Gjergj K.
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Location: Newcastle, Australia

Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:03 am

Palpat wrote:Two front war with only militias and auxiliaries!
Things indeed look grim. You can perhaps try to convince the Eastern Romans to sign a peace, even at the price of one province, in order to protect yourself from the new barbarian and build a brand new army...

By the way, what a mess Gaul is!


What! Defeatism! Give up territory to our hated nemesis! NEVER! Actually, the ERE isn't all that great. The Ephthalites were/are a much greater threat.

Franciscus wrote:Thanks Gjergj K., for a fine and entertaining AAR. You have rekindled my interest in this game, that I allways felt was a "rough" gem. If one is fortunate and it runs stable (as it is also generally my case), it is a great game, full of completely original ideas and concepts.

I also have found that it suits really fine one of my ways of playing - not "just" to win, but to have fun, watching history unfold.


It is a bit rough- I can see a lot of good stuff and a lot of stuff that doesn] I must say it's the best AAR I've ever seen for GI!
Please keep "working" on it until 1066!!! [/QUOTE]

I doubt we will reach 1066. We'll see! The human player has a big advantage in that the human uses strategems in an effective manner, whereas the ai uses them randomly. The human can also coordinate his nations against a single enemy. We'll see.

Thanks for reading.

Saarud wrote: This is a very entertaining AAR! Partly because Great Invasion is one of my favorite strategy games but mostly because I really like your writing style. It is also fun to see that you embrace playing multiple nations because I think that is one of the better features of the game.

This is the kind of promotion a game should get when it's launched. I'm pretty sure a good AAR attracts new customers.


Thank you Saarud, I hope to keep you entertained.

Gjergj K.
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Location: Newcastle, Australia

Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:07 am

[SIZE="4"]430-440: The Age of Empires Begins again[/size]

The Sassanid war against the Ephthalites was long, gruelling and with little result. The war against the Eastern Roman Empire was prosecuted quite successfully however. The Empire had failed to garrison the Mesopotamian territories obtained from the Lakhmid inhertitance, and Sassanid infantry was easily able to capture large swathes of territory. By the end of 430, Emperor Theododius ceded numerous mesopotamian cities to the Sassanids. Rather than give away these territories, Bahram V decided to keep them and upgrade the Sassanid administration to a more imperial character. This did pose some problems, as troops became more expensive.

After 431 the war consumed virtually all of the Sassanid resources. Instead of rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Epthalite raids, all funds were diverted to building new military units. At first, the units built were mostly infantry and archers, as well recruitment of light horse auxiliaries. These relatively cheap units were generally sent into battle under the command of Bahram V personally, particularly during the Ephthalite siege of Susiana.

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The Sassanids recruit infantry in Media as the Epthalites advance in mid 431. [/CENTER]

Regrettably, the Hunnic Cavalry of the Ephthalites proved exceptionally adept at defeating all Sassanid attempts to relieve Rhagiane, leading to heavy losses for the Sassanids. Indeed, all through 432-434, despite being able to recapture territory after the Ephthalite horsemen had moved away, the Sassanids lost every battle. The reasons seemed impossible to fathom, even when vastly superor the Sassanids failed. Then the reason was found. Senior commanders eventually realised that the main problem was leadership, and gently encouraged Bahram V to take a less front line role.

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Bahram V led the Sassanid armies against the Epthalites for many years, and lost every battle. Mil 1! Whoops. [/CENTER]

The Ephthalites constantly demanded territory, but the Sassanids refused to listen. New armies were raised, of archers, heavy infantry, as well as new and terrifying units the Epthalites had never seen- the mighty war elephants. Elite armoured horsemen, the Cataphracts, were deployed, at great expense. Epthalite commanders were bribed to mutiny and desert, but to no avail.

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The troops mutinied, but the horde stayed alive. [/CENTER]

A new commander was appointed. A Nestorian, Iras, had attempted to convert the newly Sassanid territory of Osroene. He had failed dismally, and realising he was not cut out for missionary work, became the Sassanid's most effective military commander.

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Ex-Missionary Iras leads the Armies of the Shah. Note the Cataphract[/CENTER]

Iranian youths charged against the Ephalite ranks, but to no avail. Each year, it seemed some battle would lead to victory. Each year, new barbarians would appear to dash these hopes. Finally, in 538 Bahram V died and the new Shah Yazgerd II arranged a marriage with the Ephthalites which brougth peace. The grinding war was over, for no gain.

During these years, the new Vandal king, Genseric, also faced new challenges. Despite no real war, Berber raids vastly increased during this time. Genseric also founded a new capital, and upgraded the administration status to a more imperial level (Note: an event).

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North Africa. [/CENTER]

Elsewhere, the Yellow chronicles reveal little. Merwig, leader of the Thuringians in the great migration to Armenia and back again died. His heirs faced numerous revolts in their vast, though narrow kingdom, but these were defeated with little difficulty.

In Britain, some small territories became Christian, some small Irish raids occurred, but otherwise little happened. In central Europe, the Gepids and Suevi, having carved out large chunks of the Roman Empires for themselves, rested upon their laurels and did nothing. The Vascones continued to rule a large domain spanning Iberia and Gaul.

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The World in 440. Sassanids and Vandals are now Empires. [/CENTER]

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Tamas
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Sat Sep 05, 2009 5:21 pm

How many decline points does Byzantium have?

Palpat
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Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:41 pm

Strange world...

Gjergj K.
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Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:00 am

Tamas wrote:How many decline points does Byzantium have?


They have two decline points- they have some territory in the Caucasus they inherited which is rebel held and they can't get to.

Palpat wrote: Strange world...

Yes- getting stranger though.

[SIZE="4"]440-450[/size]

Beginning in 440, the British Isles were punged into turmoil. At first, it seemed as though little more than the usual Irish raids would occur. However in 441 Brittania was wracked by a wave of violence. The first of the rebellions by Germanic mercenaries took place. In Kent, the Jutes revolted. Vortigern immediately sent his troops from Eboracum to vanquish the treacherous rebels, when another revolt took place, as the Saxons, led by Hengist and Horsa revolted and captured Icenia. Vortigern personally led the British in battle against the renegage Saxons, and by September 442, Hengist and Horsa had been defeated and driven back to their cold homeland in Northern Germania. The Jutes were also defeated, although for some unknown reason Vortigern was unable to annex them, and just forced them to pay tribute. Some years later, Vortigern would again lead armies against the Jutes, who had failed to rebuild their armies, and in 445 the Britons annexed the Jutes, leaving Brittania safe once more from the German invaders. This done, the Britons would lead a campaign to capture Clota, which had become independent after the Pictish barbarans vacated the province. War seemed likely, but never came.

During the early part of Vortigern's reign, many had predicted he would be a loser who would somehow lead the nation to ruin. However, this was not the case. Instead, he would be known as Vortigernus Magnus, Germanorum Malleus.

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Brittania after the Jutes are annexed, the Saxons driven back and Clota captured. All hail Vortigern![/CENTER]

Elsewhere, the Alans and Persians both suffered minor slave revolts which were quickly put down. The Thuringian kingdom suffered near constant revolts, which severely destabilised the kingdom. It was almost as though the leaders of other nations were funding rebel groups in Thuringian territory.

The greatest event to occur during this period was Sassanid war against the Ephthalites. This time, a vast army of archers, Cataphracts, infantry and a single war elephant was sent against the Ephethalites. In spite of the near 100% casualty rate, including the death of the famed nestorian general Ibas, this time the Sassanids were able to defeat the enemy, as for some reason most of their army did not bother to defend their territory, instead lounging around in a native province. The captured Ephalite horde was later settled in Hyrcania.

In 448, Genseric the Vandal tired of incessant Berber raids on his glorious empire, and declared war upon them. Despite great hopes for success, based upon his tremendous military skills and careful planning, including large numbers of supply carts, the Vandal armies suffered terrible attrition and tremendous casualties.

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The Vandals war against the Berbers. [/CENTER]


The prosecution of the war was still in doubt in 450.

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The world in 450. [/CENTER]

Schattensand
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Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:30 am

Like to pay my tribute, great what You do.
I am still unfamiliar with this game, it likes to freeze and the abrupt mouse movements some sort annoy me.
So you play the historic way for the Vandals and try to make the best out of the not wanted Persian empire.
Why did you choose Poland for the Alans?

Anyway, go along, you are a good writer.

Schattensand
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Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:51 am

One question from the very beginning.

Why didnt you give the sassanid regions, that were too many in the beginning to your vassals?

And more importened. How do you do it?

I never found the diplomatic option to give away a province. And please
- no rtfm - I`ve been through it.

Best regards

Palpat
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Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:20 am

Interesting, as always! :w00t:

By the way, whose are the yellow provinces in what will be Russia?

And what about the faiths? In what stake is the Catholic Church? And what about Mazdeism at home?

Gjergj K.
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Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:41 am

Schattensand wrote:One question from the very beginning.

Why didnt you give the sassanid regions, that were too many in the beginning to your vassals?

And more importened. How do you do it?

I never found the diplomatic option to give away a province. And please
- no rtfm - I`ve been through it.

Best regards

Like to pay my tribute, great what You do.
I am still unfamiliar with this game, it likes to freeze and the abrupt mouse movements some sort annoy me.
So you play the historic way for the Vandals and try to make the best out of the not wanted Persian empire.
Why did you choose Poland for the Alans?

Anyway, go along, you are a good writer.


I declare war on somebody else, then click on the defeat option, then give away territory. The AI almost always accepts a peace option where they get free territory. I do not declare war upon my vassals as I want them to stay vassals. Declaring war and losing they will no longer be my vassals!- (although vassalage only lasts for 25 years. Very short). The other option is foedus, which is a diplomatic card. That gives away a few territories on the border.

As to the yellow in Poland/Russia, that's not the Alans, that's the Thuringians. The Alans are happy in France. The Thuringians got beaten up by some other barbarians, and lost all their units. The only way I could keep them alive was to cede them territory in Armenia. The plan was to migrate them back to Germany from Armenia, but half way through they evolved to kingdom status and they couldn't really beat the Gepids. So they're a sprawling "corridor" stretching from the Caucasus to the Baltic.


Palpat wrote:Interesting, as always!

By the way, whose are the yellow provinces in what will be Russia?

And what about the faiths? In what stake is the Catholic Church? And what about Mazdeism at home?


Yellow in Poland/Russia is Thuringians.

Faiths- haven't changed too much since I last posted screenshot, apart from the Britons converting a few provinces, as well as missionaries in Northern Iran. Main difference is growth of Nestorian Christianity in the ERE. Still lots of Donatists in North Africa, pagans in Germany etc. There are a large number of Arian German provinces in southern Spain.

Mazdeism is now weak, and outnumbered by Christianity in Mesopotamia and Iran. I'm considering whether to convert the Sassanids to Christianity .

Schattensand
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Fri Sep 11, 2009 7:12 am

Tried to replay it that way, but I face other history.
After 7 years no missionary will harass Persia, not that much is going on there, only the revoltwillingsness is rising and I cant build anything there now, so I have lots of resources.
All minors are raiding endlessly, creating a lot of VP, but are careless about there numbers. Franks and Alemans finished Burgund after just 5 years and
Vandals never stoppt attacking the Romans, so they have still 3 regions but no leader, no army - nothing.
And it seems I cant hinder them playing that suicidal way.
Alans and the deserttribe are fine.
None of the 4 changed to barbarians up to now, are still raiders and
I cant help them to survive. May be that is just the skill, that i up to now not developed.

Gjergj K.
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Location: Newcastle, Australia

Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:35 pm

Schattensand wrote:Tried to replay it that way, but I face other history.
After 7 years no missionary will harass Persia, not that much is going on there, only the revoltwillingsness is rising and I cant build anything there now, so I have lots of resources.
All minors are raiding endlessly, creating a lot of VP, but are careless about there numbers. Franks and Alemans finished Burgund after just 5 years and
Vandals never stoppt attacking the Romans, so they have still 3 regions but no leader, no army - nothing.
And it seems I cant hinder them playing that suicidal way.
Alans and the deserttribe are fine.
None of the 4 changed to barbarians up to now, are still raiders and
I cant help them to survive. May be that is just the skill, that i up to now not developed.


It's very difficult to have your raiders survive, and involves a lot of luck. Use of strategems is about the only thing you can do- wedding stops a war. It's very useful.

[SIZE="4"]450-460: Empires in decline[/size]

The Vandals’ war with the Berbers continued as Genseric sent more troops in. Thousands died.

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The Vandals continue their war. [/CENTER]

But the Berber armies, although large, were generally badly led and in the wrong place. Eventually, Genseric was able to capture Mauretania in 451. In 452 the war ended, with the Vandals taking most of the Berber’s territory.

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Victory over the Berbers in North Africa. [/CENTER]

Elsewhere, the Alans, Thuringians and Britons all suffered from serious revolts and bandit activity. It was most serious in Britannia, where the rebels threatened the stability of the nation and led to a decline in late 451. The Thuringians also suffered near constant revolts.

In 454, the yellow chronicles of a new nation, the Heruls, begin. The Heruls began in Noricum, but were then forced to flee northward when another group, the Rugians appeared. The Heruls migrated North to southern Germania. The Heruls believed their future was in Italy. However, to reach Italy would require war with either the Suevi or the Gepids, even before Roman territory was reached. For now the Heruls bided their time.

In 457, the Thuringians again suffered serious revolts, and this time their capital was taken by the rebels, resulting in a serious loss of prestige and the Thuringians began to show evidence of decline. The Alans also suffered a decline when their entire army defending the capital suddenly mutinied, and the rebels captured the capital before the loyal army was able to react.

Later in 457, war broke out between the Basques and the Alans. The Alan cavalry easily crushed the Basques, resulting in large territories being ceded in Northern Hispania. Regrettably, this had the unintended side effect of the Alans declaring themselves to be an empire, which wasn’t really planned.

Meanwhile, in Persia, tremendous revolts broke out as Phiruz declared himself the rightful Shah. Vast territories and much infrastructure were laid waste by the rebel armies.

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Iran in revolt. [/CENTER]

By this time, most of Sassanid territory was Christian. Only in the far east did Mazdeism still hold the attraction of the people. Brittania, Anatolia, Hellas, Scythia and Egpyt were mostly Christian, but the Arian heresy was strong in many areas, and the vast areas of Germania remained mostly Pagan.

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Faith in 460. [/CENTER]

The spread of Christian ideas led to odd occurrences, such as the Mazdeist bishop of Osroene.

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No idea why he appeared. [/CENTER]

And so, the world in 460 was much the same as in 450, but many nations were now in decline.

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The world in 460. [/CENTER]

Palpat
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Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:04 pm

Go Vandals, go!

And Gaul is still so a mess...

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Flop
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Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:11 pm

This is excellent. Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. I've been wanting to write an AAR for GI myself, for quite a while, but I've never written an AAR before, so it's a bit daunting. Also, at this point I've pretty much forgotten how to play, and learning it was hell. :D

Still, this game deserves more AARs, especially since they also serve as a great (and much needed) way to help new players learn how to play the game.

Keep it up!

edit: We should have a GI AAR subforum...

Gjergj K.
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Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:43 am

Flop wrote:This is excellent. Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. I've been wanting to write an AAR for GI myself, for quite a while, but I've never written an AAR before, so it's a bit daunting. Also, at this point I've pretty much forgotten how to play, and learning it was hell. :D

Still, this game deserves more AARs, especially since they also serve as a great (and much needed) way to help new players learn how to play the game.

Keep it up!

edit: We should have a GI AAR subforum...


Thanks Flop. I don't think we need an GI AAR subforum. There aren't enough people posting AARs to justify it.

Palpat wrote: Go Vandals, go!

And Gaul is still so a mess...


Yes, Gaul is still a mess. The Roman Kingdom has actually been building masses of heavy infantry so they would actually be quite tough to take down. The Vascones seem quite weak. And the Gepids have a lost of troops and territory, but I think it would be easy to take their Gallic territories and create the glorious Carolinian empire- under the Alans. :D

Here's the next installment.

[SIZE="3"]460-470[/size]

Early in 460, the entire vandal fleet was sunk in a severe storm. This was a serious setback, as the Vandals lacked the ability to replace the fleet. Henceforth, the Vandals were landlubbers.

In Britain, the Britons funded a series of revolts against the Picts. Many Pictish territories became controlled by natives- which were then invaded by the Britons and annexed to British Kingdom. Only Tinea, where the mighty Pictish armies stood and waited for something, remained in Pictish control. Only the constant Irish raids disturbed the new conquests.

In the Caucasus, the small raiding tribe of the Abkhaz declared their independence from the Thuringians. This was unacceptable to the Thuringian kings, and in September 460 they declared war. Vast armies were raised and then sent against the Abkhaz, who fiercely defended their mountain territory. Time after time the Abkhaz defeated the Thuringian oppressors- but by march 462, eventually the Abkhaz armies were sufficiently worn down for the Thuringians to reassert their unwelcome domination over Abkhazia. The Thuringians were not well liked by their subjects, and suffered constant revolts. In 464 rebels captured the capital, leading their kingdom into decline.

Meanwhile, in 461 Genseric again declared war upon the Imperator Constantinopolis. During the previous war the Romans had captured the border areas of the Sahara, and Genseric coveted this territory for his African Empire. The Vandals captured the Roman territory, far away from Constantinople and rescue with ease, but the Romans refused peace.

The Vandals were aided when in early 462 the Alans in the Caucasus declared war on the Romans. This may have been a factor in the Romans making peace with the Vandals, ceding the Sahara to the Vandals in september 462. The Alans later received the province of Atropatene in the Southern Caucasus. For the Vandals, this decade was a time of plenty. Using the money obtained from selling slaves and establishing successful businesses, the Alans funded the building of markets in every city in their Empire. This building campaign brought great revenue to the Alan state, making it much easier to balance the budget.

In 464, the Heruls believed they were strong enough to begin expanding, and a major invasion was beginning. They coveted the rich lansd of Italy- however, their way was blocked by the two Germanic Superpowers- the Suevi and the Gepids, as well as the minor nation of the Rugians. In 464 the Heruls declared war upon the Suevi, and sent armies to capture their territory, as well as occupying the Rugian capital. The Herul territory was surrounded by the Suevi on 3 sides, and the Seuvi armies outnumbered the Heruls. The Heruls used every strategy they had, bribing armies to desert, preying for bad omens to visit the Suevi armies. However, it mostly didn't matter as the mighty Suevi armies stayed at home in Southern Germania, and refused to give battle.

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The Heruls attack the Suevi- the large stacks in Bavaria and Allemannia didn't move. [/CENTER]

The refusal of the Suevi to fight meant that small Herul armies were able to capture most of their territory with only minor skirmishes. By 465 the Suevi signed an unconditional peace with the Heruls, whereby the Suevi gave up the city of Aquilea, paid tribute and agreed to become vassals of the Heruls. Afterwards, there was a vast migration of the entire Herul Horde and army into Aquilea, as they abandoned Germania forever.

In 464, the upstart barbarian tribe of the Scots declared war upon the Britons. Fortunately the entire invasion fleet was wiped out by storms and Irish raiders before landing.

In September 465 the Heruls and their Suevi lackeys invaded Roman territory. The Alans organised their own invasion of Roman holdings in the Caucasus at the same time. Initially, neither the Alans nor the Heruls saw much resistance. However, as 466 approached and the Heruls captured or laid siege to large parts of Italia, a powerful Roman force in Sicily defeated the invading Heruls.

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The Roman army of Sicilia defeats the Heruls. [/CENTER]

On hearing of their defeat, the Herul's largest army was thrown into a frenzy, and brutally sacked Rome. The cowardly Suevi made peace with the Romans without the Herul's permission, taking Etruria in exchange for peace.

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The Heruls sack Rome. [/CENTER]

In order to put even more pressure on the ERE, the Sassanids invaded the Eastern Empire's badly defended Mesopotamian provinces in 467.

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TheSassanids invade Mesopotamia. [/CENTER]

However, using their diplmatic wiles, the Romans were able to organise a grand peace treaty which restored the status quo ante bellum. The Alans received one territory in the Caucasus for their troubles. The Heruls however, were able to eventually muster enough forces to overwhelm the remaining Roman troops in Italy, including the raising of mercenaries and bribing traitors to open the gates of Neapolis. By 469, the Eastern Emperor offered an unconditional peace which left the Heruls in control of most of Northern Italy.

The only other war of note in this time period was the invasion of Caledonia by the Barbarian Scots. Under Fergus, the Scots suddenly captured Clota. King Vortigern had recently died, otherwise the Scots would have been driven into the sea. As it was, his more cautious son, Vortimer decided to recruit more troops before invading Clota.

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The Scots invade Caledonia. [/CENTER]

The only other events which were of interest concern the reappearance of the Ostrogoths near the Danube and the capture of Phazania in Africa by the Vandals. However, this was a relatively foolish conquest by Genseric, as it exposed the Vandals to near constant Blemmye raids.

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Gray_Lensman
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Gjergj K.
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Sat Sep 19, 2009 6:05 am

Gray_Lensman wrote:Gjergj K.

None of your images displayed in the post above.


Should be fixed now. Forgot to upload before posting.

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Gray_Lensman
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Gjergj K.
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Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:43 am

Gray_Lensman wrote:Cool... I'm enjoying reading thru it :thumbsup:


Thanks for reading.

It took some time to respond, as I've been dealing with dust! Have a look at the link below. I'm in Newcastle, but the dust was the same.

Here


[SIZE="4"]470-480[/size]


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The world in 470. [/CENTER]

In May 470 the Heruls attacked the Roman kingdom, desiring to gain the province of Cisalpine Gaul. However, the Gallo-Romans refused to do battle, and 3 years later the Heruls withdrew, unable to force a decisive battle. In Britain, Vortigern's son Vortimer attack the king of the Scots, Fergus, destroyed the mighty Scottish armies, and drove the Scots from Clota. The Scots were confined to Ireland once more. Only the continued existence of the Picts disturbed British control of Brittania.

In 472, the new city of Basra was founded in southern Mesopotamia, Basra. The Sassanids were undergoing a rare period of peace, and were able to build markets and other infrastructure there.

In 473, the Herul barbarians once more attacked the Eastern Empire, and despite suffering severe attrition, including the loss of armies of 10 units, were able to defeat the Romans decisively. The Alans opportunistically declared war upon the Romans to try and obtain the empire's remaining Caucasian province, but were foiled when the Emperor gave the hand of his daughter in marriage to the Alan king, resulting in peace. Still, this did not stop the Heruls rampage, and by 476 Roman control of Italy existed no longer- it was all controlled by the Barbarian Heruls, apart from the small territories controlled by the Suevi and the Roman Kingdom. It must be noted that the Suevi, although technically vassals to the Heruls, pursued their own independent foreign policy and spent much of the war conquering Germania, perhaps building up a power base to become masters of Europe. However, the true masters of Europe, the Gepids, had developed a new military unit to combat their enemies, and would not be unseated any time soon.

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Gepid knights [/CENTER]

In 475 the Vandals suffered serious revolts. Genseric was building an army to capture Musulamia, the last province under native control in North Africa, when suddenly the army mutinied. There were several years spent bringing rebel provinces back under control, however the ever present Berber raids had ceased. The Berbers had gone from being raiders to being barbarians, an eminently favorable development.

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Revolts in Africa. [/CENTER]

However, it was too much for Genseric. In 477, the man who had led the Vandals from the Forests of Germania, through Hispania and sacking Rome, before settling in Africa died. But the Vandal empire would live on. His son Gunderic would capture Musulamia, and only the Berbers remained to contest Vandal control.

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Image
The world in 480.[/CENTER]

Gjergj K.
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Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:06 pm

[SIZE="4"]480-490[/size]

Beginning in 480, the Vandal empire was rocked a series of revolts and mutinies, believed to be funded by other powers. The Berber-Vandal border was awash with the blood of rebel soldiers for many years.

Meanwhile, the Heruls attacked the Roman Kingdom, and in august the GalloRomans accepted the fact that their mighty army was unable to move out of their home territories and ceded Cisalpina to the Heruls. Apart from the territory of Tuscia, owned by their one time vassals the Suevi, and the independent islands of Corsica and Sardinia, the Heruls now controlled all of Italia.

In 481, a brief war broke out between the Alans and the Sassaninds, but this was quickly ended with a status quo peace.
In 483, perhaps believing the new king Vandal king Gunthamund was weak, the Berbers declared war upon the Vandals. The Berber army was very large, and outnumbered most of the Vandal's forces. Gunthamund was able to convince one of the berber armies to rebel, but the balance of forces still favoured the berbers. Only one large vandal army of ~ 6 units, mostly noble cavalry existed, along with a few smaller infantry units. The berbers possessed approximately 4, large armies. Despite this, the vandals adopted cat and mouse tactics. The smaller Vandal forces were generally able to stay out of the way of the larger berber armies, and whilst the Berbers won a few large battles, the Vandals were able to eventually capture the Berber capital. The war dragged on until 487, when the Berbers made, peace, ceding half their territory.

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Image
The Vandals almost control all of Africa.[/CENTER]

In 484, the Caucasian Alans, ruling Northern gaul suffered constant revolts, which were crushed with much severity.

Meanwhile, in Britain, a new ruler, Uther Pendragon, had come to power. A harsh and ruthless man, Uther desired the wife of the Pictish cheiftan. And so, in 485, Uther launched a ruthless war of conquest, destroying the Pictish kingdom and untiting Britannia under his rule.

In September 486, the Sassanids attacked the Romans, aiming to claim all of Mesopotamia. The attacks went well.

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The Sassanids invade .[/CENTER]

Despite the relatively easy occupation of territory, the Sassanids were rocked by a series of revolts when the new Shah, Kavadh came to power. Vast tracts of Persia were occupied by the rebels and destroyed. A hasty peace was made which left the Romans in conrtol of the mouth of the Euphrates and some parts of Arabia. No sooner was that revolt crushed than Zahrmir, the largest landlord revolted. Southern Iran was laid waste, and it would be some years before some semblence of normality could be restored.

At this time, the Suevi were no longer vassals of the Heruls. This insult could not be allowed to pass, and so in Oct 486 the Heruls attacked the Suevi. Despite its large size, the Suevi army suffered from severe logistic problems, and was not able to deploy properly. The Heruls were able to capture and trap the Suevi king, Rechila, near his capital. Blessed by the 9 or so Heretic bishops in Milan, the Heruls demanded harsh peace terms from the Suevi.

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The Heruls attack the Suevi, moments before .[/CENTER]

In 487 the Suevi agreed to unconditional peace. The Suevi ceded Tuscia to the Heruls, and agreed to once again become vassals of the Heruls. This new vassalship would be tested when in 490 the suevi declared war upon the Lombards, and asked for the aid of the Heruls.

And so in 490, the Heruls were masters of Italy and the Britons of Britannia, whilst the Vandals had yet to subdue the Berbers.

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The world in 490 .[/CENTER]

User avatar
Tamas
Posts: 1481
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 10:51 am

Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:58 pm

Nice!

A credit to the game: I did not even hear about the Heruls before this game. :D

Schattensand
Lieutenant
Posts: 118
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:28 pm

Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:11 pm

If you play that long how do you score against red, blue, green?
Isn't it annoying to build again and again?
I got frustrated when each revolt is destroying everything, as if they do not need farms to feed the people.

Gjergj K.
Private
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:23 am
Location: Newcastle, Australia

Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:15 pm

Tamas wrote: Nice!

A credit to the game: I did not even hear about the Heruls before this game.


I remember reading about the Heruls in John Julius Norwhich's books on Byzantium. They served as guards under Justininan.

Schattensand wrote: If you play that long how do you score against red, blue, green?
Isn't it annoying to build again and again?
I got frustrated when each revolt is destroying everything, as if they do not need farms to feed the people.


I get frustrated when my buildings get destroyed, but I just rebuild them.

I'm ahead of the ai Players on score- I'll get an exact figure next update. Sorry for the delay folks, been busy and lost my notes.

Thanks for reading guys- by the way, this AAR will soon be translated into French!

Gjergj K.
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Location: Newcastle, Australia

Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:16 pm

[SIZE="3"]490-500[/size]

This decade is regrettably one of the least known of this period. The reason is that shortly after the archaeological excavation which recovered the Yellow Chronicles of this decade, the chronicles were misplaced at some point prior to translation. As such our knowledge of this period is much worse than previous periods.

What is known is that early in 490 the Shah Kavadh of the Sassanids decided to humble the Eastern Roman Empire once and for all. Details of this terrible war are not known, besides the fact that casualties on both sides were tremendously heavy, and many battles took place. Evidence uncovered years later has shown evidence of tens of thousands of Roman dead. The war raged for years, before finally in 494 the Romans agrees to a heavy loss of territory, gaining the Sassanids a Mediterranean seaport.

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Victory for the Sassanids.[/CENTER]

However, the cost of the war was high, and the nation was still recovering from the revolt of Zarmihr. In this environment, a rogue Gothic adventurer, Alaric II, was able to seize control of the Iranian throne, becoming the new King of Kings.

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Alaric II, Shah of Iran.[/CENTER]

In Gaul, the Gallo-Romans suffered severe rebellions against them, despite mostly peaceful relations with the Alans.

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Gaul is wracked by revolts.[/CENTER]

The Thuringian kingdom continued to be misruled, and its decline continued. The main cause was the incredibly poor administrative abilities of King Basein, who was reviled as one of the most incompetent rulers ever to have existed. Fortunately, no external enemy was able to take advantage of the Thuringian weakness.

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King Basein the incompetent.[/CENTER]

Brittania was almost completely peaceful. Uther Pendragon had died, and the reign of his son Arthur was essentially boring. Elsewhere, the Irish High King declared his undying fealty to the Catholic Church, which was odd as he remained Pagan.

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The Irish become Papal Vassals.[/CENTER]

In North Africa, the Vandals continued their agitation against the Berbers, and were able to convince a large part of their army to revolt. It would only be a matter of time before the Vandals controlled all of Africa.

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The Berber’s army mutinies.[/CENTER]

A new horde of the Bulgars appeared in Eastern Europe. But it was in central Europe where the only significant changes occurred, as the new bad boys, the Lombards, were able to defeat the Suevi and carve a new realm for themselves.

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The world in 500 AD.[/CENTER]

Gloo
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Posts: 3
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Location: Chapelle-Guillaume
Contact: Website

Sun Nov 01, 2009 1:34 pm

Gjergj K. wrote:Thanks for reading guys- by the way, this AAR will soon be translated into French!
Hi Gjergj and all of the forum members ! I confirm that you'll soon be able to read this excellent A.A.R. in a French translation on [color="Blue"]Cyberstratège[/color]. I'll keep you posted about the exact location. I'd like to add that upon completion, I'll make a .PDF version of the whole, augmented with actual pictures of locations and some archeological illustrations. Keep on the good work and stay tuned ;)
{:]]

"One ring to find them all...".

Palpat
Colonel
Posts: 303
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 9:27 am

Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:30 pm

Boring King Arthur. Priceless! :mdr:

I see that you also have messed up Kings. I would so much love a fix/new patch for such issues... :(

Glad to see the AAR back online, by the way. :thumbsup:

Gloo
Civilian
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 3:39 pm
Location: Chapelle-Guillaume
Contact: Website

Wed Nov 11, 2009 2:31 pm

Hi all !

As promised, here's the French version of this ongoing story. You'll find it here on [color="Purple"][color="Purple"]Cyberstratège[/color][/color] and this'll be a weekly publication until the story ends. Hope the French readers will have as much fun discovering this as we have here ! ;)
{:]]



"One ring to find them all...".

Gjergj K.
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Location: Newcastle, Australia

Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:07 pm

OK- The current scores are

Yellow- 21696
Red- 10646
Blue- 9054
Green- 3186

Green is a long way behind because the Huns fared so poorly.

[SIZE="4"]500-510[/size]

The world had passed some 500 years since the birth of Christ. Since that time, Christianity had become the dominant religion in the Mediterranean area, although large areas held various Christian heresies. Even the mighty Persians had abandoned their Mazdeist faith and embraced Christianity.

In AD 500, a minor war broke out between the Lombards and the Visigoths, which quickly fizzled out as neither side was able to get to each other. A war between the newly arrived Bulgars and the Visigoths also ended in a white peace, although in this case it meant that the Bulgars were now free to claim their ambitions in the Balkans, free from Gothic interference. In August of 500, the Lombards were defeated by the powerful Gepid Empire- this defeat would set back the Lombard ambitions for some time. Central Europe would continue to be the battleground of 3 Germanic Tribes- the massive Gepids, the Suevi (vassals of the Heruls), and the upstart Lombards.

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The Lombards lose big time.[/CENTER]

The Thuringians, always badly administered and prone to revolts, received some new income when the death of St Wulfric the Pious on the Abkhaz coast became a new pilgrimage site. The income significantly helped the struggling Thuringians.

The main events of this period centred around the secret alliance between the Sassanids, the Caucasian Alans and the Bulgars. The target was the Eastern Roman Empire- powerful enough the defeat any single enemy, but unable to withstand an alliance of all 3. It would take some time for the armies of the 3 powers to prepare, and it was only in August 502 that the armies of each power were ready to invade.
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Sassanid armies stand ready for war.[/CENTER]

The war began suddenly, and the armies of the Romans were unprepared for the onslaught. The Bulgar horsemen swarmed over the Balkan territories, ruthlessly crushing all resistance. Only the stout walls of Constantinople thwarted their attack.

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The Bulgars crush all opposition.[/CENTER]

The Romans concentrated their armies against the Persians, leaving little to defend the Balkans. By February, the Romans had been humbled and the Bulgars were well on the way to achieving their dream of being masters of the Balkans.

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Pax Bulgarica.[/CENTER]

In April, the Romans also made peace, ceding the territory of Caucasian Iberia to the Alans.

Whilst the Bulgars had won significant territory, the Persians under Shah Alaric II had a much tougher fight. The bulk of the Roman armies were arrayed against the Sassanids, including a group of rogue mercenary War Elephants.

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The Roman’s mercenary elephants.[/CENTER]

In mid 503, the Sassanids were able to take the important city of Antioch via treachery, with a traitor opening the gates. Alaric II began to march further into Anatolia, but the Romans responded by invading Sassanid Mesopotamia.

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The Romans invade Mesopotamia .[/CENTER]

This flank attack caused Alaric II to change his goals, and 504 he accepted peace with only the city of Antioch changing hands.

In Britain, the reign of King Arthur the boring continued, but the boredom was temporarily suspended when the Irish declared war. However, the Irish did not in fact invade, and the war ended in a return to the status quo in 505, and boredom once again descended upon Arthur’s kingdom. The Irish then decided to increase their holdings in Europe, unsuccessfully declaring war upon the Suevi, as well expanding against the natives of Scandinavia.

In 506, the Bulgars continued their Balkan expansion, declaring war upon the Gepids. In spite of heavy casualties caused by the terrible weather, the Bulgars were able to use sophisticated siege engineering to capture the Gepid holdings.

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The Bulgars attack the Gepids .[/CENTER]

By October 506, the Bulgars were able to claim the provinces of Danuvius and Drina for their own, and had declared war upon the remnants of the Ostrogoths, annexing them in early 507.

Also in 506, at the behest of the King of the Vandals, the Berber army revolted. This was the signal for the Vandals to begin their final assault upon the Berbers. By November 506, the Vandals had finally crushed the Berbers, and their brutal dominion over North Africa was secure.

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Hilderic rules over all![/CENTER]

In 508, yet another Germanic tribe, the Bavarians, rose to contest central Europe. The Gepids attacked the Thuringians, and later the Irish joined in for unknown reasons.

There is little other recorded history from this period, but by 510 it was clear the Bulgars would be the new masters of the Balkans.

Palpat
Colonel
Posts: 303
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 9:27 am

Mon Nov 23, 2009 11:04 am

Sweet!
Do you plan to go towards Egypt as Persian or Vandal?
By the way, I'm surprised to see Constantinople as the Capital of ERE. In my games, the capital usually moves to Antioch without much explanations. :confused:

Gjergj K.
Private
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:23 am
Location: Newcastle, Australia

Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:28 pm

Palpat wrote:Sweet!
Do you plan to go towards Egypt as Persian or Vandal?
By the way, I'm surprised to see Constantinople as the Capital of ERE. In my games, the capital usually moves to Antioch without much explanations. :confused:


I had no plans- I've also seen Antioch as the capital, but not this game.

Folks, sorry it has taken so long for an update, but I now have to consider seriously abandoning this game. Regrettably, the game has become too easy!

[SIZE="4"]510-520[/size]

This decade began relatively quietly. In 512, the Jews of Mesopotamia, led by Mar Zutra, revolted against their Sassanid masters, but were quickly beaten by Sassanid garrisons.

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The Jews revolt[/CENTER]

The small german tribes of central Europe tried and failed to gain territory from the two masters, the Suevi and the Gepids.

The lands ruled by the Vandals showed large population growth. They city of Ivora was founded in southern Lusitania in 513, and later, Granada was founded in 517. This led to further development of markets.

It was in the Balkans where the greatest change took place. The Bulgar Khans coveted the city of Constantinople. Thus far, its mighty walls had thwarted their attacks, but in Jan of 513, they decided to attack again. The Bulgar horde laid siege to Constantinople. Conditions for the defenders grew steadily more grim, until more than a year later, the Bulgar horde sacked Constantinople. The Bulgars soon accepted peace, taking the island of Crete and the ancient lands of Hellas for their own.

For the tottering Eastern Roman Empire however, the sack of Constantinople was the last straw. In 517, following a failed coup by a young man named Justinian, the entire empire suddenly collapsed into anarchy. The Roman Empire was no more.

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The end of the Romans[/CENTER]

The greatest beneficiaries were the unknown raider state of the Blemmyes, who managed to gain complete control of Egypt after the previous emperor, Valentianus, defected to them. The Blemmyes soon began raiding further into the Vandal and Sassanid empires. The Sassanids also took advantage of the collapse, and sent an expedition to conquer the island of Cyprus. The collapse left vast territories up for grabs.

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The last Roman Emperor joins a desert raider state. [/CENTER]

Meanwhile, in Britain the Irish again declared war upon King Arthur the Boring, but got bored and agreed to peace.

And thus, the empire of the Romans was no more...

Palpat
Colonel
Posts: 303
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 9:27 am

Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:52 pm

Oh my... No more ERE, that's indeed hard for the interest of the game.
I hope Ageod's monitoring this thread if one day any GI Gold arise: such collapse without no new nations arising should not exist (in such a case, ERE should evolve into Byzantium or whatever).

Indeed, you can wait one century and an half for the Arabs... and be as bored as King Arthur the boring!

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