The First(and hopefully only) Reich

[Tani Coyote]

=== 470 BC ===

In between turns, we find ourselves in a perdicament in Newfoundland and New Brunswick:

With Iroquois soldiers marching from the west and a small band of Longbowmen from the north, we find our resources stretched. We plan to re-inforce Wilhelmstadt, but first we saturate the Greek invaders with artillery from our Pirate Ships. The blast redlines the Longbowmen, so we're positive our pikemen there can hold the line. More spearmen are being trained.

The Iroquois are different...10,700 archers, 5,500 spearmen, and 6,600 warriors. Total = 22,800 soldiers. We have only 1,200 spearmen ourselves. Can you say "meep"?


--

General Vercingetorix, a Frenchmen turned Teutonic Knight, personally led a force of 500 some Knights. He had been appointed by Royal Order to oversee the attack on Compostella, and was told that if he was victorious, he would earn a position as overseer of the Compostella region. Wishing to retire, such rulership would definitely benefit him.

Clad in armor, his soldiers awaited the signal. With an outstretch of his arm, the 500 Knights charged the young, inexperienced guards of Compostella. They were not expecting the fury of the German Knights, the last reports had been only 7,000 musketmen would besiege them. They were all cut down, Vercingetorix's army losing only 200 men. More Knights were brought to the front, 400, losing only 200 while downing the Compostellan 400 spearmen. After that, the units of spearmen available declined, having a size of 300 soldiers instead of 400. The smell of defeat was strong in the air.

With no Knights up to full strength, the German Army turned to it's horde of musketmen. Led by a 600-man force, they charged into battle as one. They lost only 100, while Compostella lost 300 men. Despot Carlos IV set sail immediately on a relatively advanced frigate, sailing for the Canary Islands. He was rudely interrupted by Greek Pirate Ships, who made short work of them, plundering the grand vessel before tossing them all into the sea.

Another 400 muskets lost half their force while crushing more Iberian spearmen. However, without any more defenders besides the local militia, Compostella was declared conquered! Germany had eliminated one of it's weak spots, and was now prepared to make the leap across the sea. But first, it had to dipose of the vile Greeks and their ships...

Germany also disposed of the Spaniards moving through France, capturing who they could and shipping them off to Berlin to fuel the slave trade. Besides sinking a few ships near Sicily, nothing major occurs in the war on Greece.

We also eliminate puny Spanish attempts to retake Sevilla in Southern Iberia, marking Europe as Spanish-free. Given the new non-European nature of their empire, the mixed-breeds of the Canary Islands and Azores stage a revolt, each forming their own independent political unit, each claiming legitimacy to the Despotate. The city of La Caruna in Siberia just establishes it's own city-state.

Our troops are now amassed outside Smyrna, and next turn they will be joined by our recovered Army units. They will hopefully be able to apply the force necessary to take over the city...

 

[tubaman]

Thr Iroquois need to find a better use for all this pent up aggression.

 

[Rik Meleet]

Very nice story.

Shame about the reloading.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Thr Iroquois need to find a better use for all this pent up aggression.

Yes...it'd be so much better if they would attack the other American civs, makes German-Chinese dominance so much easier...that and the Inca need to be stopped, most of the time they attack the Aztecs and give them quite the buttwhooping. (Panama gets taken, meaning we have to wage war to take it back, etc. Much easier to take it from the AztecS)

 

[Tani Coyote]

Very nice story.

Shame about the reloading.

Well, we didn't have much choice but to reload, if anything had gone wrong, Europe would've likely seen a revival of the Byzantine Empire. o.o;

 

[Rik Meleet]

As requested by Rodent, a save of the game...I hope it works. Also, it is made for Conquests that has been given the latest patch.

You've inspired me to download Tet's mod and maps.
You said you've made some adaptations to the biq. Can you upload the biq as well ?
Thanks.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Hmm, seems there was an issue with uploading the file itself. Let's try a .zip...

Ah, there we go! In this .zip folder is my slightly modified version of teturkhan's map.

 

[CCDK]

currently reading like a madman - enjoying it very much - thank your for a great and entertaining story - keep it up!

meep - reminds me of blackadder actually

greetings from CCDK - also known as "CC" (CrazyChicken - Denmark)

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 460 BC ===

460 BC opens up with MOSTLY good news. While the Iroquois invasion force has doubled in size, it is mainly composed of warriors and regular archers. We MIGHT be able to withstand this assault if we defeat the first one.

In the European theater, our forces prepare to unleash hell upon the Greeks - all our armies are fully restored to a total combined strength of 11,600 swordsmen, and 5200 Knights. Most of them march on Smyrna, while one of the armies heads Eastwards to conquer the Ukraine. Greece's presence in Europe is about to come to an end.

While the Greeks manage to rain catapult fire down upon our men, it is not enough to stop the fall of a unit of 800 veteran Hoplite soldiers. Another band of 800 steps up to face us. We lost 500 Teutonic Knights in the battle, but we have a secret weapon to aid our soldiers...

A Pirate Ship! Just finished in Thessalonica, it will be able to rain 3 shots down on Smyrna, and we hope each one counts...

The relatives of the slaughtered shipwrights east of the city had done their best to construct the vessel, desiring revenge on their former overlords for such senseless slaughter. Many innocents had also perished as the Greek Liberation Force turned to savagery to sustain itself, and those who had survived or who were related did their best to back the German effort. The best sailors in the region loaded up into the ship, and set sail for Smyrna...

The bombardment was a success, killing 500 Hoplites. As no fresh divisions took their place, we assumed the best and believed there to be 1900 Hoplites left to defend the city. But artillery was not yet done - 5 battalions of cannons moved into position, opening fire on one of the great cities of the Mediterranean. Amazingly, no real casualties were inflicted upon the defending garrison, though a good deal of civilians were injured or killed.

As our Teutonic Knight Army was exhausted from both combat and travel, it refused to go further. So we called upon smaller units to do the job...

A 600-man band of elite musketmen charged the defenses, and while all were lost, the Greeks lost 300 of their Hoplites. In the face of German hordes, they were likely to fall. 400 Teutonic Knights were lost killing another hundred Hoplites. 300 more were killed, while eliminating 200 Hoplites. With numerous musketmen and Knights, the German King told his men to press on.

German fortunes change when 500 Hoplites are killed by a force of 400 Knights, who lose 300 of their own. The Battle of Smyrna takes a more positive turn, and it seems Germany will win. Greece gets favorable odds when 700 Knights fall killing a mere 100 Hoplites. While Greece seems to have the advantage, Germany's sheer numbers will decide the battle.

Musketmen are called in, 500 of them, their target is a band of 300 Hoplites. All the Musketmen perish, but they reduce the band to 100...which is soon joined by local militias and is replenished to 300. Hundreds more perish in the ensuing slaughter, leaving only 100 Hoplites to defend the entire city. They all take an oath to fight to death, and the Musketmen do likewise. 400 musketmen arrived at the gates of the city, and the battle commenced.

And while losing only 100 men, Smyrna is captured! The Colossus - with it's economic benefits - and the city's shipyards are ours! Not even the Asian Pirates can keep up with our speed and navigation skills!

66 percent of the people resist the German occupation, and they are dealt with via threat of force. But regardless, without Smyrna, Greece is shattered, as the land route to the East - towards Persia, Arabia and India - is opened. The Greek monopoly on trade is finally abolished.

Tired of not being paid for decades and seeing that their former employers are more of a burden then a benefit, the Privateers in Newfoundland revolt against Greece, staging a mass mutiny turned revolution. The city of Pharsalos is taken over by the gunboats with ease, and the returning army of 100 Longbowmen pledges their allegiance to the new rulers.

Greek Ukraine also revolts, forming a new capital at Sevestopol. Years later, Ankara rebels, forming a new landlocked city-state, with minor fishing villages on the Black Sea.

While all these revolutionaries seek peace and recognition from Germany, the Monarch refuses, saying he would rather conquer them then accept their puny claims.

And conquer them he did. In Ukraine, 5400 Swordsmen attack the city of Odessa. 500 Swordsmen kill 800 Hoplites, and already citizens flee east towards more secure locations. They are met by German musketmen, who have pillaged the local area's irrigation and roads, cutting off all land routes eastwards. Odessa is ripe for German conquest.

---

Maximillian von Hapsburg was a powerful man. Hailing from the noble line of Austria, his branch of the family had chosen to remain in Transylvania while the majority fled East to rule over their pathetic domains. Over the centuries since the great Vienna-Berliner War, the Romanian Hapsburgs had rebuilt their estate very slowly, and eventually were appointed to full noble status by the German King.

Maximillian had served in the army during the conquest of Spain, and it had given him a great understanding of tactics. He eventually become quite the noble - he held special economic priveleges in nearly all of Gallia(France) and Iberia. He also held the official positions of governors for most of the region as well. When the King finally died, he had no successor, but he chose Maximillian. While there was great opposition to this, Maximillian vowed to continue the royal bloodline, and did this by marrying a niece of the King.

"Old Max" was proclaimed King, and once the German armies conquered Smyrna, he said Germany's naval and land influence was near-omnipotent, and so he proclaimed himself Kaiser - Emperor. While German rulers had previously been called Emperor, he formalised it. He went so far as to adopt and change the royal family's official surname to 'von Richtoffen Europa', which was internationally condemned, as Germany was proclaiming dominance over Russia, Britain, parts of Greece and parts of Carthage.

The empire now had an emperor, and became a truely imperialist state. Max went about militarising his country further, and he took a far greater stance in international politics.

Max's reforms involved sending 2400 of our best men, musketmen and Knights, westwards towards Oneida on the Atlantic Coast. Once our forces landed in the New World, we could wreak havoc upon the Iroquois people, and make them regret ever planning to initiate a war with Germany.

While we killed about 2,000 or so Iroquois men with Artillery Fire, it did not matter. Chances were the city of Wilhemstadt had taken it's last breaths.

While it was risky, as there was a chance the vessel could be sunk, if those soldiers landed in Iroquois territory, it would be the end of their empire.

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 450 BC ===

In the years between, the German Empire faces it's greatest challenge in the New World - Iroquois invasion. Fielding tends of thousands of men, the Iroquois were determined to drive us out, and they began by attacking Wilhelmstadt. The Germans there would fight to the death.

2600 Iroquois soldiers died defeating the Wilhelmstadt garrison. They plundered and burned all they could find, stealing the city's government supplement of 15 units of gold. Maximillian I was quick to declare unanimous genocide against all Natives of North America who were "young, strong, or powerful". In essence, every soldier and politician was to be murdered on sight - NO exceptions.

Immediately, our Pirate Fleets - which had parked themselves outside Wilhelmstadt to avoid capture - opened fire, killing several thousand Iroquois troops. Two Pirate Ships and their smaller support ships sailed south to Oneida.

The flat lands around the city made it all too easy to kill the garrison. 600 of it's 800 spearmen garrison were killed - it appeared the Iroquois had sent most of their army - defenders, attackers and otherwise - to attack Wilhelmstadt. When our army arrived, we expected easy victory. The Pirates also killed 1/4 of the city's population with it's artillery fire. Blasts from the second ship destroyed it's army base and it's temples. Another blast reduced the city to half it's original population.

---

A little to the northwest, in the capital of Seneca, the Iroquois elders were meeting.

"HIAWATHA! You told us the Germans would be an easy foe to defeat!" shouted one of the tribal elders who had approved of the war.

"But it is, my brothers, already we have destroyed the city of-" Hiawatha said before being interrupted.

"TO HELL WITH WILHELMSTADT!" another elder intervened. "I am the representative of the Oneida tribe! Half my people have been murdered because of your foolishness! Our gods will punish us further, as our shrines and temples have been reduced! We should have NEVER sent our troops away on your campaign of...of...OF ARROGANCE!" The elder of Seneida was fuming.

"My brothers, please calm down. While the loss of Oneida's people is most regretful, I have great news! Our offensive force consists of 46,500 men alone! Together, we can surely smash whatever the Germans can throw at us! Besides, Greek Pirates still roam the Great Sea, and that will be more then enough to keep Germany's fleets occupied."

"Very well then, Hia." The elder of the Illinois tribe replied, demeaning the first-among-equals by the nickname. "I believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, so the rest of us will continue the war. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" The council shouted in near-complete unison. The Elder of Oneida just nodded grumpily.

---

Greeks and Germans competed for dominance once again in the decade. In the Atlantic, German ships targeted Greek ones, causing quite some damage and destroying 3/4 of the fleet off Europe's coast.

Next, we sent what was left of our army from Smyrna to Angora in central Asia Minor. Made of 10,900 men, it was expected we could crush Greece once and for all. Losing only 400 Teutonic Knights, 1,000 of the Elite Hoplites were massacred. The battle then fell to the skilled bands of 800 Hoplites. Only 100 Knights died, killing the whole band of Hoplites. More stepped up to the plate, and they would clash with our southern Swordsmen army. Made of 6200 men, their inferior weaponry could still pack a punch.

1300 swordsmen died killing 800 Hoplites. While not wonderful odds, it still meant that Angora would soon fall to Germany. 1300 more Knights kill the remaining garrison, and therefore...

To appease the local Turkic tribes who had long been under Greek dominion, we change the city's name to Turkish Ankara. Unfortunately, many Greeks live in the city, causing half of it to riot and rebel against us.

Our Pirate ships also sunk small fleets of galleys that were delivering Greek longbowmen. The Aegean - indeed, the whole Mediterranean - was under German hegemony. We send the fleet further south, where it bombards the island of Crete and destroys it's wineries. That should at least deprive Greece of luxuries.

As with before, we take a look at the world's affairs and notice excellent news:

Songhai has taken the Greek colony of Sparta in Libya! Songhai gains it's second port in the process, expanding it's oppurtunities. It also creates a nice wall between Carthage and Egypt. Africa has just gotten more unstable...

We also go to the Chinese, and discover they have Buddha Relics for sale:

With the flow of Buddha relics into Europe, we are able to convince more Chinese people to emigrate to Germany's shipyards and aid in the construction of mighty ASIAN PIRATE SHIPS. Boasting 5 more HP, 8 more transport spots, and 2 more movement points than the European model, it will certainly aid us. In this day and age, size matters. This will also enable us to trump Greek - and later Russian - Pirate Ships. Unfortunately, they require considerable manpower to construct and maintain (3 pop units), so as such Kaiser Maximillian requests only about 5 or 10. Possibly 15 if we're lucky. On the flipside, they only cost 10 shields to build. So we switch all of Greece proper over to Asian ship production...

En route to the Americas, some of our Pirate Fleet comes across a stunning surprise near the Spanish-held Azores...

Amazingly, we find fleets of Pirates who AREN'T shacked up with the Greeks! They are all English in origin, apparently having split off from Greece's Privateering Industry when Greece's economy collapsed. They have all formed a mighty Pirate coalition. We do our best to sway them to our side with our large treasury reserves, but alas, they cannot be bribed. So we do the next best thing - attack them. As we hoped, some crew members desert and join us in a support vessel. We figure the Spanish don't need THAT many Pirates marauding the island.

In the north, 1300 swordsmen die killing 1600 Hoplites in Odessa. The city's fall will need to wait a few more decades.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Alright guys, sorry it took a while to get that in...in good news, the schoolwork is finally starting to trickle! In fact, most of the last work is due around May 12, so you can expect faster updates with the onset of Summer Break.

 

[kingfire87]

Yay! more updates from my current favorite thread!

 

[Tani Coyote]

Yay! more updates from my current favorite thread!

Wait until you see the next one. <.< Germany's power temporarily wanes...

Here's a hint: Anti-Greek Genocide

 

[tubaman]

All your work will fall off after May 12th too? That's cool.

 

[Tani Coyote]

=== 440 BC ===

In 445 BC, Constantinople revolted against the German Empire, forming it's own city-state. The Kaiser condemned the action extensively, and ordered his armies to eliminate the city and burn it to the ground.

...And possibly inspired by that rebellion, Tangier in Africa also revolts, shattering our control over the strait of Gibraltar. The Kaiser makes plans to invade Carthage once all agreements with them expire.

But we are in luck - Constantinople is in riots! It seems they did not take kindly to the Royal Greeks invading the city to crush the short-lived democracy and replace it with an absolute monarchy. Add to the fact a good deal of the population is German, and that spells trouble. Germany's armies advance on the site, recently relieved from duty thanks to Ankara's fall.

Rather then attack directly, we allow our ships to do the talking...our Asian-designed ships. The Greek Empire's Hoplites are reduced to a mere 100, and a band of Knights attacks, losing only 100 to finish them off. The Asian Pirate Ship is truely the most deadly weapon in our arsenal now. Since a third of the city does not welcome us, and we find not a single German, we burn it the ground.

Musketmen lined up around the city while Knights and volunteers set fire to everything they got near. Anybody who tried to escape was shot without hesitation by musketmen. It was a very brutal massacre, but Germany had to make the price of defiance clear. Using an ancient Roman technique, the highways from Constantinople to Athens, Sofia, Smyrna and Ankara were all lined with the tens of thousands of people massacred, who were propped up on crosses.

The heartland was commissioned to send settlers to the area, to rebuild a new city so we could still rule the Dardanelles.

Despite the defections, we expand further, by taking the port of Odessa in Ukraine:

Thanks to squabbles over leadership, the Crimea secedes and forms a new capital at Sevestopol, leaving the rest of Ukraine to rechristen itself the Grand City-State of Rostov. It seems the Greeks are reversing their history: From city-states to a single empire, and then into city-states once again.

Within a decade, we will also land our small expedition of 2400 men in Oneida, which has suffered great losses thanks to German ships.

 

[Rodent]

Great work !!!!!!

 

[Tani Coyote]

Here's the world in 440 BC.

Notable changes:

You can see the German expedition to the Americas in Blue, we have lost Tangier(south of Spain), and Greece is almost removed from Europe.

Israel has siezed Antioch in Turkey, Songhai took Sparta in Libya, and the Iroquois burned down one of our cities - Wlhelmstadt - near New Brunswick, Canada.

You can see predicted movements of the AI and the Big Three:

-China has been exploring Alaska's northern frontiers, so it may not be too long before they sieze a few colonies. I'll have the advantage in the Americas, being closer and possessing 9 move per turn ships! (The regular Asian Pirate Ship can only move 6 squares a turn)

-India also is one of the "Big Three" in terms of exploration and colonial acquisitions. They have colonised northern Australia, and it's predicted it will not be long before they take the whole continent. Germany will rush to acquire at least one base.

-The last member of the club, us, has explored most of the world already, and we know every civ. We're sending 2 elite muskets and 2 elite Knights towards Oneida, which is reduced to 2 redlined spearmen, and we'll also set up base on a hill next to it. We intend to capture Oneida, hold down the fort, and then and then burn almost every Iroquois city to the ground. Once we discover Navigation, the Iros are screwed - we can build muskets in the colonies, enabling us to overrun them.

-Arabia could be a member of the Big Three, but they lack the sufficient shipping technology to compete. They know little besides what we teach them. They do have extensive colonies in East Africa and are looking to take Madagascar. Proof of their potential is they are 3rd place - we are fourth. Arabia is also tied up with our war with Greece...clever way to stop their expansion, eh?

-Egypt could also be a member, they are one of the Big Four in technology(Germany, Egypt, China and India). They have a large colonial empire in Africa, and once their borders expand, will cover quite a good share of it. From their free granaries(Pyramids), free techs(Great Library applies for ALL technology), and their lush homeland, Egypt will have potential once it builds Caravels. Luckily, chances are they'll run into us(Mediterranean) or the Indians(Indian Ocean).

 

[Tani Coyote]

== 430 BC ==

In 430 BC, ships off the cost of Libya witness the Battle of Cyrene. Wave after wave of Songhai and Egyptian invaders are killed, thousands upon thousands dying. Despite considerable losses, Songhai emerges victorious, eliminating the few thousand Hoplites stationed there. With that battle, Imperial Greece is restricted to Crete and Cyprus. Faced with limited power projection and the rebellions in it's far flung colonies in Central Africa, the New World, and Siberia, Greece's days as a power had finally ended.

--

Completing it's period of Romanisation, the German capital is moved to Rome. On the seas, it can produce ships more rapidly, has a large population to exploit, and it also gives us a window on the Mediterranean - now one of the most competed regions on Earth, with 7 countries vying for power. Germany leads, controlling the whole European segment except for the Greek and Carthaginian colony islands. Carthage maintains a quarter of the coastline, with Egypt, Arabia, and Israel having sizeable holdings. Greece, Israel and Songhai are limited to two main ports a piece.

--

Speaking of capitals, Greece will need a new one very soon...

A small force of 2200 men has landed on Crete, and they are now poised to take the city. With support from Asian Pirate Ships, we expected the invasion to be a picnic. All our Pirates together have a combined bombardment of 27 shots. We make full use of each. The resulting hellfire kills 2600 Hoplites, leaving bands of 400 in charge. We then lose 300 out of 600 Knights while defeating one of the 400-man groups. 600 Musketmen downed another 400 Hoplites afterwards.

Greece's king Kleomenes VII was considering fleeing, but what little navy Greece had left in Europe had been decimated by the artillery fire. He was relieved when his defenses held, albeit by only 200 men. He immediately began to suit up, knowing he should at least die in battle against the German scourge. A draft was also instituted to gain more recruits.

--

While Germany's conquest of Crete is halted, we have two other theaters to focus on...first, the one in the Ukraine:

The city of Sevestopol's governors are shocked to see Asian Pirate Ships. Last they had checked, Germany had leveled Constantinople, as a side effect blocking the sea routes between the Black and Mediterranean Seas with rubble. Indeed - the Asian Ship was manned by slaves and citizens from the city of Odessa, which now had half it's original population. The city's leaders held their breath as the ships tilted to the side, opening fire.

Luckily, the navy in port takes the brunt of the damage - half of it's ships are destroyed by artillery. The siege of Sevestopol would have to wait for another day - the Hoplites were still far too strong. The Swordsmen Army does advance however, killing 800 Hoplites while not losing any numbers.

--

The Atlantic Theater is next. We finally defeat the rest of the Greek fleet west of France, and while we're positive more Pirates are coming to steal the growing booty from the Trans-Atlantic trade, we are confident our empowered fleets can destroy them far easier. The North Atlantic will soon be under universal German control.

Further to the West, in North America, 2400 men land on the hills southeast of Oneida. The battle for the small city will potentially decide the fate of the Iroquois.

Fortified upon the hills, and sporting experience and far superior weaponry, any counter-offense is expected to be a hinderance at best.

 

[Gelion]

Inspirational! Do continue!

 

[kingfire87]

I'd say that the Iroquois are toast...