take over all of Mongolia (and its vassal China) straight away, it was expected that reinforcements from Mississippia should be able to finish the job.
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By early 1773, airships and the destroyers of the Pacific Fleet had begun pounding on the walled city of Nubian, on the Korean Peninsula. The ceaseless barrage of the naval and air forces of Mississippia terrified and disheartened the citizens and defenders of the Mongol city. The first combat troops were expected to arrive in the area by the next year.

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In the first month of 1774, the destroyer SS Indomitable spotted a Chinese caravel a few miles off the coast of Meliseet. Moving more quickly than the outmatched Chinese vessel could ever hope to, the destroyer's captain ordered the guns of the ship to be fired once, destroying the vessel's mast. He then commanded the Chinese captain to surrender, or the ship and its crew would be destroyed. The crew surrendered, and were taken as prisoners of war by the crew of the Indomitable. The caravel was taken over, and then scuttled by the Indomitable's crew.

Towards the end of the year, the Mississippian army arrived on the southern coast of Korea, and made preparations to lay siege upon the city of Nubian. The commander of the Mississippian force informed them, as the transports turned back to head to the homeland, that there was no turning back now.

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In 1775 the battle began in earnest. The merciless fire of tank cannons and infantry's rifles mowed down the macemen and knights of the city's garrison effortlessly. Only minor casualties were taken, and those were only from engagements with longbowmen. The bulk of the force continued northward up the peninsula, to invade the heart of the Mongolian Empire.

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In 1776, the SS Victory, a transport cruiser, was christened in Mound City and assigned to the Pacific High Seas Fleet. Meanwhile, in Mongolia, the army continued its advance through Korea, reaching the suburbs of the old Mongolian city of Samarqand. Around the same time, the Titan-class battleship SS Leviathan was christened in Xachu and sent to combat in the Pacific theater. Upon taking Samarqand, the Mississippian force would then split, with a smaller contingent headed toward Karakorum, and the larger heading to the south. This larger force would split again, with one force heading to Guangzhou and the other toward Shanghai.

 

[Gruekiller]

The Mississippian-Mongol War (Pt. 2)

The SS Leviathan as it enters the Coral Sea.

"I hate this freakin' country." - Mississippian footman outside Samarqand in the dead of winter.
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In 1777, reports reached the war department that a Chinese invasion force, comprised mostly of cuirassiers and cho-ko-nu, had crossed the Ganges and entered the People's Republic of India. No help could be spared, as the Mississippian army was still tied up in Korea, but the war department had every confidence that the Indians could protect themselves. Their riflemen were expected to be more than capable of staving off the invasion force.
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Later that year, the Mississippian navy received reports of a Mongolian caravel that was harassing Indian and Australian shipments, and sent the SS Leviathan to examine the situation. As it entered the Coral Sea, it confronted the caravel in question. The caravel's crew abandoned ship in terror of what was plainly a sea monster, leaving the caravel to be annihilated by the Leviathan's guns.
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At about the same time, the Mississippian army had fought its way into Korea, reaching the walls of the ancient city of Samarqand. When they arrived there, however, they found something they had not anticipated: an immense army of knights and war elephants closing in on them. The Mississippians dug out trenches, and awaited the worst.

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The worst came on December 21st. For weeks on end, the Mississippian force was assailed by the endless waves of Mongol warriors, taking heavy casualties. By the time the Mongol attacks stopped the following January, however, the losses taken by the Mongols had been heavier. The Mongol force was reduced to nothing, but the Mississippians could still continue. It was time for a counter-offensive.

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Rather than pursue the faltering Mongols, however, the Mississippians proceeded to take the city of Samarqand, and opted to hunker down behind its walls instead. There they would recover, recruit locals, and wait until reinforcements to arrive before pressing further into Mongolia.

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Unfortunately, their reprieve was short-lived, as yet another huge Mongol force approached from the west in 1779. The sheer manpower of the Mongolian Empire was beginning to prove tiresome for the Mississippians, who could only sit back in Samarqand, let the airships pound away at the advancing Mongols, and wait for the worst again. Little did the Mississippians know, that this would be the last time Mongols would be advancing in a battle.

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Preview of the following turns: Random number generator! Fuuuuuuuu!

 

[Gruekiller]

The Mississippian-Mongol War (Pt. 3)

Mississippian troops wading through a stream in Manchuria.

"Come on, you sods! Do you want to live forever?" - A colonel at the Battle of Shanghai.
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In the end, a few regiments of Mississippian infantry were left standing, but the Mongols were not. Though it was a pyrrhic victory for the Mississippians, it was still a victory. Just after the battle, the first reinforcements arrived in the form of four new infantry regiments, which helped supplement the defense of Samarqand until the rest of the reinforcements were to arrive, a couple years later.
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Mississippia's vassals contributed to the war effort in South Asia, first repelling the Chinese advance and then actually making it into Chinese territory to harass Chinese positions. Indian riflemen and grenadiers were prominent, but a few regiments of Arab cavalry also arrived in the region to bring the fight to China. These endeavors would keep the Chinese occupied long enough for it to not contribute any help to its master up north.

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In 1784, reinforcements finally arrived just south of Samarqand. A few soldiers are even reported to have wept at the welcome news, as the fate of the first invasion had been no better than that of the ill-fated German war in Sumeria two centuries before. The troops were organized, and made ready to penetrate the heart of Mongolia.

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More welcome news came the next year, when Germany decided to assist its Mississippian allies by declaring war on Mongolia, strengthening bonds between Germany and Mississippia even further. Though no German combat troops were directly involved in the war, French troops were to play a supporting role to the Mississippians by attacking Mongolia from the west.

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That year, the SS Pacific and the SS Leviathan had been anchored outside of a Mongolian city in southeast Asia, pounding away at its defenses, when a Mongolian caravel boldly tried to slip past the two ships in the dead of night. Unfortunately for the Mongols, they were spotted by the Pacific, which sank the ship with a single salvo from its guns. Thus was the fate of the last remnant of the Mongolian navy.

In 1787, the main Mississippian army split into its pre-designated halves, with the larger portion, which included many infantry regiments and some supporting tanks, heading south towards China, and the smaller half, made up primarily of tanks, headed to the steppes of the north to take the Mongol capital. The first city to fall to the smaller force was the city of New Sarai, which fell quickly to the might of Mississippia's tanks. It was clear by this point that no other land unit in the world could stand up to a tank, except in obscene numbers.

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The larger force entered northern China the next year, and assaulted the plains city of Turfan. The city's defenders fell with almost no resistance to the Mississippian infantry. It seemed that Mississippia's fortunes in the Mongolian War were finally beginning to turn.

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That same year, news reached headquarters that the distant Mongolian city of Apache had been taken by the French. With even the French beating them in combat, it was now almost certain that the writing was on the wall for Mongolia.
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In 1790, the bulk of the Chinese army was south, in Xian and Chengdu, trying to fend off Indian and Arab forays into its territory, leaving the capital, Shanghai, blatantly exposed. The Mississippians capitalized on this, and struck at the city which had served as China's capital since before Eurasia had even been known to Mississippians. The city fell in a matter of days, spelling the end of any hopes for a Chinese victory.

A few weeks later, farther to the north, the tank battallions finally reached Karakorum, destroying the city's meager defenses with ease. The Mongolian Empire was finally falling apart, as the Khan and his court fled to Beshbalik to assess the situation.

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In the desolate western desert, the next year, the city of Guangzhou was taken by a mere four infantry regiments, which captured the city in the name of the People and Workers of Mississippia. Mongolia and China were now completely severed from one another, with no possibility of aid to one another.

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By the end of that same year, the Indians broke through and managed to capture the jungle city of Chengdu from China, where even the full bulk of the Chinese army hadn't been able to hold back the Indians. The end was finally here for China and Mongolia, pending only the peace settlement to make it official.

 

[Gruekiller]

Peace, Revolution, and Happily Ever After

The Earth.

"It's so beautiful." - The first man in space, referring to the Earth.
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As the war in Mongolia drew to a close, the Mongols knew that it was over. They came humbly before the military authorities in Karakorum, abdicating sovereignty over Mongolia to Mississippia to avoid further devastation of their country. This officially terminated Mongolian dominion over China, which sued for peace three days later. The war in Mongolia was finally over for Mississippia with a victory, but at a terrible cost.
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Blaming incompetence in the military leadership for the deaths of so many Mississippian soldiers, and questioning the government for starting the war in the first place, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Poverty Point, protesting against the People's Council. One stray shot from a policeman was all it took to turn the protests into a riot, and it was only a matter of a couple months before the communist government in Poverty Point was overthrown, and the capital was moved back to Cahokia. The country was left a far freer, more capitalist place afterwards, and although it went through a period of economic instability afterwards, it soon reclaimed the highest GDP on the planet.
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In 1795, the first satellite was launched from a site in Guyana, after which it fell into orbit around the Earth, beeping as it went and taking photographs of the Earth's entire surface. Mississippia had entered the Space Age, opening up unlimited possibilities for the future.

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Years later, as a Mississippian looked down upon the Earth from the void, he reflected upon how far his nation had come: from an agrarian culture in the Mississippi Valley, to a continental empire, to a world power. It had come this far in 6000 years. Where would it be in another 6000? Only time could tell.

The End​

 

[MrBanana]

Wow, it is nice to see vassals actually doing something. So you won a "power victory I guess: close to domination, but your political influence puts your over the edge to win.

 

[Gruekiller]

Yep. I didn't win by game mechanics, but I was the most powerful, most advanced, had the most influence, most population, most territory, and best economy. I think I essentially won. x3

 

[The Number Pi]

This was a very good story!

 

[Gruekiller]

Thanks! Which civ do you think I should do next? Right now I'm trying to decide between China, Austria (renamed Holy Rome), and the Byzantines (lololol).

 

[W|M]

Byzantines!

 

[Gruekiller]

Well, maybe. But there's already a lot of other Byzantine stories floating around right now. I kinda want to go for something unique.

 

[W|M]

If not Byzantium, then Austria.

 

[Gruekiller]

I've been leaning towards that myself. I just wanted to know what the readers would be interested in.

 

[The Number Pi]

I vote China, but an Austria story sounds pretty good, and is fairly unique.