save
Early:
- Beg 30 gold from Hati.
- Scout Persia. Viel Feind, viel Ehr...
- There are Persian tanks in Egypt! That extends the border we have to
defend even further.
- Move units into defensive positions. Beshbalik and Turfan look like the most likely targets, due being so close to Persia.
War!:
Golden age expires, i declare on Cyrus. This is it, boys.
Neither Rosi nor Hati are interested in joining the frail. I give Hati Medicine for Combustion.
IT:
Hammer time!
Cyrus picks Beshbalik as his main target. Battle commences and my computer stops responding for 15minutes...
4:
Our losses:
~ 13 Infantrymen
Their losses:
Gunships: ~5
Modern Armor: ~1
Marine: ~1
The city holds and is now at + 15% defence bonus(Was at +60%). The main host of the Persian army has not yet enganged, but instead opted to loot the land:
The stack NW of Beshbalik is the biggest.
Karakorum nearly fell. It was defended by only one infantry, which yielded to gunships:
The doomed city.
We have ~30 Infantry left in the area. That makes it evident that we can't win at the current kill ratios. Two options present themselves:
a) Employ artillery. Since most of his modern armor is on one stack, a massive artillery assault would cause a lot of temporary damage.
b) Retreat. Old Sarai offers a solid +25% defence modifier, which no artillery can take away. It would mean surrendering both Beshbalik and Karakorum to the enemy. Once Old Sarai is doomed we could retreat again, fighting defence battle after defence battle, until Cyrus is out of gas.
After thinking about it for a while, i opt for option a). Cyrus has about 30 units on that stack near Beshbalik. Can't think of a better target for artillery. If we allow him to spread out into our lands, we'll have to handle small stacks, which can't be set under artillery fire efficiently.
The attack begins:
Cyrus' losses:
Artillery: ~ 3
Gunship: ~ 4
Modern Armor: ~ 15
Marine: ~ 5
-------- ~ 27
England's losses:
Infantry: ~ 4
Artillery: ~ 11
--------- ~ 15
Not the best RNG luck, especially concerning the Artillery. But hey! Cyrus' largest stack is history.
On the downside, we will lose Karakorum. Virtually every unit within distance was commanded to the Beshbalik battlefield.
Holding Karakorum would require 6 units, all of which would likely die. Just don't have those units to spare right now.
5:
Cyrus attacks Karakorum, Beshbalik and Turfan. Karakorum is defended by a whipped Infantry, Turfan by 2 Infantrymen. The rest is in Beshbalik.
Both Karakorum and Turfan fall. Every trooper, which looks halfway fresh gets recruited to take Turfan back. The troopers succeed.
Our whole western army is in need of a rest by now. Hardly an uninjured unit left. Fresh troopers from the eastern front are underway.
Cyrus' losses:
Artillery: ~ 5
Gunship: ~ 1
Infantry: 1
SAM Infantry: 2
England's losses:
Infantry: ~ 9
Machine Gun: ~ 2
6:
Cyrus attacked yet again. But he is out of artillery! We still lost plenty of infantry, though. ~5
7:
Cyrus resorts to gunships. Several cities are without defence due to gunships picking off the defenders.
Otherwise the war has calmed down. Only one attack on Beshbalik and no major stack in sight!
9:
Did i just sound a tad bit optimistic? Well, this turn disaster struck! Cyrus mounts massive attacks against Beshbalik and Turfan, almost completely wiping out our infantry! Also, Cyrus rampant tanks destroy a minor city up north. He also has mech inf by now. Turfan can be reinforced, but Beshbalik is likely doomed.
I'm stopping here now and let the next player decide whether or not to give up Beshbalik. Cyrus has a habit of retreating his units after the attack, making it hard to counter-attack. He also likes to spread his units out now, so that artillery becomes all but useless. On the western front, we are short on everything. I took most of the units from the east as reinforcements, but there are still plenty of outdated units around, which should be upgraded as funds become available. Make sure to draft whenever possible.
Good luck!
Pass the popcorns, will you?
