The First(and hopefully only) Reich

[Tani Coyote]

=== 310 BC ===

In the IBT, the world recognises German power. The Persians and Arabs both come to us, wanting us to intervene in their respective conflicts - the Perso-Indian and Arab-Egyptian wars. We send foreign aid to Persia, and plan to supply them with iron if need be - they become capable of fielding pikemen, which would slow the Indian advance slightly. In the Arab-Egyptian war, Memphis finally falls. We intended to invade Egypt as soon as possible, in order to secure the region against the growing power of the Arab Caliphate.

The war in the Americas raged on. Oneida was besieged by hordes in the tens and possibly hundreds of thousands. All over the Eastern coasts, German ships killed Iroquois soldiers with gunfire. 400 Iroquois were slaughtered near the Potomac river.

Oneida itself was threatened by 7300 Iroquois soldiers. What few ready Templars we had were mustered, and the Asian fleet opened fire. This was reduced to 2000 men, all gravely injured and immediately war weary as they saw their comrades explode in front of their eyes. 400 were cut to ribbons by a German Templar attack force.

26,000 Iroquois soldiers were en route to Oneida, and had foolishly positioned themselves near the coast. As they rested in their beds one night, they did not notice a light approaching from the distance...the lights of German ship. The force was reduced to 21,600 men. This would not hinder their advance, but when they reached the enormous amount of artillery Oneida boasted - they would realise just how much numbers counted in the war on Germany.

In Tobacco, 800 Iroquois were killed, while 400 Templars were killed in the attack. At no casualties, another 800 Iroquois were killed - and the last urban Iroquois city fell into the German Empire's hands.

The Iroquois states of the South had aligned themselves with the Cayuga guerillas - if only temporarily. The greater German enemy had to be crushed, and so they met in the city that held half the population of the Free Iroquois - Tuscarora. The Illionois, Shawano, Cayuga and Tuscarora peoples discussed how to crush the German foe - an attack on Oneida was the most obvious. Oneida was the blood vessel linking Germany to the ocean - where all it's valuable supplies came from. The Iroquois leaders put aside their differences, and agreed to throw everything they had at the might of the First Reich.

--

Peacefully, Newfoundland and the Iroquois conquests were linked by a new settlement - Wilhelmstadt(officially new Wilhelmstadt.) Rebuilding the city was a sign of German defiance, and how Germany had finally eliminated the Iroquois threat.

The German Empire also donated large amounts of funds - nearly 1/4 of it's on-hand treasury - to the Carthaginian provinces, primarily to finance the mass construction of harbors in major cities. Slaves worked to rebuild the roads between cities. With foreign aid, strong soldiers(Templars), and a lack of bombardment and enemies, the former Carthaginian homeland was poised to grow and prosper, to become one of the greatest provinces of the empire.

--

More troops were also shipped off to the Americas - plenty of Templars to refill the ranks of our shrinking force, musketmen to maintain our defenses, and cannons to add to what the Pirate Ships carried. The Pirate Ships themselves would also prove an asset for the campaign in North America.

 

[tubaman]

Keep 'em coming Tanicus. Can't wait for the next update.

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 300 BC ===
In the IBT, Persepolis falls to India. We re-organise the Azure Wall accordingly.

The city of Huron also revolted, and the Kaiser considered razing the town...but he decided to let them have one more chance before causing another massacre. The massive Iroquois invasion force retreated at the same time, ironically.

--

Germany retook Huron at the cost of 500 men - the Iroquois lost 600. Germany also built THREE new armies in the region with the help of leaders.

--

The First Reich was backwards. The advanced powers of the world had obtained the Printing Press(the one technology Germany enjoyed exclusively), Banking, Navigation, and the ideas of the Republican system. Germany went about nabbing these technologies via it's diplomats. The Arab economists 'donated' to us the secrets of Banking...

The Chinese navigation experts then told us their secrets of the sea, such as the compass. Germany was once again on par with China and India.

Shortly after discovering Navigation, we learned how to refine coffee and wines. Coffee was found in abundance in North America, and when Oneida finished a harbor, it could be sent back to the motherland. Refined wines were in immense quantity in Spain, France, and Italy. Vineyards and wineries popped up all over the land, and the Kaiser invited the leaders of the world to a great Wine party, to discuss trade. In total, we possessed 23 sources of refined wine - enough to give one to each major leader in the world.

India's leaders paid 130 units of gold per term for Refined Wines and common wines. Common wines earned more money - we guess the Indians enjoyed old-fashioned wine instead. The Chinese gave us 75 gold per turn for Refined Wines as well. Germany's "purchase" of navigation was paying off. For the price of 1500 gold to acquire it, we now recieved a total of 4,100 gold over time. The Arabs gave us their knowledge of the Republican system for our navigation expertise - it couldn't help them either way. It also opened the door for more wines to be traded. The primitive natives in the Americas were given a seperate meeting. The Inca were given a taste of traditional wines - we couldn't sell them anywhere in Eurasia-Africa. We hoped the free wine would make them so drunk they wouldn't assault our South American provinces.

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 290 BC - Another Short Turn ===

In the IBT, China demands a naval competition - their ships have sailed through the icy waters north of Canada, and they attack and sink 3 of our 4 ships near the British town of Nottingham, on Greenland. We have plenty of naval assets in the West - especially now that we can build Pirate Ships there - but we choose not to fight them until they arrive near Newfoundland. Our ship attacks them regardless, just to sink the jewel of their fleet - the Asian Pirates.

The attack was a success, and the Pirates drank wine to commemorate their victory - and their coming deaths.
--

On the East Coast, many wounded Iroquois had dug in, rather then retreat to the homeland. They were surprised to see thousands of Templars approaching. And these were not in any huge army - they were all independent, and they were all just recently deployed. What must have been 2000 Iroquouis soldiers died that day. The Templars lost only 700... out of 5800. Many Iroquois children were found nearby - they were adopted and brought back to Oneida to be raised as more Templars - swelling the size of our legions further.

-- Battle of the Northern Straits --

The narrow strait between the North Sea and Baltic had been open for quite a while now. Russia took this oppurtunity to move out. They had neared Denmark when they were surprised to see Pirate Ships move into position ahead of them...blocking the forward route. The admiral gave the order to turn around and head back to St. Petersburg...but they were horrified to find a second group of Pirates behind them. The 740 sailors all readied themselves for a one-sided battle.. with 1920 Pirates, which was backed up by a reserve force of 960 - coming out of the German Port of Malmo.

The first wave left 340 Russian seamen alive. Of the 400 who were 'killed', 230 joined their Pirate foes. 80 joined the crew of the actual Pirate Fleet. 150 were given smaller privateering ships of their own after swearing an allegiance to the German High Admiral - at gunpoint. These Russians then turned on their comrades...

30 Russian Pirates gave their lives while killing 30 of their former brethren - before they themselves suffered a lethal shot that sent them to the bottom of the ocean. The remaining 120 Privateers would not see direct combat - they bombarded the ships and killed 30 Russian sailors, before being ordered to go to port and be trained.

Admiral Vladimir commanded the largest galley in the fleet - 60 men. He was further south, surrounded by his personal bodyguard of 2 40-man galleys. He was doing paperwork in his cabin to report to the Russian Tsar - he wouldn't be happy about this. Vladimir prayed he would keep his head. As he thought that, he looked up and saw a cannonball aiming straight at his face through the window.

With their leader unknowingly decapitated and likely obliterated, the fleet was in chaos. The captains watched in horror as cannonballs sunk the flagship. Then the cannonballs struck theirs, and shark fins could be seen increasing in number in the cold, icy waters below...

With Vladimir's command squadron of 140 men sunk, everything further north became chaotic. Several of the men joined the Pirates. The remaining ships were all sent to the bottom of the ocean and became shark food by the end of the hour.

Germany entered with 1920 men, Russia entered with 740. Germany left with 1900 men - many of whom had defected. Russia's naval power was crippled by the 'Pirate' attack, and this would make the coming invasion of Russia in the following decade all the much easier....

 

[Tani Coyote]

You're probably all wondering our current ranking in the game. Despite the hordes of units the other countries are building(India must have a HUNDRED warrior monks by now...), Germany is actually the first place power.

We also control the dominant share of the world's population and land:

Finally, the demographics of the empire itself: Germany has one of the top 5 cities, and will soon take London and Kiev. (Of course, the game likes to keep you from being top 5, so the top 5 will go to someone else... )

We need to work on our manufactured goods and life expectency...

Stay tuned for Operation Barbarossa, next turn!

 

[tubaman]

Nice set of turns.

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 280 BC - Operation Barbarossa and German hegemony in Europe ===

Inbetween turns, Carthage comes to us for a treaty - we rejected it for the time being. We had to review what we could sieze first. Britain joins India in the war on Greece...they definitely won't get any spoils from it. India also made sure Japan declared war on Persia...island countries seemed rather mentally handicapped. More useful is the fact Cambodia allies with India against Mongolia.

Germany signs a peace treaty with Carthage, acquiring the station of Leptis Magna in Africa. We disover there's natives waiting RIGHT outside it's gates. Carthage left a nice present for us, we saw. We also acquired the Siberian Outpost of Tamanrasset.

--- Operation: Barbarossa ---

Operation Barbarossa - the invasion of Russia - was initiated in this period. In the previous decade, the Russian "navy" had been torn apart. Now we were poised to invade on multiple fronts. There was the area around St. Petersburg, the area around Kiev, and the Eastern Ukraine/Southern Russia region.

The invasion force we assembled was massive - nearly 30,000 men, almost all Templars. Musketmen were moving east to defend the captured possessions, and more Templars were being trained in the heart of the empire. Mere seconds before gunpowder started to be fired, the Tsar recieved a note about the war declaration - and then he lost control of his bowel movements.

--- Assault on Kiev ---

The reason why the Tsar would be so panicked was very simple. Kiev was the capital of the Russian empire - but it was nestled vulnerably in between German Ukraine and German Belarus. He was making preparations as the army attacked the city's walls - and he fled into the Russian wilderness.

The primitive Russian pikemen were outmatched by Templars. The first band was lucky, and slew 400 Templars before being killed themselves. This was offset by 200 Russian serfs renouncing their loyalty to their oppressive nobles, and joining the Templars. 300 more Templars died, killing 400 pikemen. 200 more men died killing the 400 swordsmen who remained, and the great capital of Russia was in German hands.

1/3 of the Russian citizens revolted, but the Kaiser rapidly reformed the area. Musketmen were called in as a new garrison, serfdom was abolished(the feudal lords were hanged, and their land was redistributed - half to the peasants, half to new German lords). Economic and social mobility greatly increased, and many citizens were encouraged to join the army to go against their old oppressors.

 

[Tani Coyote]

--- Southern Front ---

In the battle of Kharkiv, nearly 1200 Templars died killing 1100 pikemen. The Kaiser promised the soldiers that such blunders would not occur elsewhere. With Kharkiv, the Russian iron mines were taken over, removing Russia's precious metals - needed to build and maintain their force of pikemen and swordsmen.

Next came the battle of Volgagrad. Wedged between the Volga and another river, it was strategically located. Once the city fell, the way into the heart of Russia would be opened. 100 Templars died killing 800 pikemen - and were replaced by 200 local peasants. 100 more dead Templars killed 800 more pikemen. 300 more Templars died, killing 600 more pikemen. 700 more Templars gone, and 600 more pikemen had perished. 200 Templars died once more, killing 600 pikemen. The city of Volgagrad was indeed strategic - the army size in it was enormous.

After countless more deaths, Volgagrad finally fell. It was the one city where everybody was happy to see the German occupiers. It seemed the Russian people were finally catching on as to who they should support.

The formerly-French city of Orleans was next. Once taken, we could take route north to Ryazan - and then Moscow, the new capital. 900 Templars died killing 1600 pikemen.

A band of 7200 Teutonic Knights was sent against the city of Ryazan, further in. Across the river from it, the Teutons expected death to come to them. But they knew that if Ryazan fell, Russia was doomed - Moscow was right ahead of it. At the loss of 400 soldiers, Russia lost 800 pikemen. Ryazan's conquest would have to wait for another day...but on the northern front, more bad news would come to Russia.

 

[Tani Coyote]

--- Northern Front ---

300 of St. Petersburg's garrison were slaughtered by Pirate Ship fire - the navy took the brunt of the damage. 500 Templars killed 800 more pikemen. Smaller bands of 300 pikemen had to take up the defense. Some more dead Templars later, spearmen had to take up the defense. Russia's backwardness quickly became apparent. At the cost of only 100 Templars, the great port of Russia fell to Germany:

The Russian navy was essentially dead now, but Germany still had to mop up Russia's fortresses at Helsinki and Novgorod...

Novgorod fell, and 90 percent of the citizens resisted. The Kaiser was shocked so many people - 500,000 - would resist German rule, and fighting spilled into the streets against guerillas and terrorists. Once the city's strategic purpose was served, he intended to burn it to the ground.

Helsinki fell next. With Helsinki gone, Germany's power in the Baltic was undeniable. Small fishing villages under the control of Russian Reykjavik were not in our hands, but they did not have the facilities to build a fleet.

At the loss of 700 men, we killed the 800-man garrison in Reykjavik, bringing the entire Baltic coast into the German sphere of influence. Reykjavik also held half the (unexploited) iron ore of Russia, cutting them off from any new iron weapons. Russia's defeat there also marked the German rule of Scandinavia.

 

[Tani Coyote]

--- A nation in Chaos: The Russian Civil War ---

Gunpowder ringed throughout the Russian center. Germany had been supplying muskets to various opposing factions to create chaos in the Russian motherland. Imprisoned radicals - such as the socialists Karl Marx, Freidrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin - were being released and deported to Russia to spread their doctrines of socialism. Republicans were deported from Italy, and Democrats from Greece. The movements all gained momentum in Russia. The Russians fought over a monarchy, socialist state, republic or democratic system(the fourth one died out due to Russia's enormous population). Germany's generosity was doing well to fuel the anarchy.

In the administrative building - which had been converted into a new royal palace - Alexander II had been deposed. The military had staged a coup d'tat and placed the young Nicholas II on the throne. Nicholas had been forced to serve in the Russian army to build up his experience, and was cold towards his father as a result. He barely shed only a tiny tear as his father was carried away, yelling for his son for several minutes, before a shot followed. Then there was silence.


--- Unified Front: Moscow, Smolensk, and Ryazan ---

Smolensk - the Republican capital - fell easily, overwhelmed by the German hordes.

The Monarchist capital was next - Moscow. Nicholas was doing his best to serve his country, but he left a lot up to his military leaders - he was almost a puppet. He was alerted of 4100 German Templars outside his city. Nicholas prepared to flee to Archangel'sk - one of the few cities solidly under Monarchist domination.

800 pikemen fought bravely, killing 600 Germans before going down themselves. After a few more exchanges, Moscow fell to the German Army. Nicholas, his advisors, and family were nowhere to be found.

Vladimir Lenin sat in his office in Ryazan. He smiled, as he knew that the one threat to his movement - the Romanov family - was being murdered in a rural home not too far outside town. He heard a knock at the door and told whoever it was to come in.

It was a ragged messenger. "General Secretary, we have an urgent message for you, from the executioners." the messenger said.

"Go on, my lad, tell me about the fate of the Romanovs!" Lenin grinned. The monarchist movement would die without a monarch to rally around.

"...Sir, those aren't the executioners I meant...Nicholas and his wife were shot, but before the children could be killed as well, the Germans intervened and..."

"GERMANS! Inside MY land?! The workers' land?!" Lenin slammed his fists on the desks.

"Yes, sir, they're only a mile or so outside the city..." the messenger cowered in fear.

"Rally the troops! The workers! The Soviets! The Soviet Union cannot die only a mere month after it's birth!" Lenin shouted as he grabbed his jacket, grabbing his personal musket and sword.

--- Battle of Ryazan ---

While the Ryazan garrison had survived the blow by the southern force, the northern one was even stronger. It took only 100 Templars to overwhelm the city's 400 pikemen and it's hordes of citizen-soldiers. Lenin fled to the city of Kazan further east, promising to carry the "worldwide revolution"'s efforts from there.

Princess Anastasia and the surviving children of the royal family were shipped back to Germany. Anastasia was placed under Royal Guard protection, and she would marry the Kaiser's only son. This was so the monarchies of Russia and Germany would be unified.

---

In conclusion, the Russian state had been shattered. Seperated into many small, warring, distant states, the empire could not hope to survive. All of Russia's major cities were in German hands, save the 3 that Lenin commanded as part of his Soviet Union. (The city of Omsk had defected to the Greek Kongo - which itself had lost it's capital to Songhai)

 

[Tani Coyote]

After Operation Barbarossa's incredible success, a world map is in order.

The Inca Empire has expanded once again - go figure.

Germany's acquired stations in Africa thanks to it's wars with Carthage and Greece. Noticeable is the huge amount of territory Germany swallowed up from Russia, placing us at 8 percent of the world's territory - twice that of the second-biggest competitor, China! We also have 25 percent of the population now.

Persia, India, Egypt, and Arabia's borders have all shifted thanks to their wars. Songhai has gone on to conquer northern Greece(Kongo). Omsk(on the outskirts of the late Russian homeland) defected to Greece in turn. Egypt has conquered several of the Arabic outposts, while losing Cairo/Memphis. Finally, India has gained a second outpost on Australia.

 

[Tani Coyote]

I'm about to start my next turn, but since I didn't post a map beforehand, and the fact it's hard to visualise Russia due to it's size, here's map of most of Russia. The black border surrounds all the territory added to the Reich after the blitzkrieg.

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 270 BC ===

In the IBT, Songhai declares war on Mongolia. Egypt declares war on Persia...not like they can really do anything there. Cambodia also aligned against Persia. And the Inca...

Leptis Magna is raided by the barbarians - who unwittingly lose one of their best units in the raid. We lose only 4 gold.

--

Germany discovered refined music - Music Theory - during this period. The art was sold to our neighbors, in particular China and India. The Kaiser hoped that by sucking up large amounts of their economy, Germany could slow their research capabilities. After discovering they still brought in thousands of units of gold per term, the Kaiser doubted it would work. But the hundreds of units they gave us for the technology more then made up for it all.

--

Back to the meat and potatoes - warfare. Germany had rid itself of the Romanovs - the surviving relatives of Nicholas had been shipped back to the German homeland. Without a monarch, the cities of Archangel'sk and Murman(Monarchist strongholds) erupted into civil strife. Generals and claimed relatives/friends desired to become the next Tsar, while the Republican movement picked up strength. Murman became a Republican city after a year of civil war, while Archangel'sk continued to tear itself apart, splitting into rival districts. Their civil war was interrupted by German invasion.

700 pikemen fell, while only 100 Templars died killing them. Templars then were summoned to go against the city's garrison of spearmen. They were slain without casualty, and the last Monarchist city fell into German hands. Lenin cheered the victory, his most hated enemy(besides the Germans) had finally been crushed.

With Archangel'sk gone, the Russian navy lost it's most secure station. Only weak Murman still remained independent, but it lacked the development to fight off a German siege. Conquering Murman also sealed off the front northeast of Moscow.

-- Fall of the Soviet Union --

Lenin's partying and celebration was about to come to an end. The forests around Kazan had halted effective German advancement, allowing him to solidify his Union deeper inside Russia. He had even sent a small force of 2400 men - mostly swordsmen and pikemen - to retake the city of Ryazan from the Germans. Those forces would have been of more use in Kazan.

Despite the forests and rivers between them and the Templars, Kazan lost 800 pikemen, while Germany lost only 200 Templars. Lenin called upon peasants armed with bronze spears next. They were cut to ribbons, and the would-be revolutionary fled further east, to the small town of Yekaterinburg.

En route to Kazan, there was a total force of 4300 soldiers of the Red Army. Templars were called to eliminate the socialist backbone.

The pikemen used the forest to greatly give them an advantage. The 800 Russian pikemen killed 500 Templars before being downed. Then the swordsmen and archers were next. The 800 swordsmen killed 200 Templars before they too were crushed. 500 Templars perished killing another band of 400 swordmsen. At the price of another 100 Templars, the last of 2400 men were killed. The Red Army had been reduced 1900 soldiers.
300 Templars were lost next, killing 300 pikemen. Another 300 lost, and 400 swordsmen were killed. The Reds now fielded 1,200 troops. 200 more perished, and the Red Army was reduced to 800 soldiers - a band of archers and pikemen.

At the cost of a few hundred men, those were disposed of. Gulag workers were along the frontier of the Kazan governate...but we focused on the jewel - Yekaterinburg. No more offensive force meant our way to the Red Empire was secure. We attacked Yekaterinburg with a 6800 man army. They lost only 100 men to kill 400 pikemen. We did not have the available force to take Yekaterinburg, but it was expected to fall in a few years.

--

The War on the Iroquois raged on. It was discovered that the large retreat was not a retreat at all - it was a repositioning. The enemy army was fleeing towards Michigan, hoping to move north from there and attack Saul St. Marie and Tobacco. We blocked their path northward with a band of 4600 Templars. They were faced by 5200 Archers, 4000 spearmen, and 4600 warriors, with more coming. It was hoped the Templars would scare the Iroquois so much they would retreat.

We also waged skirmishes along the thinned out forces in the forests southwest of Oneida. We killed 800 men while losing only 100 of our own. Another 800 were killed without casualty. The plan was to send our many armies in the region against Shawano and Tuscarora - catching the Iroquois off guard. Faced with an army in front and an invasion in the homelands, the Iroquois coalition would have no choice but to retreat.

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Good story... Interesting historical note: Volgagrad was, during the soviet era, known as Stalingrad, and it would appear that it functioned much that way in your game (except that the Germans won this time around).

 

[Tani Coyote]

Good story... Interesting historical note: Volgagrad was, during the soviet era, known as Stalingrad, and it would appear that it functioned much that way in your game (except that the Germans won this time around).

Yes...thank the RNG gods there's no such thing as winter...my poor Knights would've been Knightsicles. ):

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 260 BC ===

In the IBT, Germany tears up it's right of passage with Britain. When the Russians and Arabs are disposed of, we intend to unite the German Empire with it's Anglo-Saxon brethren.

In the Iroquois War, 1100 soldiers were killed near Oneida while no Templars were lost. Our scare tactic also worked - the Iroquois retreated, and appeared to be fleeing westward...we believed they would move north to upper Michigan instead.

The Western Holy Legion - 9000 men - assaulted Tuscarora, the new 'capital' of the Iroquois coalition. 1200 spearmen were killed, while Germany lost only 200 Templars. A band of 800 Teutonic Knights - descendants of those who had roamed the Iroquous countryside ever since the war began centuries ago - attacked Tuscarora next. 500 of them died, but the city fell. With it, half the Iroquois population. As well, 2/5 of the Iroquois territory fell in the assault - linking the north and south.

A 5900 man army - backed by 700 Templars - attacked the small town of Shawano in the north. 400 dead Templars yielded 400 dead spearmen. The band killed another 100 and lost it's own 100, but retreated. The 5900 Templars then took up the sword. 500 more Templars were lost killing 400 spearmen northeast of Tuscarora. We focused on clearing the interior. The hope was that in the next decade, Germany could attack the last Iroquois city - Illinois.

--

Germany stole the secrets of Democracy from the Indian philosophers in this period. The Indians were trying to refine the Athenian secrets to work with their huge population. Germany took this new idea and shared it with China - cutting off potential profit for India. China gave us 420 gold per term for the secrets of Democracy. Irony - they were absolute monarchists.

--

At the loss of 700 Templars, we killed 500 pikemen. We still had 300 left to dispose of. At the expense of only 100 more Templars, we eliminate the pikemen. Lenin's peasant spearmen took up the defense once again. 600 Templars killed the lucky spearmen, and Yekaterinburg fell to Germany. With it, large amounts of gulag workers were 'liberated' and put to work for the more-humane Reich.

We moved on to Chelyabinsk, and lost 400 Templars to kill 400 Russian pikemen. 100 more Templars died to reduce the garrison to swordsmen. With only a few hundred more casualties, the last true bastion of the Soviet Union fell.

However, we saw Lenin had a surprise up his sleeve:

Out of nowhere, he had recruited thousands of men to serve in his Red Army. We had noticed many workers vanishing from the homeland of Russia...we assumed that was where they went. The forces totalled 13,600 swordsmen and 12,000 of a mixed spearmen/pikemen variety. Lenin apparently hoped his 25,600 man guerilla force could defeat the German forces. Unfortunately for him, our Templar Army forces alone comprised 11,000 men. And there were more being trained and sent to the front with each passing day.

The war for the Russian Homeland, had apparently just begun.

--- Unification of the Germanic peoples: Operation Sea Lion ---

The tribes known as the Angle and Saxons had migrated to the British isles long ago from Germany. Displacing the locals, they gradually unified and formed a kingdom called England. England overran Wales in the West, and formed an uneasy alliance with the Scottish tribes of the north. They finally invaded Ireland, and eventually established a colony on Greenland far to the west. The later rulers tried to style themselves "British", after the island - Britannia. They forcefully and peacefully took over Scotland, and with the Acts of Union created the "British Empire". The ascension to a unified state had been overseen by Germany, which regularly sent shipments of foreign aid over the centuries.

But for the past 200 years, relations went cold. Germany kept sending it's aid packages - which decreased in size. At the same time, huge bands of Pirates swallowed up the seas around Britain and blew the primitive Royal Navy out of the water. When these Pirates retreat, new ones - sponsored by China or India - came in from the West and took their place. Britain had recently began to rebuild it's road network, which German Pirates had blown to pieces. But just as they were rebuilding, a greater threat loomed on the horizon...the religious zeal of the Templar Knights.

Germany did routine investigations, and discovered these numbers:

Cardiff, capital of the Welsh, had a garrison of 3600 soldiers, many of which were warriors.
London, home to Shakespeare's Theater and Newton's University of Science, had 7900 soldiers.
York, largest city of the British people, had 3900 defenders.
Edinburgh, capital of the Scots and home of the capitalist Adam Smith's trading company, had 3900 units as well - many of which were warriors.
Dublin, the weak capital of Ireland, possessed a mere 1500 troops.

Nottingham was not taken into account, as it was too far flung to be a threat. The total amount of British soldiers was 20,800 men.

The German Army was ready to set sail...but then the Kaiser remembered that the British still had a deal with Germany for 10 more years. The assault was called off...until the deal ran out.

--- The Indonesian Question ---

Germany had wanted to expanded in the East for some time now. But constant wars aimed at the unification of Europe and the conquest of the Mediterranean prevented any decisive action. Germany decided to try the next best thing - create a puppet state in the Far East. While India and China sent their fleets around Canada and Africa, Germany found the perfect way to distract the powers - add a third one to the equation. Kaiser Maximillian VIII traveled to Indonesia, and met with their ruler. He offered them the secrets of Monotheism and Theology - necessary to build Asian Pirate Ships.

The agreement was a bit expensive, but we also gained spices. We then traded them Theology to gain back almost everything we gave. The Indonesian state was now capable of building Asian Pirate Ships - this would make them a thorn in China and India's sides. While Indonesia lacked the huge population to entirely compete, adding a third naval power to the race in the East meant that Germany's waters would become more secure.

We also donated foreign aid to help Indonesia emerge as a key power.

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 250 BC ===
In the IBT, Turkistan comes to us wanting a new alliance against Greece. Since the Greek war really would have no further profit at this time, and we just signed a peace treaty, the German Empire refused. China joins the war on Mongolia...the Mongols were doomed with both superpowers against them. Songhai came to us, and we gave them the finger. With a single unit of gold attached, of course. We also cancelled our right of passage - the Middle East and Africa would soon be German.

-- Operation: Sea Lion (FOR REAL THIS TIME!) --

The British Royal Navy was at sea. It was foolishly trying to boot out the fleet of Asian Pirate Ships that had taken up positions in the Baltic. With their navy gone, bombarding the British Isles would be even easier...we proceeded to 're-negotiate' our incense deal. It seems the British didn't want it anymore. So we cancelled the deal and walked away...then returned in our gunships.

3600 soldiers were aboard the fleet headed for Dublin. With only 600 casualties, we conquered Dublin and the whole of Ireland. The people welcomed us with cheers for their liberation. Taxes were lowered and labor was re-organised. With the local outpost of the British Isles removed, we proceeded to Britannia itself.

Another fleet from Brest besieged Cardiff, killing hundreds of soldiers inside. Warriors had to take up the defense in the face of the Germanic invasion. Only 200 Templars died killing 1,000 of the British soldiers. Losing 200, we killed 1200 more British. We also gained yet another military leader - Britannicus, as he was later known. A hundred more Templars was all it took to crush the city, and Wales welcomed the German liberators as well.

With a beachhead established, we moved on to the next target - London itself. The capital was well-defended, if by primitive troops. We sent a full force of 7200 Templars to the city from Amsterdam. The resulting battle yielded a new leader, later known as Anglicus.

London soon fell. The majority of the citizenry resisted us, and Queen Victoria fled north immediately to York. In the ensuing chaos, the harbor was destroyed by rioters. 10,000 people certainly do a lot of damage when angry! Luckily, we had 5900 Templars left to discipline them.

But now the time had come to conquer the English homeland. York, the largest city, holding more then half of the whole British empire(occupied and non)'s population, was the main objective.

200 Germans died killing 800 Yorkist spearmen. Victoria fled further north, to Edinburgh. She was surprised to find Germans there too. German Templars had killed 600 spearmen, and now a band of 600 warriors took up the defense. They were cut down to ribbons, as was the next band of 600 warriors. There were an estimated 2,100 troops left defending Edinburgh. They were call cut down with minimal casualties.

Queen Victoria fled by boat, not wanting to risk a trek through the hills to the south. She was intercepted by the (non-German) Pirates, and the rest(and the British monarchy) is history.

After some more skirmishing with almost no German casualties, York fell as well, and the conquest of the British isles was complete.

While 3/4 of York's citizenry resisted occupation, Germany moved on to the next phase of it's plans. Queen Victoria's only son was abducted and shipped back to Germany, where he would marry the Kaiser's niece. By merging all the monarchies and nobilities of Europe, Germany was almost ready for it's next plan.

The last free British in Nottingham(on Greenland) heard the news and descended into civil war. The war ended quickly, and a Despotate replaced the British Monarchy.

 

[Tani Coyote]

With Germany's flank secured and the British eliminated, the Kaiser desired to do what his ancestors dreamed of: unify Europe. He ordered his forces to attack Murmansk, the last free city in Europe under European control. (The Turkish cities were in Europe as well, but unification of the European peoples was more what the Monarchy had in mind)

Murman managed to hold out, but Germany's rule on Europe was basically solid.

Lenin gave the order for Soviet Troops to flee Eastwards, it seemed. They were headed for the last Russian bastion - Noril'sk. We were content to let them flee, but we raided them for good measure. It did not come without casualties - 1,700 Templars died killing 2400 Red Army soldiers. 300 men killed 800 more of the Red Army forces.

The Red Army was then calculated to have 23,300 soldiers remaining, based on what we could see. They kept fleeing East, which was good for the Reich.

--- A look outside Europe ---

Now that Europe was essentially under the German yoke, the Kaiser looked elsewhere for his fortunes. He looked at Indonesia. With navigation, it was much easier to send supplies then in the old days. He noticed Indonesia lacked Iron and Horses...and since Germany had those in abundance, he gave them for free. He also wanted to deny China and India the oppurtunity to sell such resources.

Next, he began to consider our relations in the Middle East. The Middle East was a region in turmoil. Arabia and Egypt fought eachother, as did India and Persia. He felt it was the near-united Europe's duty to bring order to a chaotic domain. As such, he mobilised his armies, ready to invade Arabia.

Arabia's resources were calculated. The main goals of the German Army were to take Suez(to shorten the distance between Europe and the Indian ocean via it's canal), Memphis for the Pyramids, Damascus to unite Israel with the European motherland, along with Baghdad and Basra to split Eurasia-Africa in half, and give us the Hanging Gardens.

Suez: 2900 musketmen, hordes of slaves.
Damascus: 400 musketmen, 3300 bowmen.
Baghdad: 2400 of mixed forces, 2 catapults.
Basra: 2300 soldiers.
Memphis: 3900 musketmen, hordes of slaves.

With these numbers and the large number of troops positioned nearby, the Kaiser decided to open a new front against Arabia. But before we get to that, we should look at the war against the Iroquois.

---Iroquois War---

The Iroquois/Illinois forces were scattered all over the place. Rather then go against the Armies harassing their homeland, they went towards Oneida once again. This would be a fatal mistake, as 9,000 soldiers approached the Iroquois homeland...

The city fell after a short skirmish. With it, the leadership of the Iroquois was decapitated. In the following years, the Iroquois tore into eachother to establish new states and new leaders, which over time meant:

The burnings of Wilhelmstadt and Hapsburg had been avenged. With the Iroquois death, our position in the Americas was secure. Germany then set it's sights on building a chain of colonies all the way to the Pacific. But that is for future tales.

(THANK GOD THE HUNDRED OR SO IROQUOIS TROOPS EVAPORATED! X_X )

Also in the New World, on Cuba, we killed the remaining 200 Arawaks. 600 more Barbarians resided on the Western half of the island - they would be disposed of by the region's locally-trained Templars.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Coming next, the Crusades! Watch as Germany pierces the heart of the Arabic Empire, and unwittingly pulls Egypt's fat out of the fire!

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Can't wait to see this... I'm not much of a warmonger myself, but do appreciate a good war every now and then (most of my wars are the result of "brushing off sparks that land on me" such as what happened in a WH fantasy mod game that I have an unfinished story for.... The Sylvanians attacked me without any preamble, and I proceeded (with a very small amount of help from teh Dolgans) to utterly crush them).