--- The Crusades ---
The Arabic Caliphate had grown far too strong. It was overrunning the huge population centers of Egypt, had siezed the Suez Canals, and now had granaries and aqueducts in every one of it's cities. They even had musketmen to guard such a vast domain. We chose to make an unholy alliance with Egypt - our one tech rival in the immediate area - by intervening in their favor.
The Arabic garrison at Damascus was blasted to pieces by Pirate Ships. Almost half the men inside were killed by gunfire...and then Templars made their move. It was a long hard battle and the bowmen were formiddable with their accuracy, killing hundreds in each wave, but the city fell, and Israel was no longer an "island".
An "outdated" swordsmen army then struck at the most prominent city of the Arabic empire apart from Mecca - Baghdad. The musketmen garrison was wiped out, leaving humble bowmen. Although we attacked from across the river, fortune seemed to smile on the Germanic hordes. Wave after wave of Templars assaulted the city, until it fell.
The awe Germans recieved at the sight of the Hanging Gardens caused many engineers to try and build replicas in their home cities. While they all failed, the fact these replicas could be used as aqueducts spurred the growth of the German Reich.
With the defeat of Baghdad, the Caliphate fled to Basra further south and set up a new capital, believing it could reclaim the region while we rebuilt our forces. They were proven wrong when we invaded Basra and siezed it as well. A total of 47 population units had been added to the German Empire.
Germany made strikes against the Arab forces near Suez, and the ones assaulting Alexandria. Hundreds of Arabic musketmen were killed, meaning Alexandria would survive another day. Suez's garrison was greatly reduced, and more ships being commissioned in Europe meant that the Suez Canal would soon be occupied...
Germany also made a skirmish against the city of Medina. Medina had only 300 musketmen defending it, and it was swiftly occupied and defended.
The Supreme Religious authority of the Arab lands - the Caliph - relocated their capital to the strategic city of Aden, which guarded the gates to the Red Sea. He vowed to raise a new army to defeat the German menace. Which would be hard - almost all the Arabic musketmen were in the Egyptian region...and they had been slaughtered by Pirate Ship cannons.
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