Surrounded by Insanity

[Mumpulus]

The history of France from the year 1100BC to 590BC is a little hazy. Tales of what happened during that period were somehow lost in the memory of the poets. That is why this era is called the First Dark Age.

We know that the period from 1050BC to 750BC was one of rapid territorial expansion. Bailli was founded by Épicier settlers in 1050BC, on the hills overlooking Valbovin. It was the first of four new settlements that would be established in fast succession. The other three were Feu Royal, Encens and Calé-sur-Mer.

[size=-2]Feu Royal was founded in 925BC, on the flanks of Mont Royal and on the board of the eastern ocean[/size]


[size=-2]Encens was founded in 800BC, even further north, in the hills where the incense had been found 450 years earlier[/size]


[size=-2]Calé-sur-Mer was founded in 750BC, wedged in between the Aztec realm to the south and the ocean to the north[/size]
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There was also more exploration, especially by the Lancier Épiciers.

[size=-2]Dyes were found near Xochicalco in 900BC[/size]
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This expansionist push was possible in part because the influx of enemy units declined during this period. There was continuous fighting, but by then the French military was so well entrenched that the enemy posed no real threat. The only reported loss during this period was a spearman division in the forest near Ancêtres, which was overrun by an Egyptian war chariot.

In 730BC, our knowledge of mathematics was sufficiently developed to build the first catapults. Even though the very first trial on a Persian spearman division failed miserably, more catapults were deployed and they quickly helped to gain an even greater edge on the enemy.

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The Wheel was researched in 630BC. The horses that were found in the Chaîne des Loups and north of the Collines de Bailli would soon be put to good use. Research on Horseback Riding was started.

[size=-2]View of the Collines de Bailli in 630BC[/size]


[size=-2]Furs were found just north of the iron deposits[/size]
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Starting in 670BC, the fighting intensified again. The French were getting ready to expand again, and their generals were making room for that expansion. In 590BC, the Gardiens du Despote killed an Egyptian archer in a daring move. Their leader, Armand de Richelieu, was granted command of the second French army.

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There was another short volcanic eruption, of the Mont des Titans around 630BC. A contingent of Egyptian warriors barely made it to safety.

[size=-2]View of the Collines de Bailli in 630BC[/size]
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In 570BC, a colony was established at the iron deposits deep within the Chaîne des Loups. The French military might was about to make a steep rise.

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Spoiler World map in 570BC :

Even though "The First Dark Age" is a grim sounding name, the French people hadn't suffered many setbacks during that period. On the contrary, they were thriving in every respect. GNP and manufacturing had gone up by about 50%, their territorial area by even more than that. Only the population increase had slowed somewhat, but that was mostly due to the formation of many worker crews. Because the French have always kept very precise records of their military and logistics, we know that around 1100BC there were 2 worker crews, and around 570BC there were 7. The number of spearmen divisions had gone from 16 to 23 over the same period, and 9 catapults units had been formed. In Paris, 2 armies were waiting to be deployed.

 

[Aabraxan]

Excellent! I'm glad to see that this one isn't dead. Have you filled the armies? If so, with what? Or are you waiting to fill them with swords?

 

[Mumpulus]

I've been very busy these last three months, with absolutely no time to play at all. I had played the turns described in chapter 17 back in January, but didn't get around to writing the story, which is why the history is hazy...

Waiting to fill the armies with swords, yes. I'll have a couple a few turns from where I left off.

 

[Sharwood]

Yay! The story's back!

 

[Northen Wolf]

Good that you're still alive Always Happy to see your crazy AW's.

 

[kingfire87]

Woohoo!! I love this story, it's finally back!

 

[Mumpulus]

Charles de Gaulle is traditionally held to be the author of the classic French epic poems Décalé and Dépouillé, collectively called l’Épopée Française. He is considered the father of writing, because his works are the first large bodies of writing that were created. In his works, he describes his own travels and the great battles he witnessed, including the first battle by a French army (Armée Épéistes I) on Mont à Poil.

His writings on the success of that first army have been so inspirational to the French, that ever since he first told and wrote down his story, many more leaders than ever before have risen from the masses to take up command of newer and better armies, or to take the lead in constructing new and wondrous buildings.

Early life

Worker crews had been working hard and under heavy Egyptian pressure to construct a road west of Ancêtres. Despite the presence of many enemy troops, a forward town was founded on the far side of the Chaîne des Dieux, in 570BC.

That new town was called Gaulle. It would serve as a first step to herd together the horses that are found in the valley beyond the mountains. The town was built on the northernmost slopes of the Collines de Bailli, to provide a better defensive position.

Charles was born the second son of a settler pair. His elder brother Xavier had been born 3 years prior in Paris. Because Charles was the very first child born in the new town, he was given the nickname "de Gaulle". Charles would proudly carry this nickname throughout his entire life.

Charles began traveling at a very early age. He returned to his ancestral home, the city of Paris, and continued from there to Quentin. He was eager to witness the great battles his parents had told him about, and had traveled to the southern front because there were continuous threats from the Chinese, Aztecs and Persians at this front.

Ever since Calé-sur-Mer had been founded, Chinese horsemen had been infiltrating towards the road to Quentin. In 570BC, the Persians had made a daring landing north of Bovin. The French troops had to be divided to deal with this new threat. This allowed a contingent of Chinese horsemen to take position in the hills north of Calé-sur-Mer, threatening to destroy the road there. (This is shown on the world map in 570BC, at the end of chapter 17.)

[size=-2]View of northern France in 570BC, with the newly founded town of Gaulle[/size]
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Décalé

Charles de Gaulle, aged merely 20 years at the time, had just arrived in Quentin when the French forces mounted a combined catapult and archer offensive to destroy the entire Chinese horsemen division. It was this battle that prompted Charles to write his first great work, Décalé. It tells the story of the "unwegding" of Calé-sur-Mer in the middle of the 6th century BC, hence the name of this epic.

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The first swordsmen army

The "Armée Épéistes I" was the first army fielded by the French military. It was led by Napoléon d'Arsqui, and was slated to contain three divisions of veteran swordsmen. The first swordsman unit was trained in Paris. The army then proceeded towards Épices, where the second division was trained. Because of the ongoing efforts to build a road towards a new settlement, the army saw action before the third and final division was added. This was the battle described in the Dépouillé, the second great work of Charles de Gaulle. Like his first work, this epic was written entirely in dactylic hexameter.

Below is a short fragment of the Dépouillé, describing the composition of the army in Paris. The size of the army and the strength of its warriors were obviously impressive:

Vast is the army in Paris, that forms to conquer all en'mies;
French are the soldiers that stand in its ranks. They're armed with the iron
weapons so sharp, that the Gods would be wounded themselves should they touch them.​

Dépouillé

The main focus of the Dépouillé is on the first battle involving a French army, on the Mont à Poil. An Aztec archer division had reinforced their position on that mountain, and had to be removed in order for roading crews to continue their work. Furthermore, the French wished to control the valley between Mont à Poil and Calé-sur-Mer, before marching south towards the Aztecs lands. Any regular attack on the Aztec position would surely have been disastrous.

That is why the Armée Épeistes I was deployed sooner than foreseen. The army simply crushed the Aztecs archers, without incurring any significant casualties itself.

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Death and legacy

Charles de Gaulle died in Épices shortly after completing his second great work. The combined texts of the Décalé and Dépouillé are nowadays called the Heroic Epic.

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The town of Charleville was founded not long after Charles de Gaulle's death, and was named in his honor.

[size=-2]View of southern France in 510BC, with the newly founded town of Charleville[/size]
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The French scientists decide to take the work of Charles de Gaulle and use it as the basis for a standardized system of writing. As soon as their research on horseback riding was completed, they started on this new task.

​

 

[Sharwood]

I'm assuming you used De Gaulle to build said Heroic Epic? Also, it's Charles De Gaulle, not Charles de Gaulle. The name's a bastardised Belgian one, not "of Gaulle."

 

[Sashie VII]

I'm trying to rekindle the interest to play Civ (and then there's my story currently on hold..), and your adventure is a

 

[Mumpulus]

Thanks to all for following along and cheering me on. I've played about 20 more turns yesterday. I hope to have time to write the corresponding chapter(s) this week. I'll just give a few spoilers, just to keep you guys curious

- The Aztecs and Persian made a big push, and I've lost a town
- The Mayans and Egyptians have swords now, and I've lost an army to them
- Both losses were poor RNG, especially the army, but I'm still doing fine
- On the other hand, several civs have feudalism now, so I'll have to start doing better
- I've met a few new enemies (Sumerians and Romans)
- The terrain in the south (between Charleville and Calé-sur-Mer) and the north (between Gaulle and Ancêtres) is decent to work with tactically, but the west and the east are terrible (jungle and mountains). The east has been quiet so far (just a few landings north of Bovin), but the west is heating up with Mayan and Egyptian swordsmen streaming in. It's hard to preemptively strike at the approaching troops when they're in the best defensive terrain.

 

[Aabraxan]

. . . .I'll just give a few spoilers, just to keep you guys curious

It worked. Looking forward to the updates.

. . . . It's hard to preemptively strike at the approaching troops when they're in the best defensive terrain.

Not that I'm good enough to give advice here, and I'm sure you already know all of what I'm about to post, but . . . apparently, that's not going to slow me down. In addition to my Demigod Iros game, I've been playing more and more All-War over the past several months. One thing that I figured out is that while preemptive strikes are nice, putting lots of artillery units in the "pressure point cities" (in addition to sufficient defenders to hold them) worked wonders for keeping the enemy from advancing. The AI doesn't like to attack with wounded units, so I just keep throwing rocks at their stacks until the wounded retreat to heal. Eventually, I can bring enough units to the front to begin making forward progress.

Like I said, I'm sure you already know all of that. Looks to me like the central start makes this one particularly difficult, though. Keep up the good work!

Edited to ask: Have you met all of the AI civs yet?

Edited a second time: I usually find myself simply trying to hold one front while expanding in another direction. For example, I might simply try not to lose ground to the east while the majority of my offensive units head west to kill AIs & claim territory. Anything like that going on here, or are you trying to expand in all directions at once?

 

[vmxa]

One thing that I figured out is that while preemptive strikes are nice, putting lots of artillery units in the "pressure point cities" (in addition to sufficient defenders to hold them) worked wonders for keeping the enemy from advancing.

You have to strike a balance. Ideally I want to have them attack a strong point in the early game, where I am not strong enough to attack them. The trick is to get to the point, where they will attack and lose.

IOW, if the town is too strong they will go around. You do not want that, if you are not strong enough to attack them. You want them to die on those spears. Often you will see a game where the attackers are coming to a given town.

The town is killing most or they retreat. The player panics and sends in too many defenders and the AI goes around. Typically the towns behind are not as strong and will not be able to cope.

Even if you are able to ping the units as they pass, it may not be enough. The AI at deity and Sid will replace losses with hardly a let up, so do have to get up those armies to take down towns.

 

[Mumpulus]

One thing that I figured out is that while preemptive strikes are nice, putting lots of artillery units in the "pressure point cities" (in addition to sufficient defenders to hold them) worked wonders for keeping the enemy from advancing.

You've guessed correctly that I'm aware of that.

The problem I'm having is that the strongest enemy units are approaching me through terrain that provides them with a higher defensive bonus, namely mountains and jungle. That defensive bonus also applies to bombardment. The chance of a catapult hitting its target is lower on targets with a higher base defense value and/or in terrain with higher defensive bonus. Until now, I've been bombarding units with base defense 1, and that works out fine. I've been doing that bombarding mostly on flat land. That situation is now changing, with more units coming in in the northwest. They have base defense 2 (javs and swords), and are on mountains and jungle. I need more catapults to inflict the same damage, statistically speaking, and in reality too (the RNG isn't always kind).

But I'm going to have to thank you anyway for bringing it up, because I did learn something just now, while looking up information on the C3C combat system. For some reason (probably because of associated movement cost), I thought that jungle provides the same defensive bonus as mountains. It doesn't. So I'll be putting in some extra effort to coax the enemy into the jungle rather than on the mountains.

Looks to me like the central start makes this one particularly difficult, though. Keep up the good work!

It hasn't so far, but now that I'm expanding it definitely does. In AW, you always look for short fronts. There's no chance I can do that here. The bigger my empire gets, the longer the front will be.

Have you met all of the AI civs yet?

I got to 110BC in the game, and I've met the Aztecs, Chinese, Persians, Egyptians, Mayans, Greeks, and Romans.

I also saw the Sumerians, but as I opened up the game just now, I don't see them in the diplomacy screen. I guess I forgot to contact them and declare, and they didn't contact me either. That's 7 turns back, so I'm not going to replay that. They'll be back.

I have yet to meet the Byzantines, Inca and Koreans. Together with the Sumerians, that makes 4 more foes to gain.

I usually find myself simply trying to hold one front while expanding in another direction. For example, I might simply try not to lose ground to the east while the majority of my offensive units head west to kill AIs & claim territory. Anything like that going on here, or are you trying to expand in all directions at once?

I'm actually kinda winging it at the moment. Here are the present conditions:

• There's a little room left in the north that hasn't been claimed, so I'm looking at that. That area is very quiet, and I'm not willing to dedicate many military resources to it: I've got enough on my hands in the west and south. On the other hand, I can't afford to waste settlers by founding towns I can't defend.
• Other than that, I'm at the edge of explored terrain, or I'm at the edge of enemy territory. There are just some spots in the jungle available, but it's logistically not doable yet to settle there. I've gone from 7 workers to 6 to colonize the furs, then back up to 10 workers now. I've got them in 5 locations right now:
  • 1 solo roading northeast, unprotected
  • 1 solo and 1 pair generally improving the core (the pair for instant roading, because I still get quite some enemy infiltration), unprotected
  • 1 pair roading north, closer to the Egyptians, semi-protected
  • 1 quartet doing combat roading at the moment, towards the Aztecs/Chinese, protected
  I'll need a stack of 6 to expand further, because of the need for jungle and mountain roads. That should be doable in the short term. However, most of the expansion will be into the jungle, so I'll need a clearing crew as well. That's 16 worker turns per tile, so I'll want 4 or even 8 workers to work comfortably. That's 8 or 16 turns of worker production in Paris, and that's without any settlers in between.
• I want to start making a dent in the enemy. I was looking forward to sending out an army, but with the recent loss of one of my armies, that will be hard.

 

[Aabraxan]

You've guessed correctly that I'm aware of that.

Yeah, I thought as much. Glad that I was of some help, though:

But I'm going to have to thank you anyway for bringing it up, because I did learn something just now, while looking up information on the C3C combat system. . . .

I got to 110BC in the game, and I've met the Aztecs, Chinese, Persians, Egyptians, Mayans, Greeks, and Romans.

I also saw the Sumerians, but as I opened up the game just now, I don't see them in the diplomacy screen. I guess I forgot to contact them and declare, and they didn't contact me either. That's 7 turns back, so I'm not going to replay that. They'll be back.

I have yet to meet the Byzantines, Inca and Koreans. Together with the Sumerians, that makes 4 more foes to gain.

That's lots of enemies. Again, good luck!
Maybe I'm doing the AW thing all wrong, but even when there's bad terrain, I'll consider expanding into it, if it means that I can get to the coastline. If nothing else, it means one less direction from which a decent attack could come. Putting my own back to the wall, so to speak. I have come to expect the AI to suck at naval invasions. Now, that may be different at Deity or Sid, just because of the sheer numbers they can field . . .

You have to strike a balance. Ideally I want to have them attack a strong point in the early game, where I am not strong enough to attack them. The trick is to get to the point, where they will attack and lose.

IOW, if the town is too strong they will go around. You do not want that, if you are not strong enough to attack them. You want them to die on those spears. Often you will see a game where the attackers are coming to a given town.

The town is killing most or they retreat. The player panics and sends in too many defenders and the AI goes around. Typically the towns behind are not as strong and will not be able to cope.

Even if you are able to ping the units as they pass, it may not be enough. The AI at deity and Sid will replace losses with hardly a let up, so do have to get up those armies to take down towns.

Deity and Sid are levels I have not tackled yet, but I have no doubt that you're right about balancing the town so that it's weak enough to keep the AI focused on it, and yet strong enough to withstand the attacks.

 

[Mumpulus]

Charleville was founded in a very precarious spot. Until 510BC, the French territorial boundaries in the south had formed a capital lambda (&#923 shape, with the opening to the south. French troops were able to wait for the enemy troops to approach, and attack them while they were on flat land. With the founding of Charleville, the borders now formed a capital V shape, protruding like the tip of a spear into enemy lands.

There was no road connecting Charleville to the rest of the French empire, and it would take about 180 years before a road would be in place. Two elite spearmen divisions were the only defense of the fledgling town, and there was no way to rapidly replace killed troops.

The French military command had only allowed to found Charleville because the first army (Armée Épéistes I) was stationed nearby. The army was scheduled to wait for the final swordsman division to be added, and then it would proceed to attack the Aztecs on their own ground. The first target would be the Aztec town of Tlaxcala, a mere 30 miles due southeast of Charleville. With the enemy that close, the army would never be far away, to respond in case of an emergency.

However, in 470BC, the first Egyptian swordsmen were sighted by the Lanciers Épiciers, in the Chaîne des Titans. At the same time, French workers who were building a road west out of Bailli reported that an Egyptian settlement had been founded deep in the jungle.

[size=-2]View of la Chaîne des Titans and la Vaste Forêt Tropicale, with the approximate location where the first Egyptian
swordsman division was sighted, and the location of Edfu, the Egyptian jungle settlement, ca. 470BC[/size]
​

At that time, a settler party was already preparing in Paris, to settle a new town near the silks in the jungle. The first priority thus became to attack Edfu. The army would take care of that, so it was pulled away from the Charleville area. There had been a Persian archer attack on Charleville in 470BC, which had cost the French an entire elite spearmen division. However, work on the road to Charleville was progressing well, and reinforcements would soon arrive. The French military council decided to take the risk.

The gamble seemed to pay off. There were no more attacks on Charleville, even though the Persians and the Aztecs amassed a lot of troops in the vicinity. The Aztecs seemed to be going for Épices mostly. That was only logical, because Épices was for more important and valuable than Charleville.

The first battle of Charleville

In 430BC, the Persians finally attacked. The lone elite spearmen division guarding the town held off the attacks of two veteran archer divisions attacking from the south. A little less than half of the French spearmen lost their lives, but the town held. A subsequent attack from the Aztec archers stationed northwest of Charleville was held off easily. 11,000 Persian and Aztec archers died in the attack, all in vain. The town would be reinforced very soon now, by more elite French spearmen.

[size=-2]View of Charleville around 430BC. The paths of the attacks by the Persians and Aztecs have been marked.[/size]
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Spurred on by this success, the Armée Épéistes I was ordered to initiate the siege of Edfu. The army arrived in 390BC. Meanwhile, Charleville had been reinforced again. The road would finish very soon now, and more troops were standing by to take up defenses. The situation in 390BC is shown in the illustration below.

[size=-2]View of Charleville around 390BC. Defenses have been doubled, and the enemy troops aren't much stronger than in 430BC.
There were 3 veteran spearmen divisions to the south, all Persian. The Aztecs had lesser and/or wounded troops nearby.[/size]
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The second battle of Charleville

The Persians wrote an almost hour to hour account of the second battle and fall of Charleville. It would appear that there were some very extraordinary turns of fortune during the battle. Three archer divisions attacked, and the Persians barely took Charleville with the third wave of their attack. Their troops were so depleted that they couldn't hope to hold the city, so they decided to burn it to the ground, and all its inhabitants with it. Some fragments of the Persian text:

The attack has started at the break of dawn. With the rising sun on their faces, our archers seem no match for the enemy spearmen, yet our men continue to fight valiantly. Only one fifth of their men has fallen, yet our men continue to fight valiantly. Only one quarter of our forces remains, yet our men continue to fight valiantly. And the gods have rewarded their valour, and they have conquered the enemy.
...
The heathens' second division of spearmen has taken up guard, and we see that they are equally powerful. Our second archer division immediately presses on with the attack, but they are hampered by the many wounded and dead they find in their path. [...] The fight was more even now, and our archers perished while killing only 2000 of theirs.
...
We have lost 7000 men so far, but the heathens have lost as many. The uphill battle is taking its toll, but we must press on. [...] Our commander has spoken and we will attack again. [...] Again 3000 or more of our men have died, yet we see no weakening with the heathens. [...] The gods are truly smiling upon us today, for our 1000 remaining archers have pressed on and killed 3000 heathen spearmen, and they have taken the city.
​

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The fall of Edfu

In 370BC, l'Armée Épéistes I attacked the Egyptian spearmen in Edfu. Hindered by the thick jungle, 2000 French swordsmen died, but still the Egyptians were no match for them, and Edfu was leveled.

​

The French had lost their first town, and almost at the same time destroyed the first enemy town. Everything was still in the balance. However, news had spread about wondrous achievements by other civilizations. In one city they had built a palace with gardens on the rooftops, irrigated by transporting water upwards instead of downwards. The French were impressed with how technologically advanced the other civilizations appeared to be. They feared that their own military would soon become outmatched by superior opponents. It would remain to be seen if the balance wouldn't shift for the worse.

 

[Mumpulus]

In 350BC, the French people controlled their fourth luxury resource: silks. The town of Soies would become an important commercial center, but only after many long years of clearing the surrounding jungle.

For the first time in over 700 years, there was a period of relative quiet throughout the French realm. Some leftover enemy parties were bombarded by catapults, but there was no actual fighting during a period of 20 years. But more enemy troops were already approaching, so the break would be brief.

[size=-2]View of northwest France in 350BC. 12,000 Egyptian swordsmen were converging on Gaulle
at the time. The Armée Épéistes I would be sent there immediately.[/size]
​

In 310BC, our people met the Greeks, so we were then at war with 6 different civilizations. The first Mayan swordsman division ever seen was approaching Épices from the south. Even though the north and the east where quiet, ever stronger troops were streaming in from the northwest and the south. The enemy was also becoming bolder, and founded their towns very close to our borders. Hangchow was founded around that time. The Mayans were taking advantage of pressure in the north and the south, to infiltrate in the central area near Épices. On a positive note, French sages had completed their work on fully developing writing.

​

The Sumerian people were formally met and declared war on in 90BC. However, there are records of the sighting of an Enkidu warrior as early as 270BC.

Charleville, Acheval and Charlemagne

Charleville was refounded in 230BC. Enemy pressure in the area hadn't decreased, however this time an army would remain nearby, and there were roads now connecting the town to the rest of the empire. The area was still proving to be very valuable tactically, as enemy troops moved in only to find themselves completely surrounded. The sheer numbers of enemy troops were a concern though. At the time, there were an estimated 27,000 Aztec troops near Charleville, archers, horsmen and spearmen. The Persians had even more troops: 28,000 archers. The Armée Épéistes II was stationed in Charleville, and especially the Aztecs were heavily bombarded. With the army in Charleville, they wouldn't dare to attack.

[size=-2]View of southern France in 230BC[/size]
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In the north, Acheval was founded around the same time, to finally gain control of horses. French reinforcements were sent north via Bailli to deal with the Egyptian threat.

[size=-2]View of northern France in 230BC[/size]
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But the most significant event in 230BC was the emergence of Charlemagne, another great military leader who would lead France's third army. He had decided to move the spearmen division he led, the Lanciers de Gaulle, out of the town. The Egyptian archers who had been waiting in the nearby forest, were lured away from their fortifications. After bombardment by the many catapults that were there awaiting the Egyptian swordsmen that had been sighted to the west, the Egyptian archers were too weak to withstand the direct assault by the French spearmen.

​

The 210BC campaign

​

The plan for the defense of Charleville worked. The Aztecs were confused: some retreated, and some moved forward, towards Quentin. The army in Charleville made some quick excursions to disrupt the Aztec movement, and made some casualties among the Aztec horsemen while they were still taking in a position on the Colline à Poil.

The primary target of the French forces were the Aztec horsemen, because they could either disrupt the ongoing work in the Vallée occidentale, or even threaten the towns of Quentin and Calé-sur-Mer. The northern Armée Épéistes I, commanded by Napoléon d'Arsqui, had been ordered south after Charlemagne's victory, and was in position to attack from Épices. They quickly dispatched the spearmen division led by Camapotoniliztli, and then proceeded to kill an entire division of horsemen before they could even organise themselves.

As soon as the army had retreated, Armand de Richelieu, who was in Charleville commanding the second army, ordered the 40 catapults there to fire. Even though some misses were registered, about half the volleys hit, scattering the remainder of the Aztec horsemen. At the same time, the 40 catapults stationed in Calé-sur-Mer also fired, with the same result. About 4,000 horsemen had died under a rain of rocks alone. Richelieu's army then attacked the horsemen from the rear, overrunning a remaining division of heavily wounded spearmen in the process.

At that point, only two divisions of Aztec horsemen remained. The first was attacked by a division of swordsmen stationed in Calé-sur-Mer. With the army of Richelieu still in their rear, the horsemen had nowhere to retreat, and were defeated, albeit not without trouble. By that time, the Aztecs had established a firm position on the hills. The French swordsmen had some trouble fighting the uphill battle, and about 3,000 French soldiers died during that particular attack. The second and last remaining Aztec horsemen division was attacked by the swordsmen stationed in Charleville. This time, there was room for the horsemen to retreat, and they moved towards Calé-sur-Mer. Spearmen from Calé-sur-Mer attacked them and finally killed them all off.

Only a few wounded Aztec units were left alone, because the risk to attack them was too high. They would be dealt with soon enough. Most of the Aztec forces had been massacred. The troops had been surrounded completely, and hadn't stood a chance. Between Charleville and Calé-sur-Mer, it had been the Aztecs' turn to be wedged in between enemies.

The Persian archers attacked Charleville from the east, but the spearmen who had taken up defense had no trouble at all to defend. 8,000 archers died on the hill of Charleville.

Era of consolidation

Between 210BC and 170BC was a period of relative peace again. The French were continuing their research, and preparing for the next big wave of enemy troops. The Gardiens du Despote had been guarding Paris ever since they had defeated the Egyptian archers in 590BC. Now, they were equipped with iron swords.

As more hostile civilizations were being contacted, there weren't only drawbacks. Observing the behaviour of the enemy, erratic though it may have been, helped the French sages to better and more quickly understand some of the technological knowledge that had already been acquired by these other civilizations.

​

 

[Mumpulus]

In 150BC, the French met the Roman people and thus their seventh enemy.

After the Aztecs in earlier years, this time the Persians were dealt a serious blow when their invasion force of 16,000 archers was completely annihilated. However, the French incurred losses too during that campaign. The first division of horsemen was lost, as well as the elite spearmen division from Calé-sur-Mer.

The most significant event starting in 150BC was the attack on Tlaxcala. 6,000 Aztec spearmen and 4,000 Aztec archers died as the Armée Épéistes II attacked in two crushing waves. The Egyptian town of Edfu had just been a distant outpost; Tlaxcala was the first important city to fall to the French.

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The loss of the Armée Épéistes I

Tlaxcala fell in 130BC, and there was much rejoicing throughout the realm. However, nobody had foreseen or could have foreseen what happened at Soies that very same year. The Armée Épéistes I had been stationed in Soies to rest after a campaign against the Mayan swordsmen. 5,000 French swordsmen had died during the last attack, so the army was somewhat depleted. Only 7,000 swordsmen remained in the army at the time, out of a full capacity of 13,000. Still, the army was a formidable force, and no-one would have thought that a single division of regular swordsmen could take it out. But that's exactly what happened. What's more, traveling with the army were 30 catapults, and they were able to hit the approaching Mayan swordsmen before the actual attack even began. An estimated 2,000 Mayan swordsmen succeeded in killing the 7,000 swordsmen in the French army, with practically no losses on their side. The town of Défaite was named to commemorate this French defeat.

[size=-2]View of northern France around 110BC[/size]
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The Sumerians showed up again in 90BC, and this time war was formally declared.

Meanwhile, resistance from the Aztec population in Tlaxcala was fierce. The French conquerors were ruthless, and let a third of the population starve by prohibiting any crop cultivation. Another third of the population died from the harsh conditions as they were forced to build city walls. When the Tlaxcalans finally accepted defeat, there were a mere 10,000 citizens left.

As the pressure rose in the north, the French still expanded by founding Calé-en-Desert.

[size=-2]View of northern France in 70BC[/size]
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The first swordsmen army was to be replaced as soon as possible by the third swordsmen army, and soon enough, another great military leader rose to take up the challenge of leading that army. The swordsmen division stationed in Bailli took out a Mayan javelin thrower in a daring flanking manœuvre, demonstrating the prowess of their leader.

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The French remained philosophical about it. As the size of the empire increased, they though it useful to devise a way to impose more order in their society.

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[Mumpulus]

Spoiler Picture :

Brief town/builds information:
- Épices and Quentin are at 10spt doing swords and the occasional horseman
- Ancêtres is at 6/7spt doing 3-turn spears
- Gaulle is at 4spt doing 5-turn spears
- Paris does a 3 or 4 turn settler cycle, occasionally a spearman to grow to size 6, then 1-turn workers for 3 or 4 turns
- Other towns are on catapults; when they grow they'll shift to troops (Calé-sur-Mer and Charleville should be able to shift soonish)

Brief troop movement information:
- Aztecs and Persians arrive where you see their archers (near Tlaxcala, green and teal respectively), they go for Tlaxcala/Charleville/Calé-sur-Mer
- Chinese arrive a few tiles west of the Aztecs, are a bit indecisive, mostly aim for Charleville, sometimes Épices; spearmen most likely heading for the silks at Soies
- Mayans arrive further west, due north between the current Chinese spearmen positions, then move due northwest towards the Bailli mountains, targeting Soies
- Egyptians arrive mostly from the direction of Busiris targeting Acheval, and occasionally from the direction of Abydos, targeting Calé-en-Desert or Défaite.
- Romans, Sumerians, Greeks have yet to send their first wave (I better start preparing for that, come to think of it)
- landings have been between Calé-sur-Mer and Feu Royal, recently south of Bovin (which is doable)

Brief overview on my short term plans:
- builds towns in the jungle: take or replace Hangchow and another town 3SW of Épices
- build towns towards the Aztecs (not easy with the mountains in CxxC spots)
- I'll probably push south before turning to the Persians (east)
- I'll explore some more straight north from Calé-en-Desert; hopefully find coast so I can fill the northeast to gain unit support (horrid terrain there though)
- if I gain another army: go for Tenochtitlan, try to get FP there asap

 

[Mumpulus]

Around the epoch of our calendar era, it became evident that the French had rough times ahead. The enemy outnumbered the French defenders. In 10BC there were 24,000 Mayans on the doorstep of Soies. Fortunately, many of the renowned French catapults were there, and heavily bombarded the Mayans. Around 11,000 Mayans were killed by bombardment alone. The Mayans could still have inflicted much damage had they attacked, but instead they decided to pull back and wait for reinforcements.

In 10AD, the Chinese town of Hangchow fell to the Armée Épéeistes III. The Armée Épéistes II was also in the area, along with a significant number of catapults. The southern area was relatively secure at that time.

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In the north, the situation was much less certain. The Mayans were approaching Soies from the southeast, constantly looking for a way to gain the high ground. French spearmen had been stationed on the Chaîne des Titans mountains to avoid that. Spearmen from practically all nations were bent on reaching the area where the silks were harvested.

[size=-2]View of southwest France, ca. 30AD[/size]
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But the most significant fact was the arrival of the first medieval infantry, sent by Egypt from the north. Defenses there were light, and there were no catapults in the area. About 50 of them were quickly dispatched from Soies. They wouldn't arrive in time to deal with the Egyptians should they decide to attack Calé-en-Desert.

[size=-2]View of northern France, ca. 30AD. Egyptian troop movement has been marked.[/size]
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The walls of Soies were completed in 30AD. That would help a great deal, because it wasn't at all certain that bombardment would always be sufficient to hold off the Mayans. Moreover, some of the northern defenses would probably have to be shifted south, because the first Aztec medieval infantry was sighted there. The first medieval infantry attack, by the Egyptians, was fended off at Calé-en-Desert in 50AD. Also in 50AD, we met our 9th enemy, Korea, when they sailed by in a galley.

The French sages continued their research as fast as possible. Except the Greeks and the Koreans, all enemy civilizations were far ahead technologically. The Mayans had already mastered invention.

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In 90AD, Laloi was founded under ever rising pressure: the first Mayan medieval infantry was spotted, and the Romans were arriving, with ancient cavalry.

[size=-2]View of west-central France, ca. 90AD[/size]
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Until 110AD, the French had had five enemies to really fight, and three of them had a relatively weak military. From 110AD onwards, there were seven active enemies, and only two of them were still without armored soldiers. The Romans arrived in force with 16,000 heavy cavalry, and the Greeks with 12,000 light cavalry. The French had 19,000 spearmen in the area...

[size=-2]View of northwest France, ca. 110AD[/size]
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[Mumpulus]

The Battle of Acheval was fought from 130AD to 150AD in the Acheval-Gaulle region, at the northwestern front at the time, between French troops and heavy Roman cavalry.

Background

Acheval had been the location of some minor battles, but the region had never been an important theater. The Egyptians had been sending their troops in a very scattered order, and all other enemies converged on Soies. There were very few French troops stationed in the area. To complicate matters for the French, the Armée Épéistes IV had moved out of Soies in pursuit of retreating enemy units, and could not make it back in time to help with the defense of Acheval.

Acheval was guarded by the elite Lanciers Épiciers, led by their original leader Napoléon d'Arsqui, who had retaken command after the defeat of the Armée Épéistes I. There were veteran spearmen guarding the horses, who could fortify Acheval as well. Other than that, only the single spearmen division guarding Soies would be able to make it to Acheval in time to defend. There was a contingent of 10 catapults between Soies and Acheval, but all other catapults were further away.

The only advantage for the defenders in Acheval, was that the town had been built on the slopes of the Chaîne des Titans, and it was entirely walled.

At the time, the horses near Acheval were the only available source of horses in the entire French empire. Even though only two horsemen divisions had been trained until then, the French military command wanted to keep open the option to train more. But they saw no choice but to retreat the spearman division guarding the horses into the town. The loss of Acheval would be much worse. The council decided to send the settler party that was holding ready in Paris towards the horses in the Chaîne des Loups.

Advance

At the start of the Franco-Roman war, the Romans had decided to use a two-pronged attack, in an effort to throw the French off. A single division of heavy cavalry had traveled via Tenochtitlan, and reached Hangchow in 130AD. This division had been spotted years earlier by the Armée Épéistes II, and the French believed the Romans would be approaching from the south.

However, the main force of Roman cavalry took a completely different route. 16,000 cavalry traveled via Busiris and approached from the north. 4,000 more stayed south of Busiris, and approached from the west.

The Romans converged near Mont Doré. The French had been caught completely by surprise.

[size=-2]French workers building a road south of Gaulle,
fragment of Napoléon's Column, Gaulle.[/size]​

Prelude

The situation at Acheval was catastrophic for the French. They would have to relinquish their position at the horses, that would almost certainly be pillaged by the Romans. There were workers available to repair any damage, but it would be hard to defend them with every hand needed to defend the towns in the area. They therefore started a road south of Gaulle, from where they'd continue west to have an alternative route towards Acheval.

The swordsmen stationed between Gaulle and Calé-en-Desert moved in from the north, but stayed out of range of the Romans. Another contingent of swordsmen would soon finish their training in Gaulle. A contingent that was ready in Ancêtres moved in from the east.

To make matters worse, the Armée Épéistes IV had a very hard time extirpating a mere 1,000 Mayan javelin throwers south of Soies. 4,000 French soldiers died in that skirmish. The catapults in Soies succeeded in inflicting sufficient casualties to the 2 divisions of Mayan medieval infantry, so that the spearmen from Soies could go and help in Acheval.

The catapults that could reach Acheval hit their target, and about 1,000 Roman cavalry died. One additional catapult contingent moved from Soies to Acheval to help with the defense.

Only three French divisions would fight in the Battle of Acheval. There had only been 7 French engagements in preparation. For comparison: that same year in the south of France 6 enemy divisions were completely routed (19,000 enemies died, for the loss of 4,000 French) in 17 engagements.

[size=-2]View of the Acheval-Soies area ca. 130AD[/size]
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Battle

The Romans failed to acknowledge the strategic importance of the horses, and directly attacked Acheval. The French catapults had excellent aim as always, and both attacking cavalry divisions suffered losses before their actual attack even began. One division was routed entirely, another retreated to Mont Doré when there were only 1,000 men left. The division that had been hit by the French preemptive strike retreated without attacking at all.

The French pursued the wounded Romans, moving through the Forêt de Gaulle. The advancing French spotted more Roman cavalry approaching from the direction of Busiris.

[size=-2]View of the Acheval-Soies area ca. 150AC[/size]
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Aftermath

Some Roman cavalry managed to escape, but the French continued their pursuit in the years after the main battle, and were able to kill many of them. The French also incurred some more losses during that time.

The Romans were dealt a serious blow. They had had the advantage of surprise and superior numbers, but their first assault was struck down easily and they hadn't gained anything.

The French tried to establish a forward base on or near Mont Doré to have earlier warning. But mostly they now had to turn their attention to Bailli, where hordes of Mayans were approaching, and to the south, where the Sumerians were turning up in force.