Sir Donald III
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Any War Weariness problems?
The Chronicles of Khan
- Thread starter Sandman2003
- Start date
Now, now. This isn't the Celtic peacekeepers.
Sandman2003
Prince
Chapter Sixteen: The Portuguese War
On the declaration of hostilities, the troop dispositions of both sides came as a surprise to each other. The Portuguese had been marching forces to attack the Babylonians to honour their agreement with the Byzantines. This meant that a substantial force was in the vicinity of the Mongolian city of Hakodate, just on the western side of the Great Dividing Range.
From the Mongolian perspective, the strategic rail net was about half complete at the time of the declaration of hostilities, but troops had already been on the move, repositioning from the Byzantine war. As that front had successfully been closed due to the elimination of all mainland Byzantine holdings, the forces were being redeployed along the Mongolian frontlines. This inevitably had meant the assigning of much force to the Portuguese extended front, as they were clearly recognised as both untrustworthy from the past, and with such a long shared border, they represented a clear danger to the lightly defended frontier towns.
However, what the Portuguese lacked in quality of troops they more than made up for in terms of numbers. Their force on the move towards Babylon comprised fully six divisions, and it was to be the Portuguese who were in position to strike the Mongolians first! At New Heidelberg, an ancient cavalry battalion successfully took on the town’s musket defenders to take the town. However, the initial longbow attack on Hakodate was repulsed. By Gem City, the Portuguese captured a large worker gang en route to the town itself, little realising that this was no longer the only source of gems for the Mongolian nation.
It was also at this time that the long transition from one government type to another was finally over. Some might argue that the choice of the Khan was not the most militarily expedient, but he had decided to expedite technological pursuits above all else to ensure that Mongolian forces in the field would always be of superior quality to the enemy in this ever hostile world.
With the new government in place, new technologies were able to be researched in 20 to 25 years – far faster than at any time previously in the Mongolian history.
But there was a war to be fought, and Subedei was once more keen to prove himself equal to the challenge. The first cavalry army was the first of the repositioned troops to arrive in the New Heidelberg-Hakodate theatre of war, and it was used to quickly dispense with three battalions of horsemen who were gathering by the newly captured city. The defenders of Hakodate held off a spear and two longbow battalions.
Then the third keshik army was finally in position to strike! Singlehandedly, the unit destroyed the defence of a pike, an ancient cavalry and a spear battalion to reclaim New Heidelberg. In the process, all the captured workers were liberated, so they could return to their previously assigned tasks.
The first and fourth cavalry armies together account for a further eight battalions in this area, however, in spite of the best efforts of the superior force, the Portuguese still had a full five divisions of forces threatening the town of Hakodate.
With such a massive concentration of force, albeit a somewhat dated force, Subedei reasoned that there was no reasonable way that he could safely defend this former Japanese town. Therefore, he ordered a full withdrawal of personnel under the cover provided by the fourth cavalry army and the defending musket battalion. Then the town was razed to the ground! There would be no free prices for the evil Portuguese!
Subedei’s forces were not confined to just this one chosen threatre of operations, however, for he had built up some force in the town of Tokyo. Tokyo was nearly in the middle of the Portuguese holdings to the east of the Great Dividing Range, and offered an access to the Portuguese town of Sao Paulo. The loss of this city would mean that the east GDR towns would be effectively cut off from one another, leaving easier pickings behind.
With no armies at his immediate disposal, Subedei attacked with three cavalry battalions, and advanced a keshik battalion that would be in range should a second strike be necessary. In the event, the Portuguese successfully held off the initial assault losing two pike battalions to one cavalry battalion. The second offensive is launched and the final pike and spear battalions fall without causing any further Mongolian loss, while an additional pike battalion on the way to reinforcing Sao Paulo is also destroyed.
Meanwhile, Yeh-lu managed to weave some magic to persuade the furious Incans to once more enter into a right of passage agreement with the Mongolians, and in return be supplied with the prized Mongolian wines. It had been thought that the abuse of such a diplomatic agreement with the Byzantines would have prevented other nations from agreeing to such an arrangement, thus showing the true genius of the accomplishment of Yeh-lu.
Back by New Heidelberg, as the Portuguese regrouped for a renewed attack against the town, the Mongolian forces were reinforced with the seventh keshik army and chagatai’s keshik army, so that even though the first cavalry army needed to rest up, these armies went Portuguese hunting. With the help of the third keshik army and the fourth cavalry army no less than thirteen thousand Portuguese troops were destroyed in a single massive battle. There was no way that the Portuguese could sustain losses of this magnitude, especially in their prized strike force, though with still more than three divisions the field commanders foolishly pressed on, reasoning that even Mongolian cavalry armies needed pause to regain their strength after such a massive confrontation.
Back in Karakorum the sages demonstrate the new knowledge of Industrilisation to the Khan’s court and are authorised to continue with generous funding towards the knowledge of electricity. Some of the new factories this technology allows are built in the core cities, to further boost the Mongolian production.
In the killing fields of New Heidelberg, the first cavalry army combines with Chagatai’s keshik army to destroy six thousand more Portuguese, then with the third keshik army to kill another five thousand Portuguese. You would think that Henry’s forces would get the message, but no, they still press on!
In a side battle, the Portuguese launch a minor incursion by Matsuyama. But the Mongolian retaliation is more than equal to the threat. First an elite keshik battalion destroys a horse battalion, then although a cavalry battalion retreats from a spear battalion, a second, more determined unit finishes that menace.
Further east the Sao Paulo force presses on to Emerita. Commander Chagatai of the 57th elite Keshik core demonstrates his genetic inheritance against a spear battalion, to again earn a Chagatai the command of an army. This time though, he jumps straight up to the cavalry core, and commands the fifth cavalry army.
An elite cavalry battalion joins in destroying the remaining spear battalion to seize Emerita.
Meanwhile, the idyllic city of Oporto, nestled as it is by the edge of the Great Dividing Range, faced the onslaught of one more elite cavalry battalion and the newly formed fifth cavalry army. By retreating the cavalry battalion, the defence of Oporto held long enough to face the second attack, but with the loss of a pike and spear battalion to the 5th cavalry army, and then in the second wave, a keshik army destroyed a spear and a longbow to claim the city.
And just to the north, the city of Faro was able to mount only weak resistance as two pike battalions were swept aside by two cavalry battalions to fall to the Mongols. The town of Visieu was able to hold out slightly longer, perhaps because it was attacked by the outdated keshik units, and managed to retreat one, but in the second attack, the second spear battalion was destroyed adding another city to the Mongols collection.
The Portuguese managed to mount a minimal resistance with two archer battalions attacking two cavalry battalions, though the results did not favour the Portuguese as they lost a battalion and only succeeded in retreating a cavalry battalion. In a more daring, but ultimately foolish move, the Portuguese sailed a horse battalion all the way to Thermoplae, only to see it destroyed easily by a cavalry battalion, brought in on the Mongolian rail net.
But the Mongolian – Portuguese War is no the only scene of such violence at this time. The Romans and the Incans were locked in a desperate struggle with the Incans clearly emerging as the victor. The Roman’s long war with the Babylonians had left them battle weary and depleted in troop numbers, and certainly in no good position to take on the might of a modern well trained army equipped with the latest cavalry units. The Incans pressed down though the Babylonian territory conquering Shurruppak, Ceasaraugusta, Lugdunum, Viroconium, Cumae, Hispalis, Nicopolis, and Tarentum in quick succession. This cleaved the Roman empire in two, and brought the Incans into sight of Rome itself!
By New Heidelberg a further four thousand Portuguese troops fall to the first and the fourth cavalry armies. By Gem city, a keshik dies to an archer, but the seventh keshik army kills another archer and a longbow. By Faro Kublai’s keshik army kills a pike and a spear battalion, while cavalry kill four longbow battalions for the loss of one.
East of the GDR, the Portuguese just have two cities left, Castello Branco and Badajoz. Castello Branco is attacked next, but holds out the initial attack by retreating two cavalry battalions, though in the process losing a spear battalion. In the Portuguese counter attack an archer battalion succumbs to a cavalry battalion, but then the second charge on the town destroyed the remaining spear battalion, and the town fell into Mongolian hands.
On the declaration of hostilities, the troop dispositions of both sides came as a surprise to each other. The Portuguese had been marching forces to attack the Babylonians to honour their agreement with the Byzantines. This meant that a substantial force was in the vicinity of the Mongolian city of Hakodate, just on the western side of the Great Dividing Range.
From the Mongolian perspective, the strategic rail net was about half complete at the time of the declaration of hostilities, but troops had already been on the move, repositioning from the Byzantine war. As that front had successfully been closed due to the elimination of all mainland Byzantine holdings, the forces were being redeployed along the Mongolian frontlines. This inevitably had meant the assigning of much force to the Portuguese extended front, as they were clearly recognised as both untrustworthy from the past, and with such a long shared border, they represented a clear danger to the lightly defended frontier towns.
However, what the Portuguese lacked in quality of troops they more than made up for in terms of numbers. Their force on the move towards Babylon comprised fully six divisions, and it was to be the Portuguese who were in position to strike the Mongolians first! At New Heidelberg, an ancient cavalry battalion successfully took on the town’s musket defenders to take the town. However, the initial longbow attack on Hakodate was repulsed. By Gem City, the Portuguese captured a large worker gang en route to the town itself, little realising that this was no longer the only source of gems for the Mongolian nation.
It was also at this time that the long transition from one government type to another was finally over. Some might argue that the choice of the Khan was not the most militarily expedient, but he had decided to expedite technological pursuits above all else to ensure that Mongolian forces in the field would always be of superior quality to the enemy in this ever hostile world.
With the new government in place, new technologies were able to be researched in 20 to 25 years – far faster than at any time previously in the Mongolian history.
But there was a war to be fought, and Subedei was once more keen to prove himself equal to the challenge. The first cavalry army was the first of the repositioned troops to arrive in the New Heidelberg-Hakodate theatre of war, and it was used to quickly dispense with three battalions of horsemen who were gathering by the newly captured city. The defenders of Hakodate held off a spear and two longbow battalions.
Then the third keshik army was finally in position to strike! Singlehandedly, the unit destroyed the defence of a pike, an ancient cavalry and a spear battalion to reclaim New Heidelberg. In the process, all the captured workers were liberated, so they could return to their previously assigned tasks.
The first and fourth cavalry armies together account for a further eight battalions in this area, however, in spite of the best efforts of the superior force, the Portuguese still had a full five divisions of forces threatening the town of Hakodate.
With such a massive concentration of force, albeit a somewhat dated force, Subedei reasoned that there was no reasonable way that he could safely defend this former Japanese town. Therefore, he ordered a full withdrawal of personnel under the cover provided by the fourth cavalry army and the defending musket battalion. Then the town was razed to the ground! There would be no free prices for the evil Portuguese!
Subedei’s forces were not confined to just this one chosen threatre of operations, however, for he had built up some force in the town of Tokyo. Tokyo was nearly in the middle of the Portuguese holdings to the east of the Great Dividing Range, and offered an access to the Portuguese town of Sao Paulo. The loss of this city would mean that the east GDR towns would be effectively cut off from one another, leaving easier pickings behind.
With no armies at his immediate disposal, Subedei attacked with three cavalry battalions, and advanced a keshik battalion that would be in range should a second strike be necessary. In the event, the Portuguese successfully held off the initial assault losing two pike battalions to one cavalry battalion. The second offensive is launched and the final pike and spear battalions fall without causing any further Mongolian loss, while an additional pike battalion on the way to reinforcing Sao Paulo is also destroyed.
Meanwhile, Yeh-lu managed to weave some magic to persuade the furious Incans to once more enter into a right of passage agreement with the Mongolians, and in return be supplied with the prized Mongolian wines. It had been thought that the abuse of such a diplomatic agreement with the Byzantines would have prevented other nations from agreeing to such an arrangement, thus showing the true genius of the accomplishment of Yeh-lu.
Back by New Heidelberg, as the Portuguese regrouped for a renewed attack against the town, the Mongolian forces were reinforced with the seventh keshik army and chagatai’s keshik army, so that even though the first cavalry army needed to rest up, these armies went Portuguese hunting. With the help of the third keshik army and the fourth cavalry army no less than thirteen thousand Portuguese troops were destroyed in a single massive battle. There was no way that the Portuguese could sustain losses of this magnitude, especially in their prized strike force, though with still more than three divisions the field commanders foolishly pressed on, reasoning that even Mongolian cavalry armies needed pause to regain their strength after such a massive confrontation.
Back in Karakorum the sages demonstrate the new knowledge of Industrilisation to the Khan’s court and are authorised to continue with generous funding towards the knowledge of electricity. Some of the new factories this technology allows are built in the core cities, to further boost the Mongolian production.
In the killing fields of New Heidelberg, the first cavalry army combines with Chagatai’s keshik army to destroy six thousand more Portuguese, then with the third keshik army to kill another five thousand Portuguese. You would think that Henry’s forces would get the message, but no, they still press on!
In a side battle, the Portuguese launch a minor incursion by Matsuyama. But the Mongolian retaliation is more than equal to the threat. First an elite keshik battalion destroys a horse battalion, then although a cavalry battalion retreats from a spear battalion, a second, more determined unit finishes that menace.
Further east the Sao Paulo force presses on to Emerita. Commander Chagatai of the 57th elite Keshik core demonstrates his genetic inheritance against a spear battalion, to again earn a Chagatai the command of an army. This time though, he jumps straight up to the cavalry core, and commands the fifth cavalry army.
An elite cavalry battalion joins in destroying the remaining spear battalion to seize Emerita.
Meanwhile, the idyllic city of Oporto, nestled as it is by the edge of the Great Dividing Range, faced the onslaught of one more elite cavalry battalion and the newly formed fifth cavalry army. By retreating the cavalry battalion, the defence of Oporto held long enough to face the second attack, but with the loss of a pike and spear battalion to the 5th cavalry army, and then in the second wave, a keshik army destroyed a spear and a longbow to claim the city.
And just to the north, the city of Faro was able to mount only weak resistance as two pike battalions were swept aside by two cavalry battalions to fall to the Mongols. The town of Visieu was able to hold out slightly longer, perhaps because it was attacked by the outdated keshik units, and managed to retreat one, but in the second attack, the second spear battalion was destroyed adding another city to the Mongols collection.
The Portuguese managed to mount a minimal resistance with two archer battalions attacking two cavalry battalions, though the results did not favour the Portuguese as they lost a battalion and only succeeded in retreating a cavalry battalion. In a more daring, but ultimately foolish move, the Portuguese sailed a horse battalion all the way to Thermoplae, only to see it destroyed easily by a cavalry battalion, brought in on the Mongolian rail net.
But the Mongolian – Portuguese War is no the only scene of such violence at this time. The Romans and the Incans were locked in a desperate struggle with the Incans clearly emerging as the victor. The Roman’s long war with the Babylonians had left them battle weary and depleted in troop numbers, and certainly in no good position to take on the might of a modern well trained army equipped with the latest cavalry units. The Incans pressed down though the Babylonian territory conquering Shurruppak, Ceasaraugusta, Lugdunum, Viroconium, Cumae, Hispalis, Nicopolis, and Tarentum in quick succession. This cleaved the Roman empire in two, and brought the Incans into sight of Rome itself!
By New Heidelberg a further four thousand Portuguese troops fall to the first and the fourth cavalry armies. By Gem city, a keshik dies to an archer, but the seventh keshik army kills another archer and a longbow. By Faro Kublai’s keshik army kills a pike and a spear battalion, while cavalry kill four longbow battalions for the loss of one.
East of the GDR, the Portuguese just have two cities left, Castello Branco and Badajoz. Castello Branco is attacked next, but holds out the initial attack by retreating two cavalry battalions, though in the process losing a spear battalion. In the Portuguese counter attack an archer battalion succumbs to a cavalry battalion, but then the second charge on the town destroyed the remaining spear battalion, and the town fell into Mongolian hands.
Sandman2003
Prince
Chapter Sixteen continued
Back in Karakorum, the Khan had just finished hearing about the progress in the Portuguese war and was now ready to hear from Yeh-lu on the domestic front. Yeh-lu was concerned with the draining of the treasury at this time, and whether the current technological pace could continue to be maintained. The Khan urged that the technological pace be maintained at all costs, and so suggested to Yeh-lu that he travel once more to see which nations had cash and offer them our technologies if there existed sufficient incentive for it. After an exhaustive search, Yeh-lu discovered that off all the world’s nations, only the Dutch had financial resources at this time. It appeared that the rest of the world was paying the Dutch for their older technologies, leaving the Dutch in possession of substantial income to pursue their own research, or better yet, fund the Mongols.
Yeh-lu found William to be annoyed with the Mongols, but still prepared to make a massive ongoing cash contribution in return for the knowledge of Industrialisation, and although Yeh-lu knew that this would leave the Dutch with the government advances of communism and fascism, giving them an effective technological lead, Yeh-lu believed that the Mongols had no use for these governments, and that with this funding, the Dutch could not compete with the Mongolian sages!
With the new funding, Mongolian science was able to continue at maximum pace.
The remnants of the Portuguese assault force by New Heidelberg had finally seen reason and retreated to the vicinity of newly conquered Viseu. However, this was to be their Waterloo, for although there were still in excess of a division of Portuguese troops, Kublai’s keshik army backed by five cavalry battalions, two elite keshik battalions and a rifle battalion were finally able to annihilate the entire remainder of the force for the loss of a single cavalry battalion!
The seventh keshik army hunted down and destroyed a lone archer battalion left in the GDR, while the battle for Luanda, the first Portuguese city to the west of the GDR began. However, here the Portuguese had left many defenders, and although the third keshik army and Chagatai’s keshik army combined to destroy three pike and a spear battalion, the city still held out! But, as in numerous previous battles, in the second attack Chagatai’s keshik army destroyed two more longbow battalions, and this city also fell. Three more Portuguese longbow battalions were destroyed en route to reinforcing the besieged town.
Badajoz, the sole surviving Portuguese town to the east of the GDR was finally in range for an attack. In the end it took just the second keshik army and one elite cavalry battalion to destroy two defending spear units and capture the town, completing the Portuguese rout on the eastern side of the GDR!
Braga was attacked next. A keshik army and the fifth cavalry army each killed a pike, before Tolui’s cavalry battalion destroyed the remaining pike to claim the city, and earn Tolui command of his own cavalry army.
Meanwhile, America finally made peace with the Byzantines, as Abe finally realised that it was pointless attempting to war against a nation holed up on a one tile island. The Romans and the Babylonians finally ended their many centuries old conflict as well, as the Romans braced for the continuing onslaught of the Incans. The Mongolian sages were also able to demonstrate the secrets of electricity to the Khan, as they were authorised to proceed to replaceable parts with all haste.
The Portuguese survived just twenty more years. Alcacer do Sal fell to the 4th cavalry army, It took three armies to capture Lisbon and the Statue of Zeus, but this put an end to the bothersome ancient cavalry. Guada fell to the fifth cavalry army. Coimbra fell to Tolui’s cavalry army, Guimaraes fell to the third cavalry army with some help form a keshik army. Lagos fell to four cavalry vbattalions.
The Portuguese continued a determined, but futile attempt to capture Thermoplae landing first a longbow battalion that was destroyed by a cavalry, then landing a combined force of an ancient cavalry, a knight a longbow and a spear battalion. However, this force was never engaged in battle. As the Portuguese empire crumbled around them, these units simply dissipated into the surrounding terrain, shedding all vestige of being military units so that they could be absorbed into Mongolian society.
Finally, Rio Janeiro fell to four cavalry battalions. Leiria was attacked by the second keshik army, but it took an ROP with Babylon bribing them with wines and furs for the third keshik army to reach Leira, and finish the city off. Sagres fell to the fourth and first cavalry army, and with the Babylonians capturing Evora, the once proud Portuguese nation was no more.
The destruction of the Portuguese had taken just six decades.
Back in Karakorum, the Khan had just finished hearing about the progress in the Portuguese war and was now ready to hear from Yeh-lu on the domestic front. Yeh-lu was concerned with the draining of the treasury at this time, and whether the current technological pace could continue to be maintained. The Khan urged that the technological pace be maintained at all costs, and so suggested to Yeh-lu that he travel once more to see which nations had cash and offer them our technologies if there existed sufficient incentive for it. After an exhaustive search, Yeh-lu discovered that off all the world’s nations, only the Dutch had financial resources at this time. It appeared that the rest of the world was paying the Dutch for their older technologies, leaving the Dutch in possession of substantial income to pursue their own research, or better yet, fund the Mongols.
Yeh-lu found William to be annoyed with the Mongols, but still prepared to make a massive ongoing cash contribution in return for the knowledge of Industrialisation, and although Yeh-lu knew that this would leave the Dutch with the government advances of communism and fascism, giving them an effective technological lead, Yeh-lu believed that the Mongols had no use for these governments, and that with this funding, the Dutch could not compete with the Mongolian sages!
With the new funding, Mongolian science was able to continue at maximum pace.
The remnants of the Portuguese assault force by New Heidelberg had finally seen reason and retreated to the vicinity of newly conquered Viseu. However, this was to be their Waterloo, for although there were still in excess of a division of Portuguese troops, Kublai’s keshik army backed by five cavalry battalions, two elite keshik battalions and a rifle battalion were finally able to annihilate the entire remainder of the force for the loss of a single cavalry battalion!
The seventh keshik army hunted down and destroyed a lone archer battalion left in the GDR, while the battle for Luanda, the first Portuguese city to the west of the GDR began. However, here the Portuguese had left many defenders, and although the third keshik army and Chagatai’s keshik army combined to destroy three pike and a spear battalion, the city still held out! But, as in numerous previous battles, in the second attack Chagatai’s keshik army destroyed two more longbow battalions, and this city also fell. Three more Portuguese longbow battalions were destroyed en route to reinforcing the besieged town.
Badajoz, the sole surviving Portuguese town to the east of the GDR was finally in range for an attack. In the end it took just the second keshik army and one elite cavalry battalion to destroy two defending spear units and capture the town, completing the Portuguese rout on the eastern side of the GDR!
Braga was attacked next. A keshik army and the fifth cavalry army each killed a pike, before Tolui’s cavalry battalion destroyed the remaining pike to claim the city, and earn Tolui command of his own cavalry army.
Meanwhile, America finally made peace with the Byzantines, as Abe finally realised that it was pointless attempting to war against a nation holed up on a one tile island. The Romans and the Babylonians finally ended their many centuries old conflict as well, as the Romans braced for the continuing onslaught of the Incans. The Mongolian sages were also able to demonstrate the secrets of electricity to the Khan, as they were authorised to proceed to replaceable parts with all haste.
The Portuguese survived just twenty more years. Alcacer do Sal fell to the 4th cavalry army, It took three armies to capture Lisbon and the Statue of Zeus, but this put an end to the bothersome ancient cavalry. Guada fell to the fifth cavalry army. Coimbra fell to Tolui’s cavalry army, Guimaraes fell to the third cavalry army with some help form a keshik army. Lagos fell to four cavalry vbattalions.
The Portuguese continued a determined, but futile attempt to capture Thermoplae landing first a longbow battalion that was destroyed by a cavalry, then landing a combined force of an ancient cavalry, a knight a longbow and a spear battalion. However, this force was never engaged in battle. As the Portuguese empire crumbled around them, these units simply dissipated into the surrounding terrain, shedding all vestige of being military units so that they could be absorbed into Mongolian society.
Finally, Rio Janeiro fell to four cavalry battalions. Leiria was attacked by the second keshik army, but it took an ROP with Babylon bribing them with wines and furs for the third keshik army to reach Leira, and finish the city off. Sagres fell to the fourth and first cavalry army, and with the Babylonians capturing Evora, the once proud Portuguese nation was no more.
The destruction of the Portuguese had taken just six decades.
Sandman2003
Prince
CivBattle, the next nation on the Mongolian radar is kind of governed by in game events, so you will have to wait for the next chapter - played but not yet written up.
General Mayhem
Monarch
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2004
- Messages
- 329
Another awesome story, keep up the good work!
Sandman2003
Prince
Chapter Seventeen - The Age of Science
Subedei was on a roll. The efficiency of the Mongolian war machine was reaching new heights. Subedei longed for more action, and presumed that the Americans would be next. The American campaign had long been on the Khan’s agenda, ever since the days of the Mongolian-Byzantine Pact. Also the Americans were the sole surviving nation with interests in the rear of the new Mongolian front. In fact with their scattered holdings through former Germany and former China, the Americans posed a very real strike threat from multiple angles into Mongolian territory, and were therefore seen as a strategic threat. The Americans also had a large and powerful economy, though they lacked the technological progress of the Mongols.
It was not to be. As though sensing their imminent peril, Lincoln struck the one deal that guaranteed the Americans their safety, at least for now. He signed a mutual protection pact with the Dutch. Under the terms of this pact, any aggression against either nation, would result in the other declaring war on the aggressor nation. Now, clearly the Khan did not fear even the combined armies of both these nations, but, the Dutch were locked into paying the Mongols a substantial regular tribute in exchange for the knowledge of Industrialisation. This funding was in turn paying for the Mongolian rapid technological progress that the Khan believed would be crucial to bringing peace to this savage world – Mongolian peace, of course. Therefore, for the duration of this Dutch agreement, the Americans were off the table as a potential military target.
In fact, Yeh-lu was to report that the Americans had adopted a furious attitude towards the Mongols. So even if they were to leave the Americans in peace, there was a very real danger of the Americans launching a surprise attack against the Mongols, and still triggering the Mutual Protection Pact with the Dutch, and thus still destroying the Dutch funding. This threat had to be dealt with, but clearly not Subedei’s way, instead the almost magical powers of Yeh-lu would be required.
Yeh-lu journeyed to America to try and dismantle the rising tide of distrust and amnity between the two nations. The initial meetings did not go well. Abe refused to even meet with Yeh-lu, sending a lacky in instead. The initial meetings consisted of Yeh-lu having to listen to a tirade of accusations and nonsense that essential amounted to nothing. This was clearly not going to ensure the results the Khan demanded.
Yeh-lu remembered from his dealings with Theodora that some cash always succeeded in lubricating the diplomatic channels and so presented the Americans with an outright gift of 100 gold. This helped. In fact it helped a lot. Lincoln would finally see Yeh-lu!
Lincoln was still annoyed. It was not clear exactly what had set him off. Perhaps all it amounted to ultimately was a profound jealousy at the significantly stronger and more dominant position of the Mongols in world affairs. The Americans had no where to expand their influence but into Mongolian territory, and any such incursion would inevitably lead to the destruction of their nation. Thus there was this American resentment. But resentment can make people do foolish things, and so the borders were still at risk.
Finally, it dawned on Yeh-lu. The answer was not to be found in America. The only thing that made America a threat was their pact with the Dutch. The place to counter this apparent American threat was in the court of King William.
Yeh-lu found William to be annoyed. That was a little surprising given the recent technology deal that cemented friedship between the nations. Certainly, there was no question that William would honour the American Pact, should it be called into force. The answer was simple. If the American deal gave the Dutch some comfort, then surely, a similar pact with the Mongols, the strongest nation on the planet, would afford much more comfort still to the Dutch? But no, William wanted more. The Dutch lacked even the strategic resource of iron, and so wanted this thrown into the deal, to seal it. Yeh-lu agreed, but managed to prise still more funding from the Dutch as well, and so the Dutch-Mongolian Mutual Protection Pact was born
Yeh-lu had once again succeeded in dismantling a potential threat. But this did not mean that the Mongols could rest. The rapid progress of the Incans against the failing Roman empire meant that the Incans were quickly rising to become the new super-power to the west of the Great Dividing Range. The Incans had been deploying many cavalry battalions in their demolition of the battered Roman defences. Against this threat the Romans had no answer. Did the Khan wish to have to deal with a new super power? The answer was clearly no.
And so a Mongolian Incan conflict was looming, but it was not to be either. Chebe had other ideas, and he took them to the Khan. At this time there was no direct threat from the strong Incans to the Mongols. The danger was simply allowing them to expand too far into Roman territory, and then be a greater threat later. An other option was to limit the Incans growth potential by grabbing Roman territory for the Mongols! This would allow some time for the completion of the Mongolian super soldiers promised by the sages, and effectively eliminate the Incans as a future threat. It was also a much easier war path.
The deed was sold as an act of liberation, for surely the Roman people would be better off under the prosperous Mongolian democracy, than oppressed under Incan rule! A right of passage agreement still existed between the Mongols and the Romans, and in fact would last a further five years. The Khan didn’t think the Romans would be able to hold off the Incans for another five years, and so once again such a treaty was violated. The war declaration had a negative impact internationally, however. The Americans were again furious with the Mongols, and so Yeh-lu bribed them still further, this time with a supply of Mongolian furs. This had the desired effect. Even the Americans realised the benefits to their economy of this luxury item – a benefit that would be instantly curtailed if they engaged in militant action against the Mongols. The Americans kept the peace.
The Roman war became a race between the Mongols and the Incans for the remaining Roman cities, although the Romans were able to throw up one surprise – they possessed muskets! However, the numbers of muskets were few, and even well equipped musket battalions were no match for cavalry battalions and cavalry armies!
The Mongols entered the fray in 1320AD, and quickly stormed over the far east city of Syracuse, destroying a musket and a pike battalion in the process. At Byzantium, though, the Mongols hit stiff resistance, losing a cavalry battalion and suffering a retreat, but cavalry armies backed by numerous cavalry battalions proved too much for four musket battalions in defence and the city fell.
The Incans struck the great blow of capturing the Roman capital, Rome. This was something of a no-contest however, as it was simply impossible for the Mongols to get their troops into position to have any show of reaching the city. However, this was to be the last city that fell to the Incans. The superior logistics of the great strategist, Subedei, combined with the Mongolian nations commitment to rapidly following up each new conquest with a rail link, meant that there was always a fresh supply of troops at the gate of each new city.
Neapolis, Pisae and Veii fell in quick succession to the advancing Mongol forces without loss, destroying four musket, three pike and a longbow battalion in the process. With the Incans rapidly advancing on Pompeii, and the clear war objective of preventing the Incan from claiming any more towns, the next Mongolian target was obvious. With railing almost to the door, and the advantage of the fats moving cavalry units, the Mongols were able to strike first. Two musket, a pike and a spear were swept aside to deliver the prise to the Mongols.
The remaining two Roman cities of Brundisium and Palmyra were protected by only pikes and spears, and were no match for the rapidly advancing Mongols. This quick twenty year Roman War had saved eight cities from the tyranny of Incan rule.
The ability of the Mongols to quickly build the all important logistical support of their railnet to the front lines had been boosted with the mid-war discovery of Replaceable Parts. This extra speed had proved decisive in the race for Pompeii, and greatly aided the cause in the rest of the Roman War.
Replaceable Parts offered another significant benefit in the form of the super soldier, the infantryman. A battalion of these new units could potentially hold at bay half a division of attacking cavalry. Finally the defence had come up with an answer to the modern offensive unit. With infantry in the border towns, the Khan would have no fears of successful armed incursions by the many remaining militant nations of the world. However, it would be some time before this situation would come to pass.
Meanwhile, this age of Mongolian science continued apace, with the generous scientifitc funding, the Mongolian sages continued to report new technological advances in a twenty year cycle. Shortly after the conclusion of the Roman War, the Sages were again to appear in the Khan’s court and demonstrate the secrets of a new discovery.
To the discovery of this new technology was added the news that a massive project that had been built in Ta-Tu, had been built with a special purpose related to this new technology. It emerged that this Theory of Evolution was able to propel the Mongolian sages to a whole new level of scientific understanding, and yield significant new advances to the Mongolian people.
Originally, it had been thought that the Khan would use this opportunity to invest in a massive project to garner a substantial productivity increase. However, the Khan remained ever focussed on the goal established at the time of changing governments into this new democracy – to establish a superior quality of military in the field of battle at all times. This lead to a long discussion with the sages on how best to capitalise on the benefits of this opportunity.
The net result of these discussions was for the Sages to return to the Khan’s court twice more in rapid succession with first the discovery of the Corporation – a way to further improve the massively strong Mongolian economy, and the discovery of Refining – a concept that revealed a new resource, that of oil, and one which was found in abundance in the existing Mongolian lands.
Research in these peaceful times then started on the concept of Steel, again expected in twenty years time.
Subedei was on a roll. The efficiency of the Mongolian war machine was reaching new heights. Subedei longed for more action, and presumed that the Americans would be next. The American campaign had long been on the Khan’s agenda, ever since the days of the Mongolian-Byzantine Pact. Also the Americans were the sole surviving nation with interests in the rear of the new Mongolian front. In fact with their scattered holdings through former Germany and former China, the Americans posed a very real strike threat from multiple angles into Mongolian territory, and were therefore seen as a strategic threat. The Americans also had a large and powerful economy, though they lacked the technological progress of the Mongols.
It was not to be. As though sensing their imminent peril, Lincoln struck the one deal that guaranteed the Americans their safety, at least for now. He signed a mutual protection pact with the Dutch. Under the terms of this pact, any aggression against either nation, would result in the other declaring war on the aggressor nation. Now, clearly the Khan did not fear even the combined armies of both these nations, but, the Dutch were locked into paying the Mongols a substantial regular tribute in exchange for the knowledge of Industrialisation. This funding was in turn paying for the Mongolian rapid technological progress that the Khan believed would be crucial to bringing peace to this savage world – Mongolian peace, of course. Therefore, for the duration of this Dutch agreement, the Americans were off the table as a potential military target.
In fact, Yeh-lu was to report that the Americans had adopted a furious attitude towards the Mongols. So even if they were to leave the Americans in peace, there was a very real danger of the Americans launching a surprise attack against the Mongols, and still triggering the Mutual Protection Pact with the Dutch, and thus still destroying the Dutch funding. This threat had to be dealt with, but clearly not Subedei’s way, instead the almost magical powers of Yeh-lu would be required.
Yeh-lu journeyed to America to try and dismantle the rising tide of distrust and amnity between the two nations. The initial meetings did not go well. Abe refused to even meet with Yeh-lu, sending a lacky in instead. The initial meetings consisted of Yeh-lu having to listen to a tirade of accusations and nonsense that essential amounted to nothing. This was clearly not going to ensure the results the Khan demanded.
Yeh-lu remembered from his dealings with Theodora that some cash always succeeded in lubricating the diplomatic channels and so presented the Americans with an outright gift of 100 gold. This helped. In fact it helped a lot. Lincoln would finally see Yeh-lu!
Lincoln was still annoyed. It was not clear exactly what had set him off. Perhaps all it amounted to ultimately was a profound jealousy at the significantly stronger and more dominant position of the Mongols in world affairs. The Americans had no where to expand their influence but into Mongolian territory, and any such incursion would inevitably lead to the destruction of their nation. Thus there was this American resentment. But resentment can make people do foolish things, and so the borders were still at risk.
Finally, it dawned on Yeh-lu. The answer was not to be found in America. The only thing that made America a threat was their pact with the Dutch. The place to counter this apparent American threat was in the court of King William.
Yeh-lu found William to be annoyed. That was a little surprising given the recent technology deal that cemented friedship between the nations. Certainly, there was no question that William would honour the American Pact, should it be called into force. The answer was simple. If the American deal gave the Dutch some comfort, then surely, a similar pact with the Mongols, the strongest nation on the planet, would afford much more comfort still to the Dutch? But no, William wanted more. The Dutch lacked even the strategic resource of iron, and so wanted this thrown into the deal, to seal it. Yeh-lu agreed, but managed to prise still more funding from the Dutch as well, and so the Dutch-Mongolian Mutual Protection Pact was born
Yeh-lu had once again succeeded in dismantling a potential threat. But this did not mean that the Mongols could rest. The rapid progress of the Incans against the failing Roman empire meant that the Incans were quickly rising to become the new super-power to the west of the Great Dividing Range. The Incans had been deploying many cavalry battalions in their demolition of the battered Roman defences. Against this threat the Romans had no answer. Did the Khan wish to have to deal with a new super power? The answer was clearly no.
And so a Mongolian Incan conflict was looming, but it was not to be either. Chebe had other ideas, and he took them to the Khan. At this time there was no direct threat from the strong Incans to the Mongols. The danger was simply allowing them to expand too far into Roman territory, and then be a greater threat later. An other option was to limit the Incans growth potential by grabbing Roman territory for the Mongols! This would allow some time for the completion of the Mongolian super soldiers promised by the sages, and effectively eliminate the Incans as a future threat. It was also a much easier war path.
The deed was sold as an act of liberation, for surely the Roman people would be better off under the prosperous Mongolian democracy, than oppressed under Incan rule! A right of passage agreement still existed between the Mongols and the Romans, and in fact would last a further five years. The Khan didn’t think the Romans would be able to hold off the Incans for another five years, and so once again such a treaty was violated. The war declaration had a negative impact internationally, however. The Americans were again furious with the Mongols, and so Yeh-lu bribed them still further, this time with a supply of Mongolian furs. This had the desired effect. Even the Americans realised the benefits to their economy of this luxury item – a benefit that would be instantly curtailed if they engaged in militant action against the Mongols. The Americans kept the peace.
The Roman war became a race between the Mongols and the Incans for the remaining Roman cities, although the Romans were able to throw up one surprise – they possessed muskets! However, the numbers of muskets were few, and even well equipped musket battalions were no match for cavalry battalions and cavalry armies!
The Mongols entered the fray in 1320AD, and quickly stormed over the far east city of Syracuse, destroying a musket and a pike battalion in the process. At Byzantium, though, the Mongols hit stiff resistance, losing a cavalry battalion and suffering a retreat, but cavalry armies backed by numerous cavalry battalions proved too much for four musket battalions in defence and the city fell.
The Incans struck the great blow of capturing the Roman capital, Rome. This was something of a no-contest however, as it was simply impossible for the Mongols to get their troops into position to have any show of reaching the city. However, this was to be the last city that fell to the Incans. The superior logistics of the great strategist, Subedei, combined with the Mongolian nations commitment to rapidly following up each new conquest with a rail link, meant that there was always a fresh supply of troops at the gate of each new city.
Neapolis, Pisae and Veii fell in quick succession to the advancing Mongol forces without loss, destroying four musket, three pike and a longbow battalion in the process. With the Incans rapidly advancing on Pompeii, and the clear war objective of preventing the Incan from claiming any more towns, the next Mongolian target was obvious. With railing almost to the door, and the advantage of the fats moving cavalry units, the Mongols were able to strike first. Two musket, a pike and a spear were swept aside to deliver the prise to the Mongols.
The remaining two Roman cities of Brundisium and Palmyra were protected by only pikes and spears, and were no match for the rapidly advancing Mongols. This quick twenty year Roman War had saved eight cities from the tyranny of Incan rule.
The ability of the Mongols to quickly build the all important logistical support of their railnet to the front lines had been boosted with the mid-war discovery of Replaceable Parts. This extra speed had proved decisive in the race for Pompeii, and greatly aided the cause in the rest of the Roman War.
Replaceable Parts offered another significant benefit in the form of the super soldier, the infantryman. A battalion of these new units could potentially hold at bay half a division of attacking cavalry. Finally the defence had come up with an answer to the modern offensive unit. With infantry in the border towns, the Khan would have no fears of successful armed incursions by the many remaining militant nations of the world. However, it would be some time before this situation would come to pass.
Meanwhile, this age of Mongolian science continued apace, with the generous scientifitc funding, the Mongolian sages continued to report new technological advances in a twenty year cycle. Shortly after the conclusion of the Roman War, the Sages were again to appear in the Khan’s court and demonstrate the secrets of a new discovery.
To the discovery of this new technology was added the news that a massive project that had been built in Ta-Tu, had been built with a special purpose related to this new technology. It emerged that this Theory of Evolution was able to propel the Mongolian sages to a whole new level of scientific understanding, and yield significant new advances to the Mongolian people.
Originally, it had been thought that the Khan would use this opportunity to invest in a massive project to garner a substantial productivity increase. However, the Khan remained ever focussed on the goal established at the time of changing governments into this new democracy – to establish a superior quality of military in the field of battle at all times. This lead to a long discussion with the sages on how best to capitalise on the benefits of this opportunity.
The net result of these discussions was for the Sages to return to the Khan’s court twice more in rapid succession with first the discovery of the Corporation – a way to further improve the massively strong Mongolian economy, and the discovery of Refining – a concept that revealed a new resource, that of oil, and one which was found in abundance in the existing Mongolian lands.
Research in these peaceful times then started on the concept of Steel, again expected in twenty years time.
mevlin
Chieftain
This is a quality story Sandman, respect!
Sandman2003
Prince
Chapter Eighteen – The Viking Incident
The peaceful age of science was not to last long. It was true that Subedei was still interested in pursuing the war against the Americans, and so liberate all the lands east of the Great Dividing Range under Mongol rule. However, with the Dutch locked into an MPP with the Americans, and currently funding the Mongols’ massive investment in technology. This avenue was effectively closed.
With each new territorial acquisition, the core of Mongolia seemed to be safer, but the people in the new territories rapidly adjusted to the Mongolian democratic ways, and in turn became at risk due to the ever extended Mongolian borders, and the ever hostile reception the vast Mongol nation was receiving on the world stage. This situation made the Khan ever more determined to pursue technological superiority in the field of battle at all costs, and so the science machine drove on.
The world seethed with resentment at the seemingly unchallengeable might of the Mongols. But there were ways to bring even the mightiest of foes down a peg, and the Scandinavian commanders decided to pursue just such a plan. The Scandinavians felt threatened by the sudden and rapid expansion of the Mongols westward over the Great Dividing Range. Until recently, this natural formation had been considered the divider between the nations of the east, and the nations of the west. Now one nation had become so dominant that it had massively expanded from its position in the east to extend well into the territory of the west.
It would certainly be foolish to challenge the might of the Mongols directly, but on the other hand, the Scandinavians were not the weaklings that the Portuguese and the Romans had been. The Scandinavian military was well equipped with modern rifle divisions, a defence that could easily blunt the attack of an equivalent number of cavalry divisions. Of course these units were still not as good as the recent infantry divisions that the Mongols were putting into the field of battle, but the Scandinavians still had some confidence in their ability to defend against Mongolian aggression.
Recent advances had brought the concept of an unbadged ship, the privateer. This was considered a low risk way of putting some hurt on the Mongols. It was known that the Mongols were interested in completing a full world map, and so had ships out in the Great Ocean mapping the remaining unknown areas, just in case any further islands should be revealed. This provided the Scandinavians with their opportunity. Two of these privateers, with hidden nationality, set sail on a mission to hunt down and kill any Mongolian ships that they should encounter.
In what became known as the Viking incident, these privateers happened upon two Mongolian vessels in the deep ocean in the late 1340’s AD. They opened fire, sinking a Mongolian vessel, but losing a privateer in the process. The remaining two ships were both severely wounded in the exchange, resulting in the Scandinavians calling it off, and heading to port for needed repairs. Interestingly enough, the Mongols were almost done, so they completed their world mapping exercise first, and then headed for port.
It is not known for sure how the Khan was able to trace this act of piracy back to the Scandinavians. Some have claimed that in the heat of battle, the Mongols heard the distinct sounds of the Viking accent, but most scholars doubt this theory, as the ships remained some distance apart, and the battle was decided solely by cannon fire. The most plausible theory is that the ship was in fact traced back to its port of origin, and seen entering a Scandinavian port. As Mongolian troops were right next to Viking territory at this time, this theory seems reasonable. In any event, international piracy against the Mongols could not go unpunished, and so even though the potentially more difficult rifles would now be faced, there was no prospect of anything but war!
War was declared in 1355AD, and the Mongols were to find that the Scandinavians were quite as well prepared as they had thought they were. Although the Scandinavians possessed rifles, these weapons were relatively new, and so were not that common, with the bulk of their city defenders still armed with the rather weaker musket, weaponry. And, as the Scandinavians were to learn to their peril, the might of the Mongolian armies was still effective, even against fortified rifles!
The ever eager Subedei was given the task of crushing this latest upstart nation. General Ereen was now given the more secondary task of homeland security. Armed with his brilliance as a general, the massively growing Mongolian productive might, and the huge logistical genius of the Mongolian rail network, Subedei set about planning the destruction of these new foes.
Subedei set up his forces by Pompeii and Palmyra. For although, the Mongols had long borders now, the borders with the Vikings were actually quite small, and so it was only from these two cities that he could get reasonable access at the core of the Scandinavians.
The attack on Reykavik went first, and saw the first action of a cavalry army against a mighty rifle division. The sixth cavalry army was to win the day, however, and it was quickly followed up by several cavalry divisions. In the bloody battling that followed, Subedei lost two cavalry divisions to only one musket division, so the first cavalry army entered the fray to smash a second musket division, and finally an elite cavalry division crushed the remaining resistance to claim the first Scandinavian city.
The battle for Odense proved much easier, as in the end only the fifth cavalry army was required to destroy a rifle and a musket division and claim the Mongols second city. Furthermore, Subedei ordered the upgrading of no less than 26 cannons to the much superior artillery unit, and he enhanced the power of the keshik armies by adding a fourth unit, an additional cavalry to the armies.
The Vikings were not going to take this invasion of their territory lying down, however. The war gave them the final incentive to end their pointless conflict with the one island city nation of the Byzantines, and focus on the imminent threat posed by the Mongols. In retaliation, they struck at the invasion force gathering north of the newly conquered Reykavik, inadvertently triggering the mutual protection pact that Yeh –lu had signed with the Dutch. Subedei, of course, had no intention of allowing the Dutch to share in the spoils of this war.
The Viking retaliation resulted in an exchange of cavalry divisions by Reykavik, before Subedei’s forces stormed past these troops on their way to new Viking cities. Meanwhile, the all important strategic rail net was continually rushed to ensure that all new territory quickly joined the net, and that the advantage of rapid rail led all the way to the front lines.
Meanwhile, the Vikings rushed improved weaponry to their frontline troops, but it would do no good. At Bodo the fourth cavalry army smashed through no less than three rifle divisions to single handedly capture the city. At Bergen, the Mongols again encountered muskets. The first cavalry army combined with five cavalry divisions to smash four musket divisions and an outdated berserk division and claim the city, though for the loss of a cavalry division. At Stockholm, the newly up-powered keshik armies went into action against rifle defenders, and this was to be one way traffic as well. Chagatai’s keshik army, the seventh keshik army and the second keshik army each combined to destroy a rifle division, leaving a berserk division to a single cavalry division and another city fell into Mongolian hands.
The Scandinavian high command were absolutely determined not to allow this conflict to be all one way traffic, and in 1360AD, they seized upon the opportunity presented to them in poorly defended Stockholm, and Pompeii. The relatively easy recapture of Stockholm, and capture of undefended Pompeii caused considerable unrest amongst the fickle democratic populace. Wars had become good only when the news remained good. As sson as there was any suggestion that the mighty Mongolian war machine might be fallible a degree of unrest occurred.
The new field orders included a directive form the Khan himself, all frontline cities were to be locked down with the new infantry divisions. There were to be no more mishaps in this war!
The recapture of these two cities was almost routine for Subedei, even though the Scandinavians reinforced the Stockholm with two rifle divisions. Chagatai’s keshik army was ready to roll again, and it disposed of both rifle divisions and a further cavalry division. Pompeii had not been reinforced by the Scandinavians, and so fell to a single keshuk division, Then both cities received infantry division defenders.
Not satisfied with merely reclaiming these cities, Subedei pressed home his offensive against Aarhus, Trondheim, Oslo and Molde. The combination of cavalry armies, keshik armies (all upgraded with a cavalry division) and cavalry divisions accounted for no less than 10 rifle divisions, three musket divisions and a berserk division to capture all four cities for no Mongolian loss, and generate a new leader in the process.
Then, finally, the new artillery was able to be brought into play for the first time. Although not really necessary, the Vikinks had a small force of three cavalry divisions and a berserk division left by Oslo. It was an easy matter for the new artillery to totally diminish the capacity of this force to near irrelevance, in time for cavalry divisions to feast upon the remains.
It took until 1370AD, before Subedei decided he finally had troops to spare to finish off the Viking presence in the east. The Vikings had three isolated cities just west of the Great Dividing Range, but certainly lacking sufficient garrison at the time to be able to launch any significant threat against the Mongols. Hence to this point they had been left alone. Now that they had been reduced to only eight cities, three of which were these eastern cities of Shantung, New Leipzig and Memphis, Subedei decided to clean these cities out.
No armies were used in these assaults, as they were still tied up in the Scandinavian core, so it was left up to cavalry divisions to smash through the Viking defences unaided. The true test of whether the rifle really was sufficient against cavalries was about to begin!
At Shanting, two rifle divisions died for the loss of a single cavalry division. At New Leipzig there was no loss as two rifle divisions were swept aside. At Memphis there was only one rifle division and one musket division and both succumbed to the assault for no Mongolian loss. So the short answer was, no, the rifle could not hold out Mongolian cavalry!
In the Scandinavian core Copenhagen, Alesund and Hareid fell to the army plus cavalry assault. These assaults accounted for a further eleven entrenched defending rifle divisions, whilst attacks on Scandinavian troop movements accounted for a further nine divisions of more obsolete units including pikes, medieval infantry and archers.
In the Khan’s court back in Karakorum, the Sages’ announcement of the discovery of the secrets of Steel was totally overshadowed by Chebe’s military report stating that the once proud Scandinavians had been reduced to just two cities.
As the year 1375AD was heralded in, Subedei struck at the second to last Viking city of Birka. Between the third keshik army and the fith cavalry army three divisions of rifles perished leaving a cavalry division to take out a berserk division and take the city.
The peaceful age of science was not to last long. It was true that Subedei was still interested in pursuing the war against the Americans, and so liberate all the lands east of the Great Dividing Range under Mongol rule. However, with the Dutch locked into an MPP with the Americans, and currently funding the Mongols’ massive investment in technology. This avenue was effectively closed.
With each new territorial acquisition, the core of Mongolia seemed to be safer, but the people in the new territories rapidly adjusted to the Mongolian democratic ways, and in turn became at risk due to the ever extended Mongolian borders, and the ever hostile reception the vast Mongol nation was receiving on the world stage. This situation made the Khan ever more determined to pursue technological superiority in the field of battle at all costs, and so the science machine drove on.
The world seethed with resentment at the seemingly unchallengeable might of the Mongols. But there were ways to bring even the mightiest of foes down a peg, and the Scandinavian commanders decided to pursue just such a plan. The Scandinavians felt threatened by the sudden and rapid expansion of the Mongols westward over the Great Dividing Range. Until recently, this natural formation had been considered the divider between the nations of the east, and the nations of the west. Now one nation had become so dominant that it had massively expanded from its position in the east to extend well into the territory of the west.
It would certainly be foolish to challenge the might of the Mongols directly, but on the other hand, the Scandinavians were not the weaklings that the Portuguese and the Romans had been. The Scandinavian military was well equipped with modern rifle divisions, a defence that could easily blunt the attack of an equivalent number of cavalry divisions. Of course these units were still not as good as the recent infantry divisions that the Mongols were putting into the field of battle, but the Scandinavians still had some confidence in their ability to defend against Mongolian aggression.
Recent advances had brought the concept of an unbadged ship, the privateer. This was considered a low risk way of putting some hurt on the Mongols. It was known that the Mongols were interested in completing a full world map, and so had ships out in the Great Ocean mapping the remaining unknown areas, just in case any further islands should be revealed. This provided the Scandinavians with their opportunity. Two of these privateers, with hidden nationality, set sail on a mission to hunt down and kill any Mongolian ships that they should encounter.
In what became known as the Viking incident, these privateers happened upon two Mongolian vessels in the deep ocean in the late 1340’s AD. They opened fire, sinking a Mongolian vessel, but losing a privateer in the process. The remaining two ships were both severely wounded in the exchange, resulting in the Scandinavians calling it off, and heading to port for needed repairs. Interestingly enough, the Mongols were almost done, so they completed their world mapping exercise first, and then headed for port.
It is not known for sure how the Khan was able to trace this act of piracy back to the Scandinavians. Some have claimed that in the heat of battle, the Mongols heard the distinct sounds of the Viking accent, but most scholars doubt this theory, as the ships remained some distance apart, and the battle was decided solely by cannon fire. The most plausible theory is that the ship was in fact traced back to its port of origin, and seen entering a Scandinavian port. As Mongolian troops were right next to Viking territory at this time, this theory seems reasonable. In any event, international piracy against the Mongols could not go unpunished, and so even though the potentially more difficult rifles would now be faced, there was no prospect of anything but war!
War was declared in 1355AD, and the Mongols were to find that the Scandinavians were quite as well prepared as they had thought they were. Although the Scandinavians possessed rifles, these weapons were relatively new, and so were not that common, with the bulk of their city defenders still armed with the rather weaker musket, weaponry. And, as the Scandinavians were to learn to their peril, the might of the Mongolian armies was still effective, even against fortified rifles!
The ever eager Subedei was given the task of crushing this latest upstart nation. General Ereen was now given the more secondary task of homeland security. Armed with his brilliance as a general, the massively growing Mongolian productive might, and the huge logistical genius of the Mongolian rail network, Subedei set about planning the destruction of these new foes.
Subedei set up his forces by Pompeii and Palmyra. For although, the Mongols had long borders now, the borders with the Vikings were actually quite small, and so it was only from these two cities that he could get reasonable access at the core of the Scandinavians.
The attack on Reykavik went first, and saw the first action of a cavalry army against a mighty rifle division. The sixth cavalry army was to win the day, however, and it was quickly followed up by several cavalry divisions. In the bloody battling that followed, Subedei lost two cavalry divisions to only one musket division, so the first cavalry army entered the fray to smash a second musket division, and finally an elite cavalry division crushed the remaining resistance to claim the first Scandinavian city.
The battle for Odense proved much easier, as in the end only the fifth cavalry army was required to destroy a rifle and a musket division and claim the Mongols second city. Furthermore, Subedei ordered the upgrading of no less than 26 cannons to the much superior artillery unit, and he enhanced the power of the keshik armies by adding a fourth unit, an additional cavalry to the armies.
The Vikings were not going to take this invasion of their territory lying down, however. The war gave them the final incentive to end their pointless conflict with the one island city nation of the Byzantines, and focus on the imminent threat posed by the Mongols. In retaliation, they struck at the invasion force gathering north of the newly conquered Reykavik, inadvertently triggering the mutual protection pact that Yeh –lu had signed with the Dutch. Subedei, of course, had no intention of allowing the Dutch to share in the spoils of this war.
The Viking retaliation resulted in an exchange of cavalry divisions by Reykavik, before Subedei’s forces stormed past these troops on their way to new Viking cities. Meanwhile, the all important strategic rail net was continually rushed to ensure that all new territory quickly joined the net, and that the advantage of rapid rail led all the way to the front lines.
Meanwhile, the Vikings rushed improved weaponry to their frontline troops, but it would do no good. At Bodo the fourth cavalry army smashed through no less than three rifle divisions to single handedly capture the city. At Bergen, the Mongols again encountered muskets. The first cavalry army combined with five cavalry divisions to smash four musket divisions and an outdated berserk division and claim the city, though for the loss of a cavalry division. At Stockholm, the newly up-powered keshik armies went into action against rifle defenders, and this was to be one way traffic as well. Chagatai’s keshik army, the seventh keshik army and the second keshik army each combined to destroy a rifle division, leaving a berserk division to a single cavalry division and another city fell into Mongolian hands.
The Scandinavian high command were absolutely determined not to allow this conflict to be all one way traffic, and in 1360AD, they seized upon the opportunity presented to them in poorly defended Stockholm, and Pompeii. The relatively easy recapture of Stockholm, and capture of undefended Pompeii caused considerable unrest amongst the fickle democratic populace. Wars had become good only when the news remained good. As sson as there was any suggestion that the mighty Mongolian war machine might be fallible a degree of unrest occurred.
The new field orders included a directive form the Khan himself, all frontline cities were to be locked down with the new infantry divisions. There were to be no more mishaps in this war!
The recapture of these two cities was almost routine for Subedei, even though the Scandinavians reinforced the Stockholm with two rifle divisions. Chagatai’s keshik army was ready to roll again, and it disposed of both rifle divisions and a further cavalry division. Pompeii had not been reinforced by the Scandinavians, and so fell to a single keshuk division, Then both cities received infantry division defenders.
Not satisfied with merely reclaiming these cities, Subedei pressed home his offensive against Aarhus, Trondheim, Oslo and Molde. The combination of cavalry armies, keshik armies (all upgraded with a cavalry division) and cavalry divisions accounted for no less than 10 rifle divisions, three musket divisions and a berserk division to capture all four cities for no Mongolian loss, and generate a new leader in the process.
Then, finally, the new artillery was able to be brought into play for the first time. Although not really necessary, the Vikinks had a small force of three cavalry divisions and a berserk division left by Oslo. It was an easy matter for the new artillery to totally diminish the capacity of this force to near irrelevance, in time for cavalry divisions to feast upon the remains.
It took until 1370AD, before Subedei decided he finally had troops to spare to finish off the Viking presence in the east. The Vikings had three isolated cities just west of the Great Dividing Range, but certainly lacking sufficient garrison at the time to be able to launch any significant threat against the Mongols. Hence to this point they had been left alone. Now that they had been reduced to only eight cities, three of which were these eastern cities of Shantung, New Leipzig and Memphis, Subedei decided to clean these cities out.
No armies were used in these assaults, as they were still tied up in the Scandinavian core, so it was left up to cavalry divisions to smash through the Viking defences unaided. The true test of whether the rifle really was sufficient against cavalries was about to begin!
At Shanting, two rifle divisions died for the loss of a single cavalry division. At New Leipzig there was no loss as two rifle divisions were swept aside. At Memphis there was only one rifle division and one musket division and both succumbed to the assault for no Mongolian loss. So the short answer was, no, the rifle could not hold out Mongolian cavalry!
In the Scandinavian core Copenhagen, Alesund and Hareid fell to the army plus cavalry assault. These assaults accounted for a further eleven entrenched defending rifle divisions, whilst attacks on Scandinavian troop movements accounted for a further nine divisions of more obsolete units including pikes, medieval infantry and archers.
In the Khan’s court back in Karakorum, the Sages’ announcement of the discovery of the secrets of Steel was totally overshadowed by Chebe’s military report stating that the once proud Scandinavians had been reduced to just two cities.
As the year 1375AD was heralded in, Subedei struck at the second to last Viking city of Birka. Between the third keshik army and the fith cavalry army three divisions of rifles perished leaving a cavalry division to take out a berserk division and take the city.
Sandman2003
Prince
Chapter Eigteen continued
The final Viking stronghold was the city of Stavanger. However, this city lay on the other side of the Babylonian nation. The Babylonians had no rail network, and so Subedei was faced with the prospect of some years crossing the Babylonian territory, and then launching an assault on this final city. This was not an acceptable option for him. The Vikings were to be eradicated now! And so he hatched upon a daring plan. A right of passage agreement existed between the Mongols and the Babylonians, and so it was used to ferry in not soldiers, but workers. The workers arrived in massive numbers and began the construction of a huge stretch of railroad stretching from former Scandinavia, all the way to the border in range of Stavanger. This massive undertaking became known as the first great railing project.
With the new rail infrastructure, artillery was able to be whisked to within range of the city of Stavanger. The terrible onslaught of the artillery reduced even the remaining mighty rifle divisions to a state of almost rout. They were easy pickings for the fourth cavalry army. The capture of this city ended another threat to the Mongolian nation.
With the Vikings destroyed in just twenty years, the peaceful time for scientific pursuits was able to return. The Mongols changed the emphasis of their military builds from the cavalry division to the infantry division, at least while defences along their massive perimeters were beefed up by the addition of the infantry units.
Meanwhile, the big funding deal from the Dutch finally expired. In a search for some replacement income, the Dutch were traded the secrets of Scientific Method for Espionage and the small sum of 22 gold per harvest. More money was to be found in the sprawling nation of the Inca, so they were traded with also. This time a sale of steam power was made for an ongoing payment plan.
The American ambassador then visited Karakorum. It seemed that the long running right of passage had expired and he wished to renew it. The Khan saw no value in allowing American units right of access to sacred Mongolian lands, and so this wish was denied. To add insult to injury, the ambassador was instructed to remove all American troops from Mongolian lands. On this instance the American government complied.
The sages brought news of the discovery of the secrets of Combustion to the Khan’s court in 1395AD. Their wish to continue research on mass production with maximum funding was granted, resulting in a renewed expectation of delivery in just twenty years.
With access to the technology of espionage, Yeh-lu ordered the creation of an Intelligence Agency. Obviously a building with a slightly dubious purpose was not permitted in the capital, and so was constructed in Tabriz instead.
Yeh-lu then set about constructing his covert information network. The attempt to plant a spy on America failed with the Mongolian agent being caught and executed. The attempt on Babylon succeeded. The attempt on the Incans and the Dutch also failed.
The level of anger in America may have been under-estimated, because after this diplomatic incident with the spy attempt, Lincoln reacted particularly poorly to the latest demand to leave Mongolian territory.
Subedei was finally to be granted his wish!
The final Viking stronghold was the city of Stavanger. However, this city lay on the other side of the Babylonian nation. The Babylonians had no rail network, and so Subedei was faced with the prospect of some years crossing the Babylonian territory, and then launching an assault on this final city. This was not an acceptable option for him. The Vikings were to be eradicated now! And so he hatched upon a daring plan. A right of passage agreement existed between the Mongols and the Babylonians, and so it was used to ferry in not soldiers, but workers. The workers arrived in massive numbers and began the construction of a huge stretch of railroad stretching from former Scandinavia, all the way to the border in range of Stavanger. This massive undertaking became known as the first great railing project.
With the new rail infrastructure, artillery was able to be whisked to within range of the city of Stavanger. The terrible onslaught of the artillery reduced even the remaining mighty rifle divisions to a state of almost rout. They were easy pickings for the fourth cavalry army. The capture of this city ended another threat to the Mongolian nation.
With the Vikings destroyed in just twenty years, the peaceful time for scientific pursuits was able to return. The Mongols changed the emphasis of their military builds from the cavalry division to the infantry division, at least while defences along their massive perimeters were beefed up by the addition of the infantry units.
Meanwhile, the big funding deal from the Dutch finally expired. In a search for some replacement income, the Dutch were traded the secrets of Scientific Method for Espionage and the small sum of 22 gold per harvest. More money was to be found in the sprawling nation of the Inca, so they were traded with also. This time a sale of steam power was made for an ongoing payment plan.
The American ambassador then visited Karakorum. It seemed that the long running right of passage had expired and he wished to renew it. The Khan saw no value in allowing American units right of access to sacred Mongolian lands, and so this wish was denied. To add insult to injury, the ambassador was instructed to remove all American troops from Mongolian lands. On this instance the American government complied.
The sages brought news of the discovery of the secrets of Combustion to the Khan’s court in 1395AD. Their wish to continue research on mass production with maximum funding was granted, resulting in a renewed expectation of delivery in just twenty years.
With access to the technology of espionage, Yeh-lu ordered the creation of an Intelligence Agency. Obviously a building with a slightly dubious purpose was not permitted in the capital, and so was constructed in Tabriz instead.
Yeh-lu then set about constructing his covert information network. The attempt to plant a spy on America failed with the Mongolian agent being caught and executed. The attempt on Babylon succeeded. The attempt on the Incans and the Dutch also failed.
The level of anger in America may have been under-estimated, because after this diplomatic incident with the spy attempt, Lincoln reacted particularly poorly to the latest demand to leave Mongolian territory.
Subedei was finally to be granted his wish!
General Mayhem
Monarch
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2004
- Messages
- 329
Yeah, an update! It looks like America won't be too hard to take over.
Sandman2003
Prince
I have actually played the next two chapters ahead, so I will see if I can prove your prediction wrong!rbis4rbb said:
Thanks for the input, General Mayhem, America was a very fun campaign.
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