The History of the Iberian Empire

[Tani Coyote]

Notes:

Corruption is turned off.

Difficulty is Warlord.

Conquest and Domination are the only ways out, baby.

Played with Civ 3: Play the World because my Conquests discs is damaged.

Played on the giant map of Europe.

This AAR starts in the Industrial Age because the first two ages were boring and all peaceful.

---

La Historia del Imperio Ibérico ( The History of the Iberian Empire )​

Prologue

The Iberian nation's history is as shrouded in darkness as many other nations', but some key facts are known.

The modern Iberian state can be traced back to the thousands of years BCE, where tiny villages in the center of Iberia came together out of military and economic interests to form Shadrid(named after the Iberian pagan supreme god). From that point on, the humble city of Shadrid spread out, absorbing many villages and forming the land of Castile, which was to become an important country later on.

The Castilian civilisation would be the cradle of Iberian development, as while much commerce passed through Catalonia's ports, refinement of trade and technology ultimately was centered on Shadrid as a result of it's central location. The epitome of Castilian development was the construction of the massive Pyramids in the BCE years to honor the Rey Victor II.

Borders remained mostly static until the years CE. It was at this time that, faced with incursions into Northern Iberia, the largest states of Iberia - Catalonia, Andalucia, Leon, and Portugal - all agreed to peacefully integrate with Castile into the Iberian Union, sometimes called "Spain", derived from the Latin Hispania, which was the name the Romans gave to the union after it's rapid formation.

The early union was a confederation. It's purpose was primarily related to international affairs - especially those of the military - in making sure foreign powers such as France did not gain too much land in Northern Iberia. It would succeed in this goal, being able to claim all of the Iberian peninsula sans the "Quinto mugriento" - the "dirty fifth" - which was occupied by non-Iberian states. The Quinto mugriento stretched from Galicia in the west to Aragón in the east.

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The Union was then engulfed by turmoil following 789 CE. Some wanted to dissolve the confederation and turn it into a de jure and de facto alliance, securing full independence of all the member states. Others wanted to strengthen it. All the member despotates were torn apart, as no one knew which direction should be taken. Out of this chaos, Garcia IV of Leòn was able to become the ruler of a unified Iberia by bribing notables confederation-wide. As a consequence, when Garcia proclaimed himself Garcia Agosto I of Iberia - commonly known as Agosto I - in 802 CE, he was forced to share power with the nobles he had made deals with. A feudal monarchy ensued, with a federal structure established where the local member states maintained considerable autonomy.

Even with that local autonomy to hinder him, however, Agosto I was now one of the most powerful rulers in all of Europe. He controlled a solid, large state that had great potency for greatness. He worked to link all the distant cities of the Iberian peninsula, standardise weights and measures, and further transform the Union from a military one to an economic one by introducing a common currency as well. One key aspect of his reign was compromising to build central power, such as relocating the capital to Shadrid rather than keep it in his native León. He also borrowed much of the Latin language and reformed it into the Iberian language, so as to govern his realm under a unified tongue.

Agosto's reign marked the end of Iberia's infancy just as much as it's Confederation status. In the millennia prior to Agosto's ascension, states all across Europe had bullied Iberia, which had always been focused on expansion more than military affairs. Agosto's seasoned military status would see the beginning of a military buildup which would strain the government's coffers at times due to the nobility's tendency to resist a standing army, which could threaten their autonomy.

By the 1000s CE, Iberia had been greatly transformed. It possessed a powerful military, a solid economy, and had become a center for learning and philosophy, thanks to the contributions of expatriates from the British Isles like Isaac Newton and Adam Smith. It also had, by a narrow margin, the largest population in all of Europe, and the largest territory effectively controlled as well.

But there was a storm on the horizon. While the Rey Felipe III had openly agreed with the principle that Iberia's interests were in trade and peace, not war and destruction, he knew that Iberia would stagnate. Hostile attitudes were becoming rooted in the courts of Prussia, France, Persia, and numerous other great powers. Making matters worse, apart from Carthage, Iberia was the sole remaining monarchy in all of Europe. The Chinese, for example, despite their distance, had had the nerve to demand tribute in the form of Iberian spices in the year 1096 CE. What was to come next?

Accordingly, Rey Felipe III (r. 1095 - 1123 ) made plans to attack the first nation to give him the opportunity. Iberia needed new resources and lands, especially with all the new industrial equipment steadily appearing. While European states had always made war upon minor tribes and small nations, never had there been a war between two or more major European powers. Such a conflict would have enormous costs in lives and money.

Such a conflict would arise when the Carthaginians demanded the return of their strategic outpost city of Malaca in southwestern Iberia upon it's defection to Iberia in 1102. The Indutchian city of Punjab had revolted into Iberian arms in the past, but the distant Indutchians did not want any trouble with such a far-away settlement, and so they let it fall. However, the Carthaginians had a large navy - split in half since earlier rulers had made it official policy to block all military traffic through the straits of Gibraltar - and so were willing to go to war over the city. ..Felipe's response was that if Carthaginians were willing to force their will upon Iberian citizens, Iberians would force their will upon Carthaginians.

...For the first time in 5100 years, Europe was going to experience a full-scale war.

 

[Tani Coyote]

The First Punic War ( 1111 - 1134 CE )​

Spoiler :

Note: Every health bar = 500 troops. For ships, 1 health bar = 1 ship.

For 9 years, relations were cold between Carthage and Iberia. Minor skirmishes broke out, but there were always formal apologies by the two governments. But everyone was ever fearful of war; decades ago, the Iberians had abruptly stopped receiving ivory from North Africa when the Rey cut off the trade deal, saying it was disadvantageous due to how the Iberians had to trade three resources for just one. Scholars later would assert this as proof that the Iberians had long been planning to annex the Carthaginian Kingdom, the weakest state on their borders.

In 1111 CE, war was declared by Rey Felipe III after several assassinations occurred throughout the African territories, as well as some in Iberia itself. (Coincidentally, many of those killed were enemies of the Rey, just as some were friends or allies, later causing many to assume Felipe had strengthened his grip on the country by murdering numerous power brokers, and used the Carthaginians as a scapegoat) The numerous deaths rallied both the public and aristocracy in favor of war, ensuring that any war discontent was kept to a minimum.

The Iberian forces already had an advantage in sheer numbers. Not only did they possess rapid, well-trained cavalry and musketmen, they also had astronomical amounts of them. In total, the Iberian Army at the start of the war was composed of about 273,600(about 1.8% of the total population) troops grouped into 144 units. About 45 of these units were stationed in Africa, with many of them musketmen and cavalry. In theory, troop levels were maintained around that point in Africa to combat barbarians... even though there hadn't been any barbarian villages since the 1090s... but the Carthaginians dared not risk a war during those times.

Strategically, the military would rate cities a number depending on how large they were, to calculate the effects of war. Altogether, the Carthaginians numbered 118 in ratings. The Iberian meat axe was to reduce this number by 10% before peace would be arranged, on the Rey's orders.

36,000 cavalrymen were within striking distance of the Carthaginian city of Gades. A bloodbath was about to ensue...



But first, the Rey secured alliances. The United States of the Two Sicilies, a corrupt, oligarchic - one could argue kleptocratic because of the prevalence of criminals in it's government - was brought in as an ally against the Carthaginians, if only to keep the sea lanes open.

The Romans were rather picky, but they agreed as well for a bit of money and spices. They confessed that there was something they just didn't like about the Carthaginians.

In case one did not notice, Rey Felipe was working strategically. He wanted to transform the entire Western Mediterranean - and it's potent powers - into a wall of allies. After allying with the Romans, he continued to work his way up the Italian peninsula and towards France, which could easily derail any plans of expansion.

The Persians were bribed in order to seal off Carthaginian trade across Europe.

The French were given a different treatment, given that no luxuries could be given to them. Instead, Felipe arranged an alliance of mutual protection, where France and Iberia would stand side by side in any conflicts.

The level 1 city of Tingis was razed first with minimal casualties, with Iberia carrying off 2 slave workers and 1 unit of gold. The other desert city of Iol was able to escape destruction.

Level 6 Gades was assaulted at last in the autumn of 1112 CE, after months of preparation, and fell after only a single wave of cavalry.

Level 2 Calaris was taken in the spring of 1114.

Level 9 Rusadir would follow in 1116, after an intense siege. The front would stop there for several more years.

The battles would be waged on the seas during those next few years, as each side tried to regain the initiative. A fleet of four frigates would demolish four galleys outside the Balearic Islands.

By 1121 CE, the Carthaginians had not summoned any allies to their side. It appeared they would stand against Iberia alone. A new wave was ready to be unleashed upon the Carthaginian Kingdom. When news of that arrived, Carthage's monarchy was overthrown when the monarch was executed and sacrificed to Ba'al, with a revolution beginning with his death.

The Iberian effort against Iol was the source of many tales of brave conquistadores, and the glorious aura surrounding the intense battle of Iol became the spark that set off a golden age for Iberia.

Level 1 Iol was destroyed after the Battle, with 6 bands of slaves carried off. The battle was intense, with thousands of cavalrymen and conquistadores wounded.

Level 6 Cirta was reduced to a level 5 city after a fleet of frigates opened fire upon it and killed large amounts of citizens. It was captured soon after.

Level 2 Sulcis was easily seized.

Rey Felipe arranged to buy knowledge of Steam Power from the Egyptians, believing that the fabled "railways" would do wonders for the war effort. While such technology was off by only about two decades, he agreed to part with 49 gold per term and a 395 lump sum of gold so as to acquire the technology. This also was an incentive to the Egyptians to not attack the Iberians, sealing off another potential Carthaginian ally.

With the main force of the First Punic War done with, Rey Felipe ordered ships to take up positions around Carthaginian cities and block access to fish, to starve the Carthaginian people. Felipe, like many rulers, did not care how many innocent people died so long as he himself was enriched.

In 1129 AD, the French honored their alliance and finally declared war upon Carthage. By this time, however, the war was winding down. 3500 Carthaginian mercenary knights and 1500 Numidian mercenaries were trying to take back Sulcis, but they were annihilated with the loss of only 2,000 Conquistadores.

In 1133 CE, the level 6 city of Nora was occupied with only 2,000 losses.

The Carthaginian cities had suffered the deaths of 8 citizen levels(6.8% of the population), and had lost 24 other citizen levels(20.3% of the population) to occupation. In total, Carthage had lost 27.1% of it's population in the first Punic War. By contrast, Iberia had only lost a few cavalry units.

By 1134 CE, the warring factions of Carthage came together for a brief moment to sign a ceasefire with the Iberians. They immediately went back to ripping eachothers' throats out, but regardless, the First Punic War had ended with a smashing Iberian victory.

But the language was a clear: it was a ceasefire, not a peace treaty. When convenient, either side could resume hostilities and end the truce.

 

[Arexander]

Very nice! Keep it up!

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Second ( 1139 - 1155 CE ), Third ( 1160 - 1185 CE ) and Fourth ( 1190 - 1212 CE ) Punic Wars​

Spoiler :

Rey Felipe had died in 1123, shortly after his order to attack Carthaginian civilian fishermen. His son, Garcia III of Iberia(r. 1123 - 1157) would oversee the entirety of the second Punic War.

A small border skirmish transformed into a second conflict once the five-year truce between the Iberians and Carthaginians ended. Iberian Nora and Carthaginian Cadiz had overlapping claims along the border. Small skirmishes between villagers who lived near the limits of these urban areas soon escalated when police forces - mostly soldiers who had been kept around to pacify the occupied peoples - from Iberia began to attack the Carthaginian citizens who entered Iberian territory. This worsened when these forces began to open fire upon Carthaginians who were INSIDE their own territory, and once both police forces clashed, it was only a matter of time before citizens and militias transformed into cavalry and musketmen. ...On the Iberian side, anyways.

At the start of the Second War, strategic sources indicated Carthage to have about 90 combined citizen levels across the Carthaginian Anarchdom.

Soon, four Carthaginian galleys were sunk, while one Iberian frigate was damaged in the process.

By the year 1141 CE, the city of Cadiz had suffered the barrages of eight frigates, who refused to allow the people of the city to harvest the vast fish populations nearby. Starvation would gradually settle in.

The frontline would shift in the mid 1140s, when the Carthaginians tried to gain the initiative in the war by sending 1500 Knights, 1500 Medieval Infantry, 3500 Numidian mercenaries, and finally 1500 Warriors against the Iberian forces stationed in Nora in the year 1147. While this went on, 4 galleys were trying to slip past the fleet harassing Cadiz, likely to deposit troops elsewhere and divert resources from the front.

The enemy galley group was sunk easily enough, with no damage incurred by the Frigate fleet. The Rey was so impressed that he expanded the frigate group to five frigates, rather than four.

An intense war ensued around Nora, with 1500 Numidians and 1500 warriors slain in the first battle, despite 4500 Iberian casualties. The Numidian spears had been quite effective against the charge tactics of the cavalry, but even that could not slow the purge of the desert.

After that loss, the remaining 5000 enemies fled to desert, becoming more bandits than soldiers, raiding trade caravans and subsisting off thievery rather than any provisions. They became lawless as the Carthaginian Chancellor - the state had become a democracy, accountable to the people, theoretically - talked of cutting wages to prevent too much debt. The rebels would all be slain by 1153 AD, by which the front had already shifted and they ran out of what little supplies the Chancellor would send.

The siege of Cadiz was to become an assault in 1152 CE. The city's chief defenders were the Merchant Democracy of Carthage's finest knights, with 2500 of them present. A few shots of Frigate fire removed 500 of them from combat-ready status. They were soon slain by 2500 of Iberia's own finest, with no casualties. This heroic victory produced one of the greatest leaders Iberia had ever known: Cordoba. He would form a multi-cavalry army and lead thousands to fight.

The level 8 city was captured after several more successful losses. While Iberia had large numbers of casualties, she had not suffered too many deaths. Cordoba was authorised to combine 6500 cavalrymen into a single unit, which would destroy the Carthaginians.

Carthage soon lost 1 citizen level in it's island territories, with the Second Punic War's conclusion bringing nowhere near as much losses as the first, but nonetheless, 2 citizen levels had been killed, while 7 more had been taken. This meant the Second Punic War took a total of 10% of Carthage's population.

...But just as a ceasefire was signed, the usual routine of planning attacks was in progress. The fact that Iberia had laid it's first railways in the region between Ceniza, Badazote, Ciudad del Imperio, and Barca(not connected to any three, but allowing easier transport between them) would help facilitate war efforts, if only in the slightest...

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The Third Punic War would be styled "Felipe IV's War" by contemporaries because the fact that shortly after the ceasefire, Rey Garcia III died and passed the throne to his son, Felipe IV(r. 1157 - 1176 ). Obviously, Felipe would trigger a new Punic War.

It was initiated in 1160 CE, when 2000 cavalry attacked 2500 Numidians attempting to cross the vast desert and re-establish Carthage's colonies in the Atlas Mountains. Suffering only 500 casualties, the Numidians were slain and the settlers forced into slavery, being ordered to build railroads for the state. Carthage's 93 citizen blocks were about to be assaulted yet again.

Level 6 Hadrametum, a source of Carthaginian Ivory - one of the strategic goals of the Wars to begin with - soon fell to an assault by Cordoba's personal force, with the 1500 Numidians being the sole defenders.

1171 CE, the Aztec city of Malinalco defected to Iberia, but the Republic of Mexigundy dared not challenge the Iberians over such a small settlement. The level 7 city of Oea was occupied shortly afterwards in 1172 CE, bringing a Carthaginian harbor under Iberian control. With the losses outside the city included, the Carthaginians had lost 6000 Numidian infantry.

The level 7 port of Rusicade was to be Iberia's next conquest, falling to just 6000 cavalrymen. 1500 Carthaginian Knights were slain shortly afterwards.

The late 1170s were marked by the signing of the Anglo-Roman Alliance, which stated that England and Rome would protect eachother in the case of aggression by a third party. Analysts believed this to be a deterrent against Franco-Iberian imperialism, which England and Rome would suffer the most from. Persia and Balkanzulu would soon sign a similar arrangement, encircling the Arabsurg Empire.

1176 CE, Felipe IV was succeeded by Carlos I (r. 1176 - 1213 CE), who would make it his life goal to finish the job his great-grandfather Felipe III had begun... the conquest of the Carthaginians.

By 1180 CE, the city of Saldae in the West Baleares had been reduced to 3 population blocks as a result of a massive blockade. The arrival of the Iberian Kingdom's first Ironclad would certainly worsen this development.

In 1181, the word was given to attack the level 9 city of Hippo. Hippo was one of the four cities that stood in the path to Carthage.

Before that could occur, however, cavalry had to thwart an attack of 4500 Numidians on the city of Nora, which had only 2000 cavalry defenders. Only 1500 cavalrymen from two forces would be wounded as the 4500 Numidians were slain.

2000 Numidians were slaughtered near the city limits of Hippo. All forces were told to advance upon the city and continue the push eastwards.

Level 9 Hippo was consumed by the Iberian war machine's might after several long, contested battles with Numidians and even some longbowmen.

The next decision, most would assume, would be to take the port of Theveste and push further eastwards. But Theveste's security systems were vast, and so had to be circumvented. The way to do this would be attacking the desert city of Sabratha, which once taken, would allow troops to more easily pour into Theveste and the whole of Carthage's "empire." Even as talks of peace began to be made public, the war plans remained ever present for use.

A ceasefire would be signed, yet again, in 1185 CE. Of a pre-war population of 93, Carthage was left with only 47, which meant they had lost just under half their people to death and occupation.

One of Carlos I's memorable decisions was forming greater ties with the Arabsburgs, including talks of royal marriages and whatnot. While the Arabsburgs were a bit behind the rest of Europe, they were nonetheless quite potent culturally and economically, as well as strategically located. They would allow Iberia to pursue more European territory once the Carthaginians had been crushed. Accordingly, an alliance of mutual defense was inked in 1187.

---

The Fourth Punic War was not justified in any way, but merely publicly acknowledged as imperialism. The alliance against Carthage reformed anew, with the Arabsburgs now supporting the Iberian war effort, even if unable to provide their own troops. Sicilian troops from the United States attacked Leptis Magna and seized it, announcing plans to build a Sicilian Africa. While on the surface Rey Carlos welcomed the Sicilian aid in Africa - as the legitimacy of Carthage's government was questioned, as it was unable to defend it's very core - Carlos knew that he had to race the Sicilians to Carthage itself.

At the start of the war, Carthage had a mere 47 population blocks.

1500 Numidians were exterminated west of Theveste-Sabratha. Operations began to slip past Theveste's formidable border walls by entering via Sabratha. Naval forces shelled the Baleares, claiming 2 citizen blocks.

Level 6 Sabratha was easily claimed with minimal casualties, crushing 3000 Numidians. All available forces were thrown at Theveste, to narrow the cities between the frontlines and Carthage to a mere one.

The Carthaginians defended Theveste hard, killing 2500 elite cavalrymen and wounding another band of 2500 elites.

In 1197 CE, Carthage's knights came from the desert and cut down 2000 cavalrymen. Plans were made to avenge those souls, and the call for Carthaginian blood by the masses increased in volume.

Level 10 Utica was occupied in 1203 CE, leaving Carthage open to attack. All troops were ordered eastwards...

1206 CE, the Romans and Balkanzulu aligned themselves in a mutual defense pact. Carthage later bribed America for peace in 1208 CE.

1210 CE, the French traded their knowledge of numerous medicines - manufactured and not herbal - in exchange for the secrets of how to fully industrialise their economy.

1210 CE was also the year where the last spearmen and warriors were de-commissioned from active duty. Some would move on to retrain as more modern soldiers, but many more would move into a career of reenacting old battles in theater.

Troops arrived at the gates of Carthage in 1211 CE to find that the Carthaginians had managed to buy muskets off foreign powers, and were now equipping musketmen to protect their capital. Making matters worse, the Carthaginians had redirected the local river ages ago to encircle the city proper, making it that much more perilous to assault.

..But those 1500 musketmen could not fight off 6500 soldiers from the army founded by Cordoba.

With the loss of only around 2000 soldiers - though thousands more were wounded thanks to the ferocity and size of the local garrisons - countless Carthaginians perished, their sacred city falling into Iberian hands. Troops paraded throughout the streets, with the Romans also joining the fun, thanks to their navy being stationed nearby and blocking Carthage's harbor. Iberian troops stormed the Chancellor's Palace, discovering he had fled. Regardless, victory was assured over Carthage. No official peace treaty had to be signed, as the Carthaginians no longer existed, per se.

The Carthaginians - as a unified people, at least - ceased to exist after the fall of Carthage. While the Iberians had kept the Romans - who wanted to burn the city and salt the land - at bay, they had failed to capture all of Carthage's possessions. Accordingly, successor states set themselves up in the aftermath. The desert city-state of Leptis Minor formed into a Marxist commune, attempting to prove the recent ideas of socialism and communism right. Given that the entire commune was dirt poor, the people figured they had nothing to lose. By contrast, the Balearic Islands unified under the Republic of New Carthage, which sure enough had it's capital at New Carthage/Carthago Novo. Both these states claimed legitimacy, but the Iberian Kingdom made plans to crush them both.

In the meantime, vast temples to the Iberian pagan pantheon began to rise up throughout former Carthaginian lands, as part of the practice of promoting Iberian religion while tolerating local beliefs. Workers began to more freely roam throughout North Africa as they constructed vast railways to improve the economic efficiency of the African territories. Marketplaces, barracks, courts of law, governors' palaces, and just about every other form of development arrived in Africa with Iberian overlordship. Viceroys were appointed to oversee all of this, being regularly checked on by the "eyes and ears of the rey."

The de facto peace of 1212 was the epitome of Carlos I's work, and sure enough, he would pass away, satisfied, in the spring of 1213 CE, being succeeded by Julio Agosto (r. 1213 - 1256), a Romanophile who had took a name close to those held by Roman Emperors. Being born into an age of medicine, he would often be the first recipient of new cures and treatments, explaining his incredibly long reign(43 years).

The sun had set on Carthage, but it was only just rising on the engorged Iberian Kingdom...

 

[Tani Coyote]

The "Peaceful" Years​

Spoiler :

For the next few decades, Europe would enjoy de facto peace. While the Mexigundians eventually declared war upon the Carthaginian successor states - working as an agent of Persia - the battles fought after the fall of Carthage were minor and relatively unnoticed at home. Troop levels were cut continent-wide without a war to fight, and the infrastructure of the expanded Kingdom became Iberia's main priority.

But a strong defense was nonetheless a necessity, and so the Royal Military Academy opened in Shadrid in 1221 CE. Cutting the ribbons, the Rey explained it was necessary that even while peaceful, Iberia needed a strong defense to ward off opportunistic neighbors.

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Since the liberal reforms of the high Middle Ages, some level of "democracy" had been practiced at the local level, with eligible citizens(all males over the age of 25, or who had served in the military; there was also a poll tax that kept many away. Those were just national standards; some local standards applied their own poll taxes and requirements such as literacy tests to vote) being able to elect local leaders such as the mayor(governors of the provinces were elected by the nobles and approved by the Rey, or appointed by the Rey and confirmed by the nobility). While real power continued to be held by the Rey and the nobility, the successing Reyes all upheld democratic structures at the local level. The reason for this was that by empowering the people - even if only in name and not practice - the nobility would be checked. The mass murder of many prominent nobles prior to the Punic Wars by agents from Carthage would further increase the power of the monarchy, which could balance the economic power of the reduced nobility with the labor power of the enfranchised populace.

Rey Julio Agosto sought to limit the powers of the nobility - who had been granted new lands in the Carthaginian territories by empowering all corners of society in the Voting Reform of 1223. The voting age was lowered to 21 and the military privilege went from veterans to applying to active soldiers as well. The poll tax was halved, enfranchising more of the common people. Furthermore, many measures that kept democracy away - such as literacy tests - were declared null and void by the crown. Finally, and most importantly, all language related to men was removed... implying that mujeres(women) were able to vote as well. When the question was raised in noble circles later on, Rey Julio Agosto defended his actions by saying that women often filled the labor positions men heading for the frontlines had left vacant.

The Leptis Minor commune fell apart the moment it was captured in 1224. It's flawed, hopeless economic system and a Roman assault - as determined by the large number of Roman troops outside the city limits - had enormously weakened it.

Shadrid's linking to the great Western railway network - which linked seven cities to eachother, not including the capital - was great cause for celebration, easily enabling defense of the regions of Castile and Leon.

Julio Agosto also initiated great military reforms, where the hundreds of units of gold in the Kingdom's treasury fell rapidly as he worked on modernising all well-trained units and disbanding common ones into workers on projects. Musketmen who fit the bill became riflemen, while countless pikemen were cut from the armed forces. Some swordsmen were able to become Medieval Infantry, which, while obsolete, nonetheless were good at home defense. By 1234 CE, all musketmen had been eliminated, with riflemen now the prevailing unit. By this time, Iberia only had 238 gold in it's treasury, down from 1600+. But with a strong economy and a reduced military - read, less maintenance costs - the treasury would surely recover. In fact, of the 240 state employed divisions of labor, about 1/4 were mere workers, with the remaining 3/4 distributed across the military. And about 162 divisions was the optimal support number for the entire Kingdom.

By 1243 CE, the minor skirmishes with the people of New Carthage became an all out war. The city of Carthago Novo lost 1/5 of it's population, meaning the entire Republic lost 1/6. Furthermore, 8,000 cavalrymen landed on the beaches northwest of Carthago Novo, intent on taking the last great city of the Carthaginian mercantilist dominion, which would leave the island fortress of Saldae alone as the last vestige of Carthage's legacy.

1251 CE, troops conquered Carthago Novo after a long siege. The 4000 Numidians didn't stand a chance against Iberia's rifle-armed cavalry. The New Carthaginians had lost 1/3 of their entire population during the war with Iberia, and another 3/6 had been occupied. 1/6 of their population - mostly soldiers by this point - remained walled up in Saldae, which became an island fortress. Every citizen who could walk was taught how to fight, transforming it into a giant soldier city. The island's small space was so efficiently used that it was impossible to stage any landings - walls were built right near the edge of the water, with only a few openings for small fishermens' boats to gradually move into open waters. Not even the mighty divisions of Iberia could penetrate such a small, well-guarded fortress...

In his last years of life before his death in 1256, Julio Agosto formalised relations with England, Indutchia, Denmarquois, Slavpan, Gaelylon, and Monscotland by opening embassies in each of their capitals. Julio Agosto promised "peace in our time" and talked of seeking closer international relationships for the good of Europe and all the world. With ever-increasing colonial territories outside Europe's boundaries, it was important all of Europe's players remain strong.

In 1255, Julio Agosto called for celebrations when railways linked the small towns of Badazote and Buenos Erizos. While it seemed minor at a glance, it was important as each of these towns were part of the major railway networks - the Northern railway and Central Railway. The heartland of Iberia was linked with the frontier by a rapid transit system.

In 1256, Julio Agosto's death caused his son, Tiberio Agosto (r. 1256 - 1283 ) to come to the throne. Having been named due to his father's obsession with Roman culture, Tiberio was a firm ruler, possessing the sound scheming and realpolitik skills of his ancestors. He intended to use his father's diplomatic adventures as a weapon of war... against the English.

By 1266, Tiberio had amassed 26,000 soldiers outside English Norwich and 30,000 outside Roman Byzantium. All reports indicated that these cities both had less than 6,000 troops in them, some of which were primitive. War was declared upon the English, with the hopes that the ensuing war would not cascade into a continental one.

 

[sk8boardbob2]

Great story so far.

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Cry of Galicia​

Spoiler :

The Galicians had been one of the Iberian peoples - along with the Cantabarians, Navarrese, and Aragonese - to have been placed under foreign occupation during the days of the Iberian Union. Colonised partially by the English and partially by the French, the Galicians longed for independence, especially from the English, who treated them like second-class citizens despite the "democracy" present in English politics. The Iberians offered them a deal: Autonomous status - on par with other provinces - within the Iberian Kingdom, in exchange for supporting an Iberian assault on Galicia. The Galicians took the deal, and intensified their terrorist attacks upon the English garrisons in the region, while also respecting the Ibero-French alliance by ending most attacks upon French soldiers and civilians.

Prior to the Anglo-Iberian War of 1266, the English cities possessed approximately 113 population blocks. The Romans, who would align with the English by merit of a protection pact, had about 152 population blocks.

The English were hit first, losing 1 population in Norwich thanks to a bombardment. The Romans honored their pact with the English, but would they be able to prevent themselves from being overrun?

2500 elite cavalry had to sacrifice their lives to wound 1500 English riflemen, while another group of cavalry smashed the English spearmen. Norwich fell soon afterward, causing the English to have lost a total of 5 people from across their empire. They had been kicked out of Galicia, most importantly, losing their source of incense in the process.

The attack on Byzantium in 1267 CE was next(an unfortunate side effect was the Zulu allying with the Romans out of a defense pact). The Iberian elite cavalry attacked, suffering a great deal of wounded and only wounding 500 of the 2000 riflemen facing them. Given that Byzantium was a size 11 city, it was no wonder it was such a tough nut to crack. The Army unit was brought in to even the odds.

4500 wounded cavalry produced 1500 dead riflemen from that assault. 2000 dead Iberians managed to wound the riflemen further, who's ranks swelled, nonetheless. 2000 riflemen were then taken down by a cavalry unit.

The next wave brought down Byzantium's defenses, and the city was occupied. 40% of it's population resisted, but the day was nonetheless Iberia's... she had taken 11 of 152(7.2%) citizens from Rome. 9500 Romans, however, remained outside the city as guerrillas. Regardless, wealthy Byzantium - surrounded by grasslands and hills, with numerous railways, as well as wineyards, gold mines, coal mines, fur sources, and cattle ranches - had been occupied by the Iberian Kingdom.

Before either of the two powers knew what hit them, a right of access treaty was inked with the Denmarquois. This would open up more routes to English Brighton, though the French city of Strasbourg also helped this pursuit.

Via Strasbourg, the Iberian military machine attacked Brighton, a city strategically located where the Appenines met the Atlantic Ocean. It was also one of the Navarrese cities.

With few deaths, the 2000 spearmen of Brighton were overrun. All Iberia rejoiced at the expulsion of the English and Romans from the Iberian peninsula. While the initial war objectives had been met, the Rey wanted more. He desired to push the English off the European continent, as well as gain territory at the expense of Rome...

---

To further these objectives, the Rey decided to use his resources to align Europe against the English, Romans, and the Balkanzulu by extension. First, he divided the Persian-Zulu alliance by having Persia - which was strategically located, controlling a vital railway through France as well as engrossing northern Italy - attack Rome. This would cause the Persians to join the war on Iberia's side and not the Zulu's.

The Indutchians were somewhat easier to buy off, saying they just didn't like the English, being their neighbor and such. For some incense, the Indutchians attacked both Rome and England, meaning the English would have to fight three countries across the water from them.

The French would attack the Romans and English soon enough once the defense pact activated, but the Rey wanted the French in on the war sooner to disrupt English and Roman retaliation efforts. Accordingly, he signed a military alliance, while concluding trade deals simultaneously. The French were gracious to be in a war against the English, as well, who they were rivals with thanks to the territory of Britanny being split between them.

The Sicilians soon joined in on the fun, and while backwards, they would serve as a distraction to siphon Roman resources from the frontlines against Persia and France. Celtvetia joined the anti-English alliance soon afterward.

One neutral power wedged between all of Iberia's allies was Mexigundy, which, while Medieval, could easily hinder victory. Accordingly, they were brought into the alliance, if merely for image purposes. Like many regional powers, putting the English on the table made the deal that much closer to being sealed, and a bit of money was all it took.

All of Western Europe had been unified against the Romans and English, except for states in Ireland and Britannia. These states were Mongscotland and Gaelylon. Mongscotland was a country formed originally by the Scottish people being unified by one tribe in the area, the Mongols. The Gaelylonians had a more peaceful history, having formed like Iberia, but in the face of English aggression in Cornwall. The Welsh people unified under Gaelylon's flag, which eventually was carried deep into England's heartland. When the French, English, Norwegians and Indutchians all invaded Ireland, 2/5 of the island joined Gaelylon for protection, creating a Federation that meant to protect he interests of all Gaelic peoples.

---

Even with wine, however, the Gaelylonians resisted the proposals of the Rey, until he threw in promises of training them how to produce cavalrymen. The Rey knew he had to assist Gaelylon, which was medieval. So, Mongscotland was brought in as well, to give the English more of a headache.

To complete the policy of "encirclement", the Rey brought in Prussia and Slavpan as allies. ...And Greece. And Koreomania. And Swedegypt. And Chinland. Nearly all of Europe was aligned against the Anglo-Roman alliance, besides Balkanzulu, Norway, Russia and the Arabsburg Empire(though the Arabsburgs would become aligned with Iberia once defense pacts kicked in).

1268, the French captured Oxford from the English, bringing one of the three English cities in Britanny under their rule.

In just one year, nearly all the workers of Iberia managed to create a railway passing through hills and all the flat lands on the southern French coast(8 tiles). This allowed cavalry to assault the next Roman city of Viroconium.

The level 9 city of Viroconium was occupied in 1271 after 6000 cavalry died to kill 6000 riflemen. With Viroconium went Rome's source of dyes. 4 Roman Ironclads were sunk shortly after, with more being spotted approaching the Baleares.

In 1274 CE, an epic sea battle occurred when eight Roman ironclads all tried to swarm a group of four Iberian ironclads, only to all be sunk while the Iberian ironclads took minimal damage.

1275, the Romans captured Slavpanese Osaka in Istria. It was a minor setback, however, and was blamed on the fact the Persians had honored their pact with the Zulu and thus were at war with Japan, despite being allied against Rome with Japan.

The intelligence agency's establishment in 1276 would allow Iberia to keep track of her enemies, even when at war.

Liverpool was taken with at least 10-12,000 cavalrymen's deaths. The Battle of Liverpool was the most devastating ever fought by Iberia, and so a ceremony was held in remembrance of the fallen back in Shadrid. Regardless, however, England's grip on continental Europe was slipping.

1277, the French captured the last English city on the continent. The English network of outposts along Europe's coastline had finally been destroyed. Liverpool remained a strategic base, and immediately, the Rey met with the French President to discuss new plans... an invasion of the English homeland itself.

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Fall of Rome​

Spoiler :

1283, Rey Tiberio died, unable to see his coming victories... being replaced by his son, Carlos II of Iberia(r. 1283 - 1337), who was the final product of royal marriages between the Augustine royal family of Iberia and the Arabsburg family of Central Europe. Carlos would oversee the rise of a European empire for Iberia, and claim greater suzerainty over his mother's ancestral territories in the Arabsburg Empire.

1284, the Franco-Iberian alliance officially came to an end when the French did not wish to extend it; the Rey also did not do well diplomatically with the new President of France, who butted heads with Carlos in every manner, political and personal. But the Rey did not mind; he wanted to crush the French at some point after all, seeing them as a barrier to Iberian hegemony. He was just steadily encircling them... As a result, all plans for an invasion of England were shelved for the time being; Carlos decided that defeating the Romans first was the proper strategy, especially with their ironclad fleets harassing Iberian shipping.

In the meantime, a massive invasion force of 62,000 soldiers descended from the Alps on Roman Hispalis. If the city could be taken, the way into Italy would be opened.

1285, Hispalis fell, opening the gates of Italy.

1288, Romans intercepted several ironclads, sinking 13 Iberian ironclads. The Romans only lost a mere 4. The decision was made to pull all naval vessels back to Iberia's coastline. The Romans clearly had naval superiority, just as they did in Scipio Africanus' fantasy novel, "The Punic Wars."

1289, the Golden Age of Iberia was deemed to have ended, as shown by the massive drop of annual GDP from 500+ to 180+.

1291, 62,000 Iberian cavalry were poised to strike at Roman Lutetia and claim the territory of Parma for Iberia. Once Parma was seized, it would be possible to push deeper into Roman territory, which lacked much in the way of railroads thanks to Iberia having claimed their sole source of coal - Byzantium.

7,500 elites were killed bringing down 2,000 Roman riflemen and wounding thousands more. 6,000 more dead cavalry yielded nothing but a few more hundred injured Romans.

With few deaths after that, the softened up Roman garrison was crushed in early 1292, putting Lutetia and all Parma into Iberian hands.

With that, a new force of 46,500 soldiers was sent to conquer Pompeii, which would mean the heart of Italy would be open to attack.

Pompeii had 12,000 deaths, but nonetheless, the city was captured. Once Pisa on the Eastern coast of Italia was occupied, it would be easy to knock the Romans out one by one.

1293, everything from Frontera Oeste to Carthage in Africa was unified by rail. All residents, Carthaginian and Iberian, celebrated the linking of the entirety of the continent.

1294, the cowardly Romans sent an attack force of 2000 cavalry against 2500 Iberian cavalry, taking the lives of all those Iberians, though 1500 Romans were wounded.

1296, England signed a trade embargo against Iberia with the Russians.

1297, 32,000 Iberian cavalry assaulted Pisa. 8,000 would perish in the assault, but the Romans had similar deaths. The fall of the city opened much more flat land for cavalry to storm across, which would allow an attack on Ravenna and finally Antium.

Ravenna was assaulted by a wave of 12,000 cavalry later in 1297. 6,000 of them would perish, while the others were wounded. The end result was Ravenna's fall.

Before preparing any future assaults, Rey Carlos wanted to know what to expect. He planted spies throughout Rome's shrinking empire, while also bribing citizens to turn against the government by supplying information.

Reports showed Antium to have 6,000 defenders - a common amount - but Rome itself possessed 14,000, backed up by 1,000 cavalry and two sets of cannons.

2500 cavalry suffered heavy injuries, but they were able to crush 1/3 of Antium's defenses. Several thousand more deaths would yield the city of Antium in 1298. While the Iberian advance had been slowed by a lack of further troops - not to mention the difficulty of crossing Roman terrain - all of Northern Italy was now under Iberian occupation. Rome retained only 4 cities on the peninsula, and Rome was within striking distance.

Rome's sudden, rapid collapse opened up a power vacuum in Northern Italy. Of the territory seized from Rome, less than half of it was under any effective national authority. Accordingly, anybody could roam the anarchic lands that stretched from Hispalis to Ravenna and Antium. With only a few cities offering a brief reprieve, one key objective of the war would also be to stabilise Italy by crushing all the local nobles and warlords who sought to carve their own territories from the ashes of Rome's empire.

1303, the Romans killed 2000 riflemen who were protecting Antium. But their attempts to retake the city failed, nonetheless.

1306, the discovery of replaceable parts allowed another military reform, with all riflemen in the occupied territories replaced with far deadlier infantry.

1308, 53,000+ cavalry invaded Roman territory, being poised to strike at both Cumae and Rome itself when given the order.

1309, Arabia declared war on Persia. It would fall to Iberia to attack Persia once the pacts went into effect... More importantly, France signed a peace treaty with England. Plans were made to undo that peace.

Months later, Persia was at war with Iberia. Prior to their war with the Iberian Kingdom, they had approximately 153 units of population.

The decision was made to strike Persia fast and hard. Conquering the cities of Sardis and Ghulaman would reinforce Iberia's position and allow easier transport of troops.

First, though, was the liberation of a large group of workers the Persians had attacked due to a sudden outbreak of war.

4,000 troops would die to make sure that Sardis fell in 1310. Embarrassingly, Iberia proper no longer had any cavalry to use, and so troops had to reverse from the front lines and from Viroconium to attack Ghulaman. Said city fell soon after, having been weakened by Iberia's regional cavalry.

When the smoke cleared in 1311, 37,500 cavalrymen remained alive from the intense Battle of Rome. 15,500 cavalrymen had perished in the battle, but the eternal city of the seven hills, the city of five wonders, and the capital of Rome had fallen in one blow. The city was heavily damaged, but reconstruction efforts began immediately so as to win the favor of the Roman people.

Rey Carlos II immediately departed for the city, climbing to the top floors of the majestic Tower of the Caesars and proclaiming his victory over the Roman Republic. Scipio Africanus' novel had described a world where Carthage controlled Iberia and had sent a force under a general named Hannibal through the Alps into Italia. The Romans would suffer numerous defeats by Hannibal, only to drive him out eventually. But being cold, hard reality and not any fantasy novel, the chances of the Romans recovering and reclaiming their namesake city were slim.

 

[Tani Coyote]

This... Is... Italy!!!​

Spoiler :

1315 CE, Carlos celebrated another triumph as Cumae was occupied. In the meantime, France's massive armies - 45,500 cavalrymen - had arrived in Southern Italy, and the Rey decided to let them take the remnants of Roman Italy. It would all be his eventually, anyways.

1316, the Rey's troops captured Persian Tarsus with a few thousand deaths. Tarsus was in the center of the Po River valley, and plans were made to assault Pasargadae, which would result in the expulsion of Persia from Italy.

While 7,000 Iberians died in the process, Pasargadae was captured in 1317. The Persians had been expelled from Italy.

1318, the Romans and French ended their squabbles, but the Coalition forces in Italy remained enormous, being jointly Persian and Celtvetian.

1319, Carlos negotiated with the Arabsburgs to keep the Ibero-Arabsburg Alliance strong, raising his payments from 62 gold per term to 88 gold per term. In an age of a Powder Keg Europe, it was important to have allies Iberia could rely on.

---

The Holy Roman Empire was a religious authority formed as a loose confederation of medieval states. It was unified - mostly - behind the idea of Catholicism, and so had been established by the Roman Pope's declaration. The Empire served to counter the Pope's political powers, as well, while furthering the interests of it's members.

So in 1321, upon the death of Holy Roman Emperor Louis X of France, the Holy Roman Electors(Persia; Prussia; Indutchia; Mexigundy; Denmarqois; Celtvetia; Arabstria; Rome) favored Carlos II of Iberia for the title of Holy Roman Emperor. The vote was party-line: Rome and Persia defied Carlos for obvious reasons, while Indutchia, Mexigundy, Prussia, Arabstria and Celtvetia through their lot in with the Iberians. The Danes backed themselves, having their own interests, such as it's Hanseatic League.

1322, Rey Carlos II initiated a great military reform, purging the Kingdom of all Longbowmen, and all but 4000 Medieval Infantry. All Riflemen were also purged, being upgraded to Infantrymen. This would greatly improve the standing of the Iberian Kingdom, which suddenly had tens of thousands of lethal infantry to protect her domains.


The Rey's informers within Neapolis - the New Roman capital - gave the breakdown of Roman forces as 3 units of Spearmen, 3 units of Longbowmen, 1 unit of Musketmen, 16 units of riflemen, 2 cavalry units, 1 Army Group, 1 Medieval Infantrymen unit, and 13 ironclads. There were more vessels, but the Rey wanted to know about the Ironclads the most.

61,500 cavalry invaded Roman Italy shortly after these reports were received. The Iberian King and Holy Roman Emperor decided only one Roman Empire could exist...

1324, the Americans signed a peace treaty with the Romans and Zulu, having done their part as a distraction. Shortly afterwards, Greece and England made peace, as did Koreomania and Balkanzulu.

8,500 brave cavalrymen died fighting the Battle of Neapolis(1325). But the city's fall into Iberian hands left only a single major settlement in Roman hands on their very home landmass: Veii. The President of the Republic fled to Brundisium in Corsica. Ships were already being constructed to launch a full-scale assault on Corsica.

After trudging through the mountains, the city of Veii was conquered with minimal deaths in 1326. The Romans had been officially driven out of Italy. News of this defeat caused the peasants of Rome to ambush, arrest, and imprison the Roman President. Power was soon vested in the Chairman of the Communist Party, and Rome declared itself the first Socialist Republic of the world. The "Red Scare" soon washed over all of Europe.

Vitoria was built in 1327 CE to fill in the gaps in Iberian authority in Northern Italy. It was also to serve as a loyalist colony that would allow easier control of all Italy.

...Or not. Days after Vitoria was constructed, Carlos II stood before an assembly of representatives from all the Holy Roman Empire's member states as well as regions and certain municipalities within the Iberian Kingdom. He decreed that he would be using his power as Holy Roman Emperor to grant Iberia the status of an empire and not a mere Kingdom, given it's massive, dominating size in three separate regions. Carlos II secured the blessings of the Pope with this decision by converting to Catholicism and promising to promote the faith within a greatly-pagan and/or Muslim Iberia and Africa. While Carlos kept this promise, he nonetheless did it as a political maneuver, and the number of Catholics in Iberia would not greatly shift during the rest of his reign; their social standing would, however, to create an illusion of Catholic supremacy.



With invasion forces readying to invade Persian Sidon and Roman Corsica, the Iberian Kingdom had greatly gained size during Carlos II's rule, becoming the supreme power of the Western Mediterranean as well as an empire. The vital trade routes to the east were far more secure(as traders could travel across Italy in case the Sicilian-Maltese routes were blocked), as were royal finances. It would only be a matter of time before the pretender state to the Roman name collapsed, and a much greater empire was forged...

 

[BuckyRea]

Oh my gods, it's portmanteau madness! Pun overload! It's like you're waging a separate "PUNic" War on your readers. Mexigundy? Koreomania? Cthuloid Persia!! Make it stop!!! It's enough to make a healthy human bean want to retire back to the quiet little town of Frijol, Iberia and just fart around for the rest of his days.

Please, sir, may I have another?

Interesting items of note: (1) the geography of the Med Sea is such that even a tiny power like the US of TS is going to play a pivotal role in any wars in the neighborhood--good to secure them as an ally up front. I assume once technology levels of the major players in this flat Euroworld overtakes the tiny countries, the US will become less important, if not somebody's conquest.

(2) at a quick glance at a map, and going by my own history of mobbed up 30 player games, that Swedgypt, France, and the Ottomans are the big shots--also, eventually, either Russia or China will conquer the other and become a late stage menace from the north.

(3) The Mongolians are stand-ins for the historical Scots? I find that vaguely appropriate.

(4)

The Fourth Punic War was not justified in any way, but merely publicly acknowledged as imperialism.

Ha!

How refreshing!

(5) The Red Scare?!

 

[Tani Coyote]

Oh my gods, it's portmanteau madness! Pun overload! It's like you're waging a separate "PUNic" War on your readers. Mexigundy? Koreomania? Cthuloid Persia!! Make it stop!!!

First off, it's an honor that the noble BuckyRea has decided to comment on my story!

To be fair, I did get the idea to combine real-world locations with the civ occupying it from the "Brazulu" faction of your famous Russian story. ...Maybe I did go a bit overboard, however...

It's enough to make a healthy human bean want to retire back to the quiet little town of Frijol, Iberia and just fart around for the rest of his days.

That's actually a pun in itself... many of the town names are based on the translation of Sonic characters' names(since many of them are basic things like "Bark" and "Bean" and "Shadow" and whatnot) into Spanish... El Zorro = "The Fox", referring to Tails the Fox... Buenos Erizos = "Good Hedgehogs", meant to be a slight pun on Buenos Aires.. and the Bean character is self-explanatory. So if one looks close enough, there's a whole new line of puns ready to be unleashed!

Please, sir, may I have another?

But of course! I have about two updates ready to go, the completion of the Roman campaign, as well as the curbing of Persian influence. There's also the attack on a secret nation... since you're a history teacher, I'll give you a hint: it's a country that historically was owned by Spain. (I am somewhat trying to roleplay the Habsburg Empire now, albeit from a more Spanish perspective, and so I'm trying to recreate the empire of Charles V)

Interesting items of note: (1) the geography of the Med Sea is such that even a tiny power like the US of TS is going to play a pivotal role in any wars in the neighborhood--good to secure them as an ally up front. I assume once technology levels of the major players in this flat Euroworld overtakes the tiny countries, the US will become less important, if not somebody's conquest.

The United States of the Two Sicilies is currently in Iberia's crosshairs, actually. Getting rid of them will secure the Iberian flank. The technology levels of the world are competitive as ever, though from all I can see, Iberia is clearly the leader of technology in the world, now possessing Steel and working towards Combustion. The world economy is fairly lopsided, as well, as Iberia controls pretty much all luxuries(Ivory was elusive, but the African colonies give us a monopoly on it), and to date we are one of the handful of countries with oil(thank god for North Africa; I hadn't even thought of the future impact oil would have on us while attacking them, actually). Russia, Swedegypt, Chinland, the Turks and Norway are the only other states with oil reserves. Norway's too backwards to be a threat, but those other three could be potent in the future... good thing they're all far away!

(2) at a quick glance at a map, and going by my own history of mobbed up 30 player games, that Swedgypt, France, and the Ottomans are the big shots--also, eventually, either Russia or China will conquer the other and become a late stage menace from the north.

I think you're right on Swedegypt and France, given their abundance of resources. France is also a leader in tech, or was, since as of now, they're about 2-3 techs behind me. France, however, is a ticking time bomb, as they lack a domestic source of rubber and must import it; French rubber sources were colonsied by the Indutchians. Lacking both oil and rubber, they will have difficulty competing in the late industrial age unless somebody trades with them... and a few embargoes could stop that cold. I'm not too sure about the economics of the Turks, who do have an advantage of only having to fight on one front - West. They also have oil and rubber, and so, they could easily become a regional - and later continent-wide - powerhouse.

Chinland and Russia have fought a war before... Chinland keeps dominating in any conflict they fight, however, given their manpower(they've gotten to the point they use the "City Name 2" scheme!).. So they likely will be able to do the reverse of history and defeat the Russians.

(3) The Mongolians are stand-ins for the historical Scots? I find that vaguely appropriate.

Battle reports show that in this universe, the English will "unite" with the Scots and not the other way around. They've been seizing Gaelylonian and English cities all over the map. Who would have imagined the primitive Mongscots would suddenly turn Industrial and take over part of England? If this keeps up, they just may form a "Great Britain" for me to keep my eyes on...

(4)
Ha!

How refreshing!

Well... empire for empire's sake, Bucky!

(5) The Red Scare?!

Indeed... the Iron Curtain has fallen over Europe, just to let you know. It seems instead of Fascism growing from the rubble of defeated countries, Communism has... as of now, England, Arabstria, Poland(a reduced Persia where the Polish cities hold most of the population), and Mongscotland have fallen under the sway of Socialist regimes.

Josephus Stalinus may have failed in escaping the crushed Roman Socialist Republic to export the ideas of Communism, but it seems some of his disciples filled in the job... the "Red Scare" was quite justified here, I think.

...Good thing Iberian Armies are ready to lead the charge in fighting the Red Menace! ...And eliminating fellow capitalists afterward, of course. 'Tis the free market! Besides, I cannot allow the peoples of the world to suffer oppression from backwards democracy; monarchy is the only true path!

 

[Tani Coyote]

Devouring the Persian Snake​

Spoiler :

Note: New Unit Stats - 1 health bar = 750 men

1328, the Rey was surprised to hear the Sicilian colony of Houston in Northern Iberia had chosen to defect. The peninsula had been consolidated further, and now those wise Sicilians could indulge the luxurious Iberian lifestyle. Houston's position would also enable Iberia to wage economic war on France - once developed, it would consume France's fur colony.

8500 cavalry died to take out the 4000 riflemen protecting level 1 Sidon in 1329. The Arabsburgs had done their part in harming Iberia's enemies; Rome had captured Istria/Osaka from Slavpan, while Persia had captured Edo from Slavpan. Rome lost Osaka shortly after taking it to the Arabs, and Persia lost Edo in 1327. The Arabsburgs and their Iberian brethren openly said that they were just administering Slavpan's lands for the duration of the war until the anarchy had settled, but in reality, they planned to undermine primitive Slavpan and take it for their own nefarious purposes.

The Arabsburgs' ambitions in Slavpan were trade-oriented; besides disconnected Montenegro, the Arabsburgs had lacked any solid trading port. The capture of northwest Slavpan solved this issue, though Istria was still very small and weak as a trading center. Capture of all of Slavpan would solve this issue.

1333, the Japanese made peace with the Romans, withdrawing all claims to Izumo on Corsica. A good idea, since Izumo had been surrounded by 4 units of Iberian cavalry, who were prepared to take the city and eventually the whole island.

1337, Carlos II died, shortly after his troops had taken Izumo. His son Felipe V(r. 1337-1341) was to rule. During his reign, oil refining techniques were discovered, and he rushed to exploit the new resource, which only a handful of Europeans had. Iberia was sitting on the largest source of oil - North Africa.

Felipe's death in 1341 allowed his brother, Carlos III(r. 1341-1344) to rule, before he himself died, the throne passing to Felipe V's twenty year old son, Marcos II(r. 1344-1397). Marcos had been born when his father was in his fourties, but he had a keen mind and had been bred for the role despite his youth. He would have been crowned sooner had he not been 17 at the time of his father's death and thus deemed too young. Carlos III had been Marcos' regent, and was intent on keeping the throne for himself as long as possible, but Carlos's death allowed Marcos, grandson of Carlos II, to take control of Iberia.

Marcos' predecessors had built the stepping stones to greatness for him. Carlos II, Felipe V, and Carlos III had all been building a massive railway through Arabsburg territory, securing it with troops. This railway led right to the Persian-Arabstrian border, and the Persian capital was right across from it...

Level 12 Persian Susa was seized at 9,000 cavalrymen deaths. Troops were told to attack Persepolis next.

Level 6 Persepolis was captured in 1345 with 15,000 deaths. At Age 21, Marcos had managed to storm the capital of one of Europe's long-lasting empires. The Iberian people saw greatness in their new Rey, a true Emperador. And indeed, the Emperador de Iberia, Marcos II, was intent on proving himself worthy of the title.

He would do this by deposing the Duke of Bavaria from his castle in Gordium. The Bavarian Duke was a puppet of the Persians, and always voted the way Persia desired in Imperial matters, hence why some said that Persia was an elector. Marcos II despised the Duke of Bavaria, as he was the one who convinced the Electoral College that the young Marcos could not replace his uncle as Holy Roman Emperor. As a result, the Sicilians - who were strong Catholics, quite weak and not within the Empire itself - were elected, being a perfect candidate for a weak Imperial throne.

But the Emperador also wanted to bring down the socialist dogs of the Roman Republic. His armies took Brundisium in 1346. Afterward, an army of 39,000 cavalrymen - backed by 1 group of artillery and 6,000 infantry - loaded into transports, being shipped to strike at the sole remaining territory of Rome: Sardinia. Meanwhile, 63,750 soldiers invaded Bavaria, preparing to strike at the city of Gordium.

...It was also revealed that the Persians, after their capital had been captured, had embraced socialism. The First European War's closing stage therefore was no longer a war of imperialism, but one of ideology: capitalism vs. socialism.

4 Iberian ironclads sunk 8 English and damaged 3 more before being sunk themselves.

In 1349, the French captured the city of Kagoshima from Slavpan. The city was to the northwest of Italy, and so it caught the Emperador's eye. The decision was made to try and hinder French access to Slavpan.

1351, 15,000 cavalrymen died to take level 2 Gordium from the Persians. With it's fall, the Bavarian Duke was deposed in favor of his son, who became an Iberian puppet within the Holy Roman Empire.

Roman cavalry were soon expelled from Corsica, leaving Rome with only 2 bands of spearmen and 6 units of riflemen to protect it's precious socialist republic on Sardinia. Troops were due to arrive by galleon in a few years.

1352, 17,500 cavalrymen died to capture Antioch. With the city's fall, the major powers of the Holy Roman Empire scurried to seize lands freed up by the lack of Persian authority. Persia had also been driven out of Germany, allowing full effort to be focused on the eastern front.

1353, 22,500 cavalrymen died assaulting Persian Arbela.



Finally, the Emperador brought in a heavy duty Army to finish off the job, crushing the remaining cavalry defender and killing a major military leader. This leader had been the main force behind the Communisty Party, and with his death, the regime in Tyre lost support. The Persian government - an empire built upon many ethnicities, with each ethnicity having it's own governor and great autonomy, being solely responsible for providing taxes and troops to the Shah, and later, the Chairman - collapsed.

While the Socialist takeover had seen great redistribution of the wealth of corporate elites, they had not tackled the power of legal elites, hence why the "Federation" status had remained constant even with the fall of the Shah. With the death of Persia's national icon, the legitimacy of the Communist party was questioned, and it fell accordingly.

The new government retained socialist trimmings, but said that the Persian Empire's days were over. It declared a more nationalist socialist state, investing power in the Polish(77.2%) majority. This would alienate the fringes of the former Persian Empire, but the Persian political - as it had always been more of a fabricated one than an ethnic one - identity ceased to exist. The People's Republic of Poland had been born.

Having faced 55,000 deaths in 2 years alone and 87,500 total since the invasions of non-Italian Persia began, the public was reluctant to continue pushing into now-Polish territory. As Silesia was the last territory claimed by the Arabsburgs, Emperador Marcos agreed, ending plans for further assaults.

With war isolated to Sardinia, the Emperador switched most military production to peacetime production. He said that it made no sense to have the government continue to invest in rifles, horses, and soldiers while the common laborers went without healthcare and a good hospital system, all the while being forced to toil away long hours in dangerous conditions. He promised hospitals to open in most major cities with the decade. He also drew up plans for economic reforms that would put tighter regulations on industry. Some say that Marcos did this because he was compassionate and logical, others say he was a savvy politician and was using small amounts of socialism to quiet the larger threat of socialist revolution in parts of the Empire such as Italy.



1361, Marcos' program of healthcare reform went into effect, with first-class hospitals being established all over the empire. He talked of providing healthcare benefits to all working citizens.

1362, all troops in Sardinia were ordered to begin an attack that would hopefully crush the Roman Socialist Republic forever. The Romans possessed 7 riflemen groups, 2 spearmen groups, and 1 Longbowmen group for defense. Shrinking city size indicated that some of these were draftees.

The attack began in the South, where level 3 Caesaraugusta was attacked. A single riflemen was taken out with few deaths, leaving spearmen to protect against cavalry. These spearmen and the Longbowmen behind them were cut down with minimal losses. Forces would now concentrate fire on Syracuse, capital of Sardinia and the entire Roman Republic.

Syracuse's 2,250 man riflemen defense was crushed with many injuries but few deaths. After that, conscript riflemen, drafted from the common population, became the backbone of Syracuse's defense. These conscripts had been ordered to give their lives while the leaders of the Revolution - primarily Josephio Stalinus, who had taken power after the death of Ivo Leninus, the founder of the Socialist Republic - fled into exile to continue the workers' struggle elsewhere. Stalinus was willing to sacrifice countless lives for his personal and political interests.

However, conscripts did manage to get in lucky shots while wetting themselves, killing 6,000 cavalrymen. These were small losses, though, as the city itself soon fell into Iberian hands. Only the city of Jerusalem on the northwestern coast remained...

Thanks to an artillery barrage from a single band of artillery, Jerusalem's spearmen were exposed, and easily killed. Only 750 riflemen were left to defend the city, 3,000 more having been dispatched to Corsica for whatever reason.

Only 700+ cavalrymen were wounded before the riflemen were crushed, bringing the last Roman city into Iberian hands. The año 1362 CE became known for the day the Roman Republic(the Roman Republic not only referred to the defunct legal entity, but also the provisional state that the Iberians had set up until the war's conclusion, so as to manage the resources of Italy and Roman territories) and the Roman Socialist Republic were both dissolved. The territories were re-unified, and the title "King of Italy" added to the Emperador de Iberia's titles; Iberia annexed all of Italy accordingly.

With the Romans' fall from grace, all treaties pertaining to England, Persia and Zululand had all become defunct, due to the legal language of the pacts including Rome. Without Rome, all military alliances were null and void. The decision was made to make peace with England, Persia and Zululand accordingly.

The English parted with 44 gold and a world map... as well as the Irish cities of Akkad and Dover. The English had been driven out of Iberia, France and Ireland all in a single conflict. They did not care much, however, as they still maintained their New World empire, vital to their economic prosperity. The Persians settled for a white peace, while the Zulu parted with 4 gold, having been bankrupted during the century-long conflict.

There had been only a few, brief ceasefires, making the Anglo-Iberian War the longest single war in Iberian history, stretching from 1266 CE to 1363 CE, a time of 97 years. While the Punic Wars covered a period of 101 years, the truces made it fall short of passing the Anglo-Iberian one, even when grouped into a single conflict.

...But already, the Emperador was following the path of his ancestors and plotting new conquests. He dreamed of taking out one of the most backward countries in Europe, one that had not even discovered how to produce cannons: Mexigundy. In the meantime, he appointed a board of directors to oversee the creation of an efficient welfare state, led by Leonus Trotskius, a former official of the Roman Socialist Republic.

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Iberian Netherlands​

Spoiler :

Mexigundy was a primitive nation, composed of ten major cities spread across Western Europe. Mexigundy had four cities in it's solid core, with Franche-Comte possessing two. The remaining four were all disconnected and spread out. The Kingdom only retained independence because Europe felt like being nice. The Mexigundian Army was composed of 3 Medieval Infanty divisions, 15 Knights, 4 Musketmen, 24 Pikeman and 2 Spearmen.

While they had good relations with Iberia, Iberia considered Mexigundy it's rightful territory by merit of the claims it had through the Arabsburgs. Furthermore, Mexigundy's southern territories fit like jigsaw puzzles into Iberian Provence and Italy. With approximately 70+ cavalrymen to use against his foes, war was declared in 1363, months after the last conflict's conclusion.

Level 6 Tlacopan, wedge between Provence and Italy, was easily conquered with minimal casualties. It was now possible to freely traverse between Italy and Iberia anew.

Level 6 Tzinzuntzen was next on the target list, given it's strategic resources of gems and saltpeter. Taking it would prevent the Mexigundians from constructing more muskets for cavalry and musketmen to harass Iberians with. That city fell with minimal deaths but numerous injuries. The city just west of it - Calixtlahuaca - was next. It was there that musketmen had been positioned, managing to incapacitate - but not kill - a group of cavalrymen. 3,000 cavalrymen would die fighting against pikemen. 3,000 more would die facing musketmen. Soon enough, the pikemen proved too weak, and the city was occupied.

Franche-Comte was finally Iberian in 1363. Or at least part of it.

With the great success of the campaign thus far, Marcos ordered an assault on the lone city in the heart of France. With almost no deaths, the city was occupied. The French tolerated the transgression within their sphere of influence by taking much of the northern part of the province, while the Indutchians and Celtvetians also sliced off some pieces.

Mountains prevented the army from rapidly assaulting the Alpine provinces, which the Aztecs assumed would be the next logical target. Instead, the Emperador ordered troops to slip through France and attack the capital of Tenochtitlan itself.

The inferior technology of the Mexigundians allowed Tenochtitlan to fall in 1364 with very few losses on the Iberian side. Texcoco suffered a similar fate. Troops then assaulted Tlaxcala, the new capital of the Mexigundian Republic.

3,000 cavalry died in the first wave, weakening the pikemen. The city fell immediately afterwards, driving the Mexigundians to place their capital in the center of the Holy Roman Empire.

Tlatelolco fell right afterwards with similar results... the Mexigundians had been reduced to a mere two cities. All in the timespan of a single year, it being 1364 when the Low Countries fell.

With the military phase of the war complete, Marcos went to the diplomatic phase. He secured the alliance of the Arabsburgs, who had not renewed the mutual protection pact with Iberia since an "incident" occurred. He did this to secure the railways connecting the Persian provinces with Italy, as well as the fact reports said that most Mexigundian Knights were in Eastern Arabstria.

1366, the Alpine city of Xochicalco was captured, despite the mountains giving a huge edge to the enemy, as shown by the large amount of injuries and 3750 dead.

The finale began in 1367, when cavalry were ordered to raid the Mexigundian capital of Teotihuacan via a railway constructed through Celtvetian Germany.

The city of Teotihuacan was captured after a somewhat bloody battle, but the Mexigundian Republic continued to live; the Prime Minister had fled with his closest advisors, some soldiers and some citizens to set up a new homeland. Europeans everywhere were offered rewards for the whereabouts of Prime Minister Philippe d'Anjou, an aristocrat from Provence who had been "elected" to the head of the (oligarchic) Republic.

Reports stated that the Aztec settlers were moving through Denmarqois territory. An alliance was signed accordingly. Railways were built all the way to the PR of Poland, given that reports said the Aztec menace was in the region. This was easier given that the Arabsburgs had taken Bactra, cutting into the Polish state's size.

By 1369, the Denmarqois had been victorious in exterminating the Mexigundian government. In less than a decade, the Mexigundians had been eliminated from the European picture. All resources given to allied nations were retaken thanks to the alliances no longer being relevant, while the title of King of Burgundy was added.

The Arab Socialist Republic was established in 1365 when the Arabsburg King Abdul IV was overthrown; he managed to escape execution as the principles of socialism were adopted(strange, considering that Communism generally only flourished in the territories of Iberia's former enemies, given the fact the desperate circumstances empowered radicals). He fled to Iberia, begging Marcos II - his third cousin once removed - to help reclaim the throne. Marcos agreed to the idea, but only if he was given de facto rule over the country, with King Abdul as the "viceroy" of the nation. King Abdul accepted Marcus' terms, and Marcus drew up plans to do what his grandfather had dreamed of - the unification of the Iberian Augustines and the Arabstrian Arabsburgs politically as well as royally.

The Commies could muster 1 band of warriors, 21 spearmen, 5 pikemen, 27 musketmen, 19 riflemen, 26 cavalry, 4 Ansar Warriors, 1 Medieval Infantry and 6 cannon groups. In total, 104 combat troops. Iberia had about 88 cavalry she could call upon to fight a war effort, and numerous Arab cities were within striking distance...

Breakdown of governments:

Iberia = Monarchy
Balkanzulu = Monarchy
Slavpan = Monarchy

Arabstria = Communism
Poland(Persia) = Communism
England = Communism
Mongscotland = Communism

Gaelylon = Republic
Chinland = Republic

Neo-Carthage = Democracy
France = Democracy
Swedegypt = Democracy
Russia = Democracy
Germany = Democracy
Norway = Democracy
Indutchia = Democracy
Koreomania = Democracy
Ottomans = Democracy
Greece = Democracy
Sicily = Democracy
Celtvetia = Democracy
Iroquois = Democracy

 

[Tani Coyote]

I will going to take my SATs in about an hour, but you can all expect an update afterward so I can relieve the "OMG OMG OMG I did horribly! " stress...

..Wooo! Civ 3 Complete is only $2.50 on Gamersgate! I may be saved!

Incidentally, does anybody know what I should do after purchasing it? If I delete Civ 3 and Play the World, but keep my saves intact, will I still be able to play the save file on Civ 3 Complete? Unlike Europa Universalis, Civ 3 seems to be very good about letting games saved under earlier conditions be played...

 

[BuckyRea]

Good luck on those SATs. And stay strong against those dark forces of democracy. The villainy of open elections and transparent government must be defeated!

Incidentally, does anybody know what I should do after purchasing it? If I delete Civ 3 and Play the World, but keep my saves intact, will I still be able to play the save file on Civ 3 Complete?

$2.50 is a hell of a bargain. Is there a way to make sure it wasn't used and pre-scratched? I bought the Complete version and it functions quite well. I've had no problems at all bringing files over from another computer to use with it. In fact, Complete is the first time I've been able to make multiplayer/hotseat work.

I live in Houston. I don't recall any Spanish speaking people actually taking over my city, but if your story insists this has happened, I can only assume that it's just something I missed...

{... afk pause...}

O my God, you're right! They're everywhere!

By the way, you've inspired me. I'm gonna go ahead and tackle telling another story. It takes place here:

This is me testing my new tinypic.com account by the way.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Good luck on those SATs.

Thank you! I think your good wishes and my tutoring paid off, as I think I did fairly well and I got nearly all the questions.

And stay strong against those dark forces of democracy. The villainy of open elections and transparent government must be defeated!

But of course! A system where you have a chance of getting a ruler - crippled by physical, mental and other conditions - based on his family is far superior to one where you have a chance of getting an incompetent ruler based on how many people voted for him! Rational processes fail at picking good leaders; hereditary rule does not!

$2.50 is a hell of a bargain. Is there a way to make sure it wasn't used and pre-scratched? I bought the Complete version and it functions quite well. I've had no problems at all bringing files over from another computer to use with it. In fact, Complete is the first time I've been able to make multiplayer/hotseat work.

Indeed it is! I was shocked; I expected 10 dollars at the very least.

It is GamersGate, which is a direct to drive site, meaning I can buy it and download it directly to my drive with no disc. It can be a pain in the rear end to patch some direct to drive games, but I've done business with Gamersgate several times before, so I'll trust them on this one. I imagine the lower price is due to the fact everybody fled to Civ 4... darn whippersnappers not appreciating the classics. ..Oh well, more for me!

I live in Houston. I don't recall any Spanish speaking people actually taking over my city, but if your story insists this has happened, I can only assume that it's just something I missed...

{... afk pause...}

O my God, you're right! They're everywhere!

Silly Bucky, the curriculum you teach is full of lies! There never was a "Mexican-American War", just as there never was an American victory in the Spanish-American one. It's all a big conspiracy...

By the way, you've inspired me. I'm gonna go ahead and tackle telling another story. It takes place here:

This is me testing my new tinypic.com account by the way.

Very nice! I'll have to check this story out some time, as I quite enjoyed your Russian one, a real pity it came to an end... but that just means you can set the bar even higher with this one!

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Second Augustine-Arabsburg Union​

Spoiler :

In the late 1100s and early 1200s, the Arabsburgs of Arabstria and the Augustines of Iberia had united their line through numerous marriages, eventually creating a political alliance. Now, with the ousting of the Arabsburg royal family and the declaration of the Union of European Socialist Republics(UESR), it became ever apparent Socialist ideas - meaning, socialism as a whole - were spreading. King Abdul had barely managed to flee, but his appeal to Marcos II of Iberia meant that the UESR's mere existence was a personal issue as much of a political one. Plans had been drawn up to invade the former Arabstrian Empire and reinstate the King under Iberian "protection."

The ending of mutual access rights between the UESR and Iberia in 1371 CE spelled bad things for the Socialist Republic...

Plans were made to attack all cities along the UESR's western border, so as to secure the vital railway in the area. Since the UESR had nationalised the railway as part of it's implementation of socialism, it was only natural many citizens were turned against the Commies(most of the railway had been constructed by Iberian laborers, to facilitate the war against Persia). The flat land of the Socialist Republics would also allow easy, rapid transport across their territory. An attack on the UESR would also improve relationships with the Poles, who were fighting a losing war against them; the UESR insisted that nationalism was a capitalist concept, meant to foster competition over cooperation. Accordingly, they hoped to conquer Poland.

3000 cavalry died to take Kufah, splitting the Socialist Railway in half. Ironically, it was the Commie cavalry that were the ones to kill most of the attacking cavalry.

Forces were then told to take Slavpan's former territories so as to secure the railway. The Battle for Istria would claim 6000 lives - against cavalry, again - but the Slavpanese of Osaka eagerly welcomed their new Iberian overlords, who allowed them freedom of religion, whereas the Arabsburgs and UESR had each tried to impose Islam and atheism, respectively. The Battle of Edo claimed few lives, but the city of Baghdad's local garrison was able to continue blocking a section of the vital railway. It would be necessary to attack Baghdad next. This would involve an attack on Medina to the north of it, but the only route to Medina that didn't involve crossing a river was blocked by French hordes. So attacks had to again be re-routed northwards...

9000 cavalrymen had to perish in order to seize Anjar. The battle was brutal, with many units rushing out to attack charging cavalrymen. Thousands were saved, however, by wisely-called retreats.

Faced with possible troop shortages, Marcos used a genius strategy, constructing a massive railway all the way through France, into Prussia, and finally into the territories on the Socialists' border. This would enable indirect resupply. The musketmen of Medina were able to claim 3000 cavalrymen, but the railway strategy allowed a new wave of attackers, crushing the Medina garrison. Baghdad's musketmen/spearmen/pikemen defenses would be crushed in 1373 with 3000 more losses.

With the Socialist Republic reeling, Marcos decided to consolidate his advantage and press an attack on Mecca itself. First, Iberian troops occupied Fustat to secure the area around the city, before troops outright assaulted Mecca.

1374, Mecca was occupied. The socialist government's legitimacy was decaying, but sheer might prevented any uprisings.

The Empire braced for counterattacks, but to weaken them, allies were brought in.

12,750 soldiers would give their lives in order to capture the new Socialist capital of Basra in 1375. Yamama and Damascus fell later that year, crippling the northern UESR.

1376 CE, Bactra would be occupied, sealing the fate of the entire northern UESR.

A wave of 15,750 cavalry soon attacked Khurasan, resulting in 6000 cavalry dying. 3000 riflemen were killed, while a few thousand more were wounded.

14,250 cavalry attacked in a second wave. Few deaths were incurred this time, finishing off the enemy garrisons and splitting the Socialist Republic's capital of Fez from the rest of it's territory. Aden to the south of the city was captured in 1378 CE, and with it's fall, massive amounts of Socialist territory evaporated.

3,000 casualties later, Ulundi was captured, leaving only level 9 Najran in the south of the Socialist Republic.

By late 1378, Najran was captured, leaving only Fez intact in the Socialist Republic's core.

With 20,250 cavalry left to spare, the decision was made to attack at Fez itself, to drive the Socialists out of the center of their great Republic.

3000 cavalrymen would die during the siege and countless others would be incapacitated by injuries, but Fez would fall in 1379 CE. A single unit of 9,750 Sipahi under a Turkish general had been prepared to take the city, but that glory fell to Iberia. The Arabsburg Kingdom was re-declared, with Abdul's son - and the third cousin of Marcos II - Muhammad XI being declared Malik of the Kingdom. Despite being in his 30s, Muhammad had to share power with a regency council, chaired by none other than his 54-year-old third cousin from Iberia. While anywhere from half to a third of the former Arabstrian territories were in the hands of local warlords - the Italian experience repeating itself again as central authority collapsed - the region was nonetheless in a firm Iberian grip.



By 1380 CE, the Socialists had 1 Warrior group, 4 Spearmen groups, 2 Pikemen, 2 Longbowmen, 4 Musketmen, 3 Riflemen, 5 cavalrymen and 3 Ansar Cavalrymen to protect their 8 scattered urban areas.

Marcos shelved the campaign against the Socialists, seeing no profit in continuing his efforts. He was more focused on the French, who had established the Illyrian provinces in Slavpan after seizing it's cities of Satsuma and the capital of Kyoto itself...

 

[Tani Coyote]

Frog's Legs... and Arms... and Head... and Various Other Severed Appendages​

Spoiler :

The French had been moderately hostile ever since the fall of the Mexigundians, but they became downright antagonistic after Jean Richelieu's election to the French Presidency in 1368. Richelieu was a natural rival for Marcos, being in about the same age group and with a de facto monopoly on power thanks to running on the Christian Socialist ticket - a party that combined social conservative values with fiscal socialism. He operated within the framework of democracy to create a de facto dictatorship, including the purging of "radicals" such as the Monarchist Party, which was smeared as "pro-Iberian." He was able to use autocracy within democracy to get what he wanted, all the while being mostly responsible to the people's wishes.

Plans may have been shelved for the war against the Socialists of Arabstria, but given time, Marcos would pulverise the French and end all competition for hegemony in Western Europe.

1384, Richelieu voiced his disapproval of Iberian foreign policy by signing an embargo against it with the Socialists of the UESR...

---

Richelieu's action was twisted by Marcos into "economic persecution of the state and people of Iberia." Richelieu, Marcos said, sought to crush the economic prosperity of the Empire and it's allies. Marcos easily was able to rally his people for more aggressive action, as shown by how the elected advisory councils continued to apply pressure for a more direct response to French actions.

Artillery was being amassed alongside cavalrymen, in preparation for the bloody assaults on France's numerous large cities. Fortunately, much of the French Army was away on campaign, with 23 riflemen units, 3 cavalry units, 5 Musketeers, 1 Knight and 1 Medieval Infantry force(99,000 soldiers) sighted moving through Iberian territory towards Slavpan. France as a whole possessed 117 Riflemen groups(compared to Iberia's 134 cavalrymen, most of which were now on the continent and no longer Africa/Sardinia), 42 cavalry groups, 19 cannon forces, 1 Pikemen group, 3 Knight groups, 3 Spearmen forces, 11 Musketeers, 3 Medieval Infantry groups, and 35 Ironclad fleet groups. Not to mention 3 Guerilla forces ready to apply pressure to any enemies encountered. Marcos was eager to declare war, but he wanted to enlarge his army just a bit more for security... he would take down the vast French forces soon enough.

---

By 1390, 150 cavalrymen groups(with 3000 as their minimum number per unit), were in Iberian employ, while France only possessed 118 riflemen groups to counter. With artillery, first strike capability, and sheer weight of numbers, Marcos II issued an ultimatum to President Richelieu, who was now serving his fifth five-year term as President of France: Surrender all French territories south of the Appenines to Iberia and all Slavpanese territories to Slavpan(Iberia would also surrender it's Slavpanese territories as per the agreement), or suffer war.

While Richelieu and Marcos were both savvy politicians, they were both hotheaded as well, causing Richelieu to rebuff Marcos' ultimatum. After all, why would Marcos risk so many lives, civilian and military, for a pointless war? Especially after concluding a lucrative trading deal where France gave all it's 2000+ gold reserves to Iberia in exchange for knowledge of how to produce Steel?

...He didn't get an answer to that question, but he did receive a declaration of war. Before long, news of all of Europe declaring war on France poured in. After noticing the French were willing to pay well over +100 gold per term for the secrets of Steel, Marcos knew France was quite wealthy, and would make an excellent addition to the Iberian realm.

6000 cavalry men were lost to take the port of Poitiers, which controlled the railway between Iberia and Italy. The city of Bayonne was attacked next, claiming 18000 cavalrymen. The battle was so intense that the Stock Exchange, Barracks, and Granary of the city were destroyed beyond repair. 24000 Iberians had died so far, while 21000 Frenchmen had suffered a similar fate.

Level 13 Strousburg, in the center of Northern Iberia, was next. 6000 would die to bring down the city's 4-unit garrison.

The French Strip - level 7 Rennes, Level 7 Bordeaux, and level 9 Brest - was next. If taken, the French would be driven out of Iberia forever. Rennes would claim 18000 Iberian lives. But at least 12000 French had also been lost.

After that costly battle, it was discovered 6 units total were evenly split between Brest and Bordeaux. Men were sent into the meat grinder. Bordeaux actually had very few deaths, despite many injuries. 6000 deaths would occur to take control of Brest, driving the French out of Iberia.

With the war's primary objective complete, the Indutchians, Celtvetians, Denmarqois and Prussians were all brought into a massive anti-French Alliance. Russia and Chinland were also brought into the picture, to secure the Eastern fronts of Iberia's allies, and also so they might pull their own strings to isolate France.

With most of Europe unified against both the French and Arabs, Iberia clearly had the upper hand in protecting - and expanding - it's vast domains. All cavalry in the Arabsburg Kingdom were ordered to assault the local French forces to free the railways as well as take advantage of the weakened Slavpanese cities.

12000 dead cavalrymen later, Alpine Kagoshima was under Iberian administration. The Slavpanese people welcomed their Iberian liberators, especially with the false promise of repatriation to Slavpan.

So far, about 11 Riflemen units of France had been lost, while Iberia had lost 22 cavalry groups.

That would change, when Marcos gave the order to purge the east of French forces.

3 Iberian cavalry groups were wiped out, while 8 French riflemen groups, 1 guerrilla group and 3 cavalry groups were wiped out in exchange. 2 Settler bands were captured in the exchange, and Marcos re-assigned them to slave duties, to take on the dangerous task of cleaning up pollutants. In total, around 45,000 men's bodies littered the hills between Edo, Osaka and Sidon. Sidon was renamed "Gran Batalla", in memory of all the losses.

With that, France had lost a total of 23 units, to Iberia's 26.

Spies indicated that 5 riflemen were present on Ireland, as was 1 group of cavalry. Paris was the heart of France's defenses, boasting 9 Riflemen groups to protect it. A total of 65 units, mixed between riflemen and cavalry, were present in the former Slavpan. Troops thus were to be deployed to attack Kyoto, to destroy countless French units, many of which had been weakened.

En route to the city, 3000 dead cavalrymen were traded for 6000 dead Medieval Infantry and Riflemen.

18 units, mixed between riflemen and musketeers, guarded one entrance to Kyoto. The decision was made to go around them, so as to steal Kyoto, lock them outside it's gates, and let defensive Infantry slaughter them.

With 3000 deaths - 1 unit - on Iberia's side, 9 units inside Kyoto were slaughtered. The city was occupied, and all remaining cavalrymen were ordered to converge on the city, to clear the 18 units outside it's gates.

Iberia lost 9 groups of cavalry to slay 12 French groups of riflemen and 6 groups of Musketeers.

Iberia fortified all border territories, readying for the inevitable French counteroffensive. However, Iberia had made off with a good deal of land, and had also greatly harmed the ranks of the French military. While 35 units of cavalrymen had been killed, the French had lost 42 groups of their own forces.

1394 CE, Poland went to war with France.

By 1395, the French had been reduced to 71 riflemen and 31 cavalrymen, thanks to the machinations of Iberia's allies. Reports showed that 19 of these were scattered throughout Slavpan, many of them weakened from fighting Iberian allies.

As the routes to Slavpan had been blocked by Iberia's genio(genius) allies, however, no major offensive was possible. All troops would have to focus on France itself.

In 1395, 18000 cavalrymen died to take the large French city of Besancon in Franche-Comte from 18000 soldiers. Ambitious as ever, the Emperador ordered an attack on Cherbourg in Central France. 33000 cavalrymen would perish to kill the local 6-unit garrison. The Battle of Cherbourg was so bloody, in fact, that a natural leader, Cristobal Colon, was born from the carnage.

Thousands would be lost as battles occurred inside the hills and mountains of Slavpan, all thanks to Marcos' attempts to purge the region of French cavalry. The offensive had succeeded in killing 5 units of French cavalry, including several elites. Costs incurred, however, canceled out most of the glory of victory.

As bureaucrats moved about to make the most efficient use of Iberia's resources, a few years of uneasy peace settled on Europe as Iberia's next moves were planned...

 

[Tani Coyote]

The Abdication of Marcos II​

Spoiler :

In 1397, At the age of 73, Marcos II abdicated in favor of his 24-year-old granddaughter, Maria I(r. 1397-1453). Marcos' sons had all been outlived by his father for varying reasons, and since they had not really had any children to speak of, the Augustine line would have died out, if not for Maria, the daughter of the Crown Prince Geraldo. While her grandfather went into retirement, she would have to manage state affairs. Fortunately, Marcos did not let tradition get in the way of pragmatism, and had bred her for the role of Queen in case no male heir was found. As a result of his many achievements - from the massive conquest of lands to the establishment of affordable, first-class healthcare in many major cities - he was styled Marcos the Great after leaving the throne.

Maria's first issue would be in Slavpan, where the Indutchians managed to capture the central city of Nara, bringing a good deal of the region under their influence. Their proclamation of the Slavpanese Democratic Republic - not socialist, oddly enough - would be an issue, as it rejected the authority of the Slavpanese King-in-exile. More importantly, however, it collided with Iberian ambitions.

The UESR's government declared war on the Russians in 1399, a suicidal move that would naturally result in the destruction of the Socialist cities near Russian territory.

Charles Darwin's publication of his Theory of Evolution in Paris in 1400 attracted Maria's attention, and she wished to gain the scientist's prestige for herself.

In 1400, France possessed 62 groups of Riflemen and 24 of cavalry. 10 Guerrilla groups were in the Richelieu's employ, and he used them to sabotage the operations of Iberia. 2 of them were cut down with few deaths in the Iberian Lowlands.

The Battle of Liverpool saw 12000 cavalrymen die to weaken and injure a group of guerrillas and riflemen outside the city. No further attacks were ordered, as the vulnerable city had to protect it's occupying military.

Maria, despite her ambitions of taking Paris itself, knew she had to drive the French out of Slavpan first, so as to secure the eastern front and allow all Coalition forces to converge on France itself. She ordered a full-scale assault of Tokyo.

3000 cavalry died - against another cavalry unit no less - to kill the 9000 soldiers within Tokyo's walls.

With 133 units of cavalry ready - though many were still depleted somewhat from the efforts of the last decade - Maria ordered an assault on the French port of Dijon, so as to relieve stress on the local Indutchian colonies.

The Battle of Dijon was intense, with artillery barrages wiping out the local barracks, Stock Exchange, library, and countless other structures of importance. 5 cavalry groups had been lost in the attack, but France had lost 6 riflemen groups and 1 cavalry group in the assault. 2 Settler bands were also captured within the city walls, and sent to Iberia to support the war effort.

Maria ordered an assault on Tours in 1402. Tours was defended by 6000 cavalry, 3000 guerrillas, and 9000 riflemen.

In the first wave, 3000 cavalry died, while 6000 French riflemen were killed in the process. In the second wave, 7500 cavalry died, killing the last of the French riflemen, and also producing a leader, Zuniga. The third and final wave of cavalry charges suffered few deaths, eliminating the garrison and turning the city of Tours and the straits of Dover over to Iberian administration.

While Zuniga went off to form a special army of his own in the Lowlands, spies were investigating and infiltrating the French Republic.

..They discovered that Richelieu had used the war to get a permanent mandate on power. The details were not clear, but he had stated that France's survival relied on him declaring a state of emergency and executing unconstitutional authority. The French, accordingly, were in an anarchic, disorganised civil war.

With the French Army and economy equally paralysed, it was decided that a strike at Paris was possible. 78000 soldiers, mobilised in a force of 26 units, were to strike at the heart of the French Republic. Paris itself possessed 9 riflemen groups and 2 cannon groups, but half of those riflemen were mere ordinary riflemen and not battle-hardened veterans.

1403, Paris was conquered. The large, marvelous city was finally Iberian, and while 2/3 of the populace resisted Iberian occupation, the numerous wonders of the city: the Great Library, the workshop of Leonardo du Vinci, the cathedral of musician Jean Bach, and of course, Darwin's laboratory, were all seized with it's fall. 7 units had to die to take the city, but that paled in comparison to the French losses, both military and economic. There were countless wounded, but Maria I herself made a visit to the battlefield to congratulate her troops on crushing Iberia's enemies.

The cardinal-turned-President Richelieu naturally retreated to Avignon in the center of Western France. He would continue his revolution, regardless of the steady Iberian advance.

1404, the Greeks would propose a mutual defense alliance, but Iberia had no interest in the Greeks' region.

In the year 1405, many units had been restored to full strength, and the cavalrymen of Iberia were ready to fight a new threat: the French Socialist Republic. Possibly to soon be joined by the Chinnish Socialist Republic, as words of a massive state of disorder had come from Chinland...

While Communism was spreading everywhere, all states that adopted socialism would suffer the same fate: the blade and gun of Iberia. In line with this mentality, Maria I sent troops to attack Lyons.

In the first wave, 3750 dead cavalry yielded large amounts of injuries on the enemy riflemen, of which there were 4 groups total. In the second wave, 6000 losses were incurred by the Iberian forces, greatly weakening the French defense. In the third wave, 6000 cavalry losses killed 9000 riflemen and 3000 enemy cavalry. A last, final wave took out the last of Lyons' defenders in 1405, insulating the Celtvetians from further French assaults.

In 1406, cavalry were positioned to attack Marseilles, a city wedged between Cherbourg, Besancon, and Lyons. It's capture would enable rapid attacks against the rest of France. Guarded by 9000 riflemen and 3000 guerrillas, a battle ensued. Maria was willing to have her troops cross the river for the sake of victory.

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15000 cavalry died in the first wave, weakening the defenders. In the next wave, few died to claim the lives of 6000 riflemen. In the third and final wave, few deaths occurred, with the last 6000 troops slain. Marseilles was claimed for the Iberian Empire.

With troops left to spare, Maria ordered a full-scale assault on the hill city of Grenoble. Centrally located, it's position would allow an indirect route to Avignon, and therefore to Richelieu himself. In the first wave of cavalry charges, 6750 cavalrymen died, but so did 3000 French riflemen. In the second wave, few cavalrymen died to slay 3750 Riflemen. In the third wave, almost no cavalrymen died, the remaining demoralised riflemen easily crushed. Grenoble was occupied.

In the immediate aftermath, all cavalry were called to capture and enslave all local French labor gangs. Iberia made off with 9 groups of French workers.

1409, the Indutchians conquered the last Slavpanese city under French administration. The Illyrian provinces de facto ceased to exist.

1410 CE, Maria was ready to press a new assault, this time on the central city of Rheims. Conquest of the city would make it easier to attack Avignon, as well as bisect the French realm.

In the first wave, 6750 cavalrymen died to weaken the defenders. In total, there were 4 groups of riflemen, 1 group of cavalry, and a large amount of cannons in the city. The second wave had 3 elite groups of cavalrymen heavily wound themselves to further weaken their riflemen foes. The third wave had many injuries to more elite cavalrymen, but 3000 riflemen were finally taken out of commission. The fourth wave had injuries as well, but 9750 riflemen were taken out. The fifth wave was tasked with taking out the lone cavalry group in the city. The cavalry defenders would claim 3000 Iberian lives, before being defeated, leaving the city in Iberian hands.

France was in dire straits with the fall of Rheims. While the French managed to maintain control of a route between Avignon and Normandy, their hold on their homeland was increasingly delicate.

Maria's agents made contact with the cavalry forces of Liverpool, saying that they should participate in a strike against French Rouen. The fall of the city would link Liverpool to the rest of the Iberian front. It would also split France into three pieces.

The first wave of assaults on Rouen cost 6000 cavalrymens' lives, slightly weakening the defenses of the city. 9000 more would die in the second wave, further weakening the defenses of Rouen. The third wave had 3750 cavalrymen deaths, but Rouen lost a riflemen group at last. The loss of 3000 more cavalrymen took the lives of 2250 riflemen. The next wave had few deaths, killing 3000 riflemen and 3000 French cavalry.

The honor of conquering the city was given to the Liverpool garrison, who captured the city of Rouen with minimal casualties.

The decision to take Newcastle next was made. Relatively small and guarded by Musketeers, it was expected it would be an easy battle. The first wave would cost 3000 cavalrymen, but would kill 3000 musketeers and injure the rest. The second wave killed 3750 musketeers and 3000 French cavalry. The city of Newcastle was taken, and the English inhabitants welcomed freedom from the French yoke.

The next target was the formerly English city of Oxford, in the extreme south of the Britanny region. Conquering it would isolate Avignon.

After an artillery barrage destroyed the city's marketplace, harbor, and killed 1/4 of it's population, the first wave began, with 3000 cavalrymen dying, killing 3000 riflemen in the process. The second wave had almost no deaths, with 3000 more riflemen being dealt with. The third wave was equally in good fortune, quickly annihilating 3000 guerrillas and 3000 cavalrymen.

All remaining artillery groups were ordered to converge on level 22 Avignon, to tear the city and it's 15000 defenders apart. The artillery somewhat weakened the garrison, and also destroyed the local Stock Exchange, marketplace, and barracks. 18% of the population was killed by the artillery as well.

But just as it seemed Avignon might get a brief reprieve, more artillery entered the scene. Citizens were devastated when artillery destroyed the local granary and most of it's contents burned in the rubble, harming the ability to survive the siege. Many more civilians would be killed by the hellfire from the sky, and those who went to the temples to pray were killed in moments when artillery misfired and hit several sections of the religious district, collapsing the buildings down upon the followers. Greedy individuals who sought to escape with their money were killed when the financial district was shelled entirely, adding the ruins of banks to the ruins of the marketplace and stock exchange.

Even after the massive destruction of the city's internal infrastructure, there were still some artillery divisions left. Their attacks greatly harmed the local garrison.

A massive army of 13,500 soldiers, grouped into a single unit, attacked the city, killing it's finest defenders. The following assault would cost the lives of 6000 soldiers, but Avignon was conquered in 1412. Richelieu barely managed to escape to the Norman provinces.

Having destroyed most of the city's important structures and with bodies littering the streets, Maria I saw little point in keeping the city. She ordered her soldiers to burn the city to the ground, while workers would recycle what they could. All 1.36 remaining million inhabitants were forcibly deported, being forced on a route to the wilderness east of the Arabsburg Kingdom. Thousands would die en route in one failed uprising after another, and the wilderness would claim the lives of hundreds of thousands, untrained to survive in the natural world. An exception to the deportation were infants, who were forcibly taken to be raised as Iberian citizens, and children, who parents could offer to release to Iberia. Many parents chose to leave their children behind, knowing that a grim fate would await them at the edge of the Arabsburg Kingdom.

The city of Shadviñon was founded next to the ruins of the city, partially from imported materials and partially from scrap from Avignon. Most the infants and children who had not been sent on the Great French Migration were to be raised in this city, appropriately with a name resembling that of their original home.

Word was received that Richelieu had set up his new headquarters in Orleans, surrounding himself with a guard of 4 cavalry groups, 2 guerrilla groups and 2 riflemen groups. The only quick way to the city would be through Chartres, which had 4 Riflemen groups and 1 Guerrilla groups.

In the first wave of attacks on Chartres, 13500 troops lost their lives, but weakened the garrison considerably. The second wave, 3000 troops were lost, but Chartres lost 3 of it's defending groups. The final wave easily destroyed the remainder of the garrison, claiming Chartres for Iberia.

63000 troops were amassed from the corners of the empire, assigned to kill Richelieu's precious garrison in Orleans. If Orleans fell, the French would be driven from mainland Europe.

4 units were destroyed, while others suffered a great deal of injuries, but Richelieu's new capital was occupied by the middle of 1414.



After the fall of Orleans, Richelieu was on board a vessel bound for the Irish provinces. As he moved past the English port of Canterbury - passing it and making a northern turn would lead his navy to the Irish city of Amiens - ships opened fire upon him. At first, he was confused; how could the Iberians already have built a Channel fleet?! On closer inspection, however, his personnel indicated that English naval vessels were firing upon him. Rogue English vessels.

Ah yes... the Socialist Republic of England had collapsed as the Socialist Republic of France was being devoured by the Iberian beast. Reform-minded Socialists wanted to reform England into the Peoples' Republic of England, clashing with their more hardline Leninist-Stalinist brethren. In the midts of all this, the more right-wing elements such as nationalists, democrats and republicans staged an uprising, causing the Politburo to collapse from both external and internal pressures. Seamen went unpaid, prompting them to turn to piracy.

79-year-old Richelieu would be killed by the pirates after all his personal treasure was stolen, as France no longer possessed the wealth to pay any ransom. With the old Communist leader's death, there was a succession crisis of massive proportions. France nearly became defunct as an entity when France's remaining six major cities, torn apart by distance and ethnicity, became separate nations.

The Irish cities transformed into the Peoples' Republic of Ireland, led by a clique of communists coloquially called the "Wiggums." The Wiggums' government claimed all of Ireland was theirs, regardless of if it be owned by Gaelylonians, Iberians, Norwegians or Indutchians.

The cities in Iceland split into the Icelandic Socialist Republic, and like the Irish, claimed the entirety of their island as theirs.

The French Socialist Republic continued to exist de jure in the limited territory of New Paris. In the middle of sea, to the north of Scotland, this was the only area so ethnically French it did not declare independence. It claimed sovereignty over the entirety of the former French Socialist Republic. Not able to enforce it's will from the small, isolated location, however, the FSR did manage to work together an alliance with the other socialist successor states, ensuring a common defense, currency, and foreign policy. Ireland was stubborn to join this confederation, however, and did not agree until the capital of the Confederation was placed at Toulouse.

Emperadora Maria I was not a fool, however, having the political savvy of her ancestors. She knew the French wanted home rule, and so she would give them that in the form of a middle man. She declared the First French Empire, turning over most occupied French territories to Rene d'Gaulle, a popular war hero. France was given most of it's independence back, but had Iberian oversight, would provide troops to a central Iberian command, and would also provide taxes, while sharing other commercial characteristics with Iberia.

The Duchy of Britanny and Duchy of Normandy were also crafted. Parts of Eastern France were added to the Iberian Lowlands as "reparations" for the war. The Arabsburg Kingdom, another client state of the Iberian Empire, was granted all of occupied Slavpan.

The Socialist Confederation and other French successor states had been born, but who would triumph in the war?

 

[Tani Coyote]

Any specific requests/concerns/comments at this point, my dear lurker/reader hybrids?