Welcome to my first real attempt to ride the steep learning curve of this monster game and for that matter my first attempt at an AAR.
** This AAR was originally started on the Paradox AGEOD forum but with the impending closure of said forum it seemed right to bring it home to AGEOD. For the sake of my sanity I decided to copy the AAR here minus the comments.
Content (Last updated: 27/02/2013)
Introduction
I picked up this game around a year ago but never got further than a few turns put off by the seemingly impossible task of preventing my economy from tanking. Recently I was inspired to play again by the rash of new AAR’s on this forum (not least of which was Loki’s AAR) and I am glad I did as I am having blast (having become not a little obsessed) as I try to master the intricacies of this very deep game.
The game has reached the beginning of 1854 and going forward I intend to update every half game year and more frequently should any juicy wars occur.
For this game I chose Sardinia-Piedmont to bring to the heights of glory (or more likely the depths of humiliating defeat). Why this particular nation I hear you ask? Well there are no colonial commitments and you have the clear goal of uniting Italy plus you start out in control of only 7 provinces which gives you a good chance to get to grips with the strengths and weaknesses of this nation.
To be honest there seem to be more weaknesses than strengths.
You start with a small but (probably importantly) professional army and therefore with a slight qualitative edge to the larger conscript armies of the nations you are surrounded by. I’m not sure but probably linked to being a professional army the number of conscript/officer replacements is very low (something like 5 a turn for conscripts). Bearing in mind a Brigade costs in the region of 50 conscripts I won’t be doing too much expansion of the army.
You start with what I would describe as average leaders to command this army but on the plus side more than enough to lead them with out any combat penalties
There is no navy to speak of other than a few sail frigates. You do however start with 3 merchant fleets which should allow me to trade for the items I am short of.
On the economic side probably the most important resource coal is completely unavailable within our current borders meaning all coal at least initially will need to be imported. As everything in this game relies on having coal this is a major problem. Of the other main strategic resources Steel and Manufactured goods (needed to produce most structures and units) I have one steel mill and 3 factories producing manufactured goods which providing I can keep them open with the necessary inputs should cover my basic needs.
Of the other goods you produce you have enough to nearly cover the food and common goods requirements of the population whilst my luxury goods factory (again if I can keep it open) should cover about half of my populations thirst for luxury goods.
Diplomatically you start out hemmed in between the great powers of France and Austria and the minor powers of the Swiss Confederation, Parma and Tuscany. France has claims on my 2 western provinces of Savoire and Alps-Martimes whilst Austria has no desire to see a united Italy on its southern border. Austria also has 4 of my objective regions within its borders.
1850 - 1853 (The plan)
Economy
My initial goals here were fourfold:
1) Become self-sufficient enough to operate all my starting factories without relying on imports. In game terms I would need to build several new mine and farm buildings plus ensure that no new factories would be built until I could sustain my existing ones comfortably.
2) Try to maintain a positive balance of trade.
3) Import or produce enough resources to satisfy my population’s needs.
4) Increase manufactured goods output.
Diplomacy
1) Boost relations with France in anyway possible. From a strategic sense this should enable me to concentrate my limited army against Austria with the hope of grabbing my claimed provinces. Economically if I could obtain a commercial agreement with France I would be able to build coal mines their and hopefully alleviate one of my biggest problems. There are also event chains which require good relations with France and poor relations with Austria to achieve unification (or so I believe)
2) Cultivate relations with all the Italian minor states particularly Tuscany which has the only coal rescourse on the Italian peninsular. Get mutual supply and passage rights with the Papal States and Parma.
Colonisation
1) Use all 10 merchant options (each merchant costs 25 private capital and 2 manufactured goods to place but also produces 5 private capital per turn for 25 turns if they don’t disappear giving a clear profit) around the horn of Africa to try and raise CP to the maximum 35% (I think this is the maximum value until Italy is unified and the full range of colonial options is available I hope).
Military
1) Assign leaders to both the starting infantry corps and the cavalry division
2) Form 2 armies commanded by my starting 3* generals based in Piedmont and Liguria.
[INDENT]I Army to contain the Guards Corps, Cavalry Division, Siege Artillery, Labour Regiment and Supply Wagon.[/INDENT]
[INDENT]II Army to contain the Infantry Corps, Light Cavalry Brigade and Supply Wagon.[/INDENT]
3) When money and resources allow add “Conscript Light” support and artillery units to maximise the abilities of each force
4) Again when resources allow upgrade my existing fortifications from pre-industrial to maximum level industrial level forts.
5) Increase and upgrade the port level in Liguria to allow my Grand Fleet to be created after Italy is formed
Next time I will deal with what actually happened hopefully with some current screenshots should I actually figure out how to do them.
The Game So Far - June 1855
The Game So Far - June 1855
Diplomacy
We are on friendly terms (over 25) with all the Italian nations including Parma. In addition we have a defensive alliance with Tuscany (their single infantry brigade will obviously help turn the tide of any conflict we get into!). We have also managed to conclude commercial agreements with all these nations enabling us to build a coal mine in Tuscany and a dye factory in the Two Sicilies (both resources being unavailable to us within our current borders and ones which we will hopefully inherit come the unification). In addition we have mutual supply and passage rights with the Two Sicilies.
Outside of Italy we have raised our relations to 100 with France and signed commercial and defensive alliance agreements with them. This has led to the building of 2 coal mines in France.
In the past year we have been working on charming Switzerland with an eye to building on their coal resource and obtaining supply and passage agreements to potentially use them to out flank Austria in any potential war.
For the same reason when we get our next set of diplomats we will be working on obtaining supply and passage agreements with Parma and the Papal States. It is my intention to use these states as routes of invasion into Austria should the time come. I will not be seeking defensive alliances with them as I wish to keep their territory inviolate from Austrian attack (more on this later)
Elsewhere France and Austria currently have a cool if not hostile relationship with each other (Currently 0) whilst our relationship with Austria is -5. I am hoping this is enough to kick off the required event chain that leads to one of the routes to unification
With our diplomatic focus firmly on our neighbours we have ignored everyone else and consequently have neutral relations with the rest of the world.
Colonisation
This is mainly a sideshow at the moment as S-P is without many of the colonial options available to the major nations until after they unify. Still there are some benefits to colonisation not least of which it gives you something else to do other than endlessly tweaking your economy every turn!
Very early on we decided to avoid any attempt at improving our colonial penetration in Tunisia as the risk of a potential conflict with France was perceived as too high. Instead our limited colonial effort has been focused on the horn of Africa.
From the start we have attempted to have all 10 merchants we have available constantly active. As well as improving the colonial penetration of the province they are in up to a maximum of 35 (the highest S-P can obtain currently) they also provide an income of 5 private capital a turn for as long as they are active (I think it is a 2% chance to fail per turn). They require a starting investment of 25 private capital and 2 manufactured goods so obviously any merchant lasting over 5 turns (to a maximum of 25 turns I think) should turn a healthy profit. I have found this very useful as private capital availability has proven to be the main limitation to expanding my economy.
In Mogadishu and Addis-Ababa where there are an opium and coffee resources respectively we have placed trading posts to give us a limited supply of these precious goods for our economy.
We have built missions in both these provinces as well. To give some limited backup to these investments we have recruited a colonial brigade, an exploration party and prospecting party and transported them to Mogadishu. Both the exploration and prospecting parties require considerable private capital to use (probably best spent else where at the moment) Despite that we have used them to discover 2 interior Ethiopian provinces and an additional resource of fish at Mogadishu (yeah fish just what I needed not!)
Currently we have an average colonial penetration of 32 in Somalia and something in the region of 10 in Abbysinia.
Economy
This is where the main focus of the early years with S-P has been.
In addition to the 3 coal mines and a dye factory built in foreign lands we have built the following resource structures
An iron mine
A sheep farm (to produce a domestic supply of cotton/wool)
A wood logging farm
A minerals mine
A chemical factory (to give us a domestic supply of chemicals and dyes)
In terms of finished goods we have built
3 vineyards
3 manufactured goods shops
1 luxury goods factory (with a further one currently being built)
1 machine parts factory (again to develop a domestic supply)
The majority of these structures were built in Liguria or Piedmont to take advantage of the railroads which get completed their 6 months into the game.
Initially we shut down the arms shop, ammunition shop, a textile shop and the shipyard in order to conserve resources. At roughly the 2 year stage we were comfortably producing enough resources to have all our industry operating. Up to the present we have not yet had a factory shutdown due to lack of inputs.
From the very beginning we have focussed on buying up as much coal as possible per turn. Apart from a single month around 3 months into the game where the coal supply dried up completely it was possible to build up sizeable stockpile. To aid in this our merchant fleet from the Mediterranean was moved to the North Sea to double up our fleets there as the majority of the available coal was produced by the North German states and Great Britain. In addition we agreed to pay 25% extra for coal and reduced our maritime tax to 1%.
At the beginning of 1855 our stockpiles of the three main strategic goods all look healthy
Coal 332 Steel 186 and Manufactured Goods 115. With the addition of the manufactured goods shops we currently have a surplus of 15 per turn.
Our other spending has been concentrated on building Merchant Fleets of which we have completed an additional 4 (of the small sail class) to give a total of 7 operating fleets and railroads which have been built in Savoire (to connect to the French and Swiss rail network), Alessandria and most recently a railway was ordered to be built in La Spezia.
Our trade surplus is healthy in most turns usually with a profit of 200 or so private capital. Sales domestically have been fully satisfied in the food and common goods categories for most of the time period played so far however we have not yet been able to provide the full amount of luxuries required by our population. This in turn has led to a rise of public satisfaction of around 0.4% per turn. Our current average overall satisfaction is 76%
Military
With the lack of conscripts available to S-P a massive increase to our starting forces has not proved possible.
The units we have added to the army in this period are
1 Colonial Brigade
2 Field Hospitals
1 Labour Regiment
2 Pioneer Regiments
2 Engineer Regiments
6 Field Artillery Battalions
1 Exploration Party
2 Prospecting Parties
3 Fortress troops (to give a basic garrison in each city)
With regards to replacements all our current units are at full strength with a single replacement chit in each category other than the Light Cavalry (for some reason).
The navy remains unchanged other than one of the recce squadrons which starts under strength with 3 elements has been built up to full strength.
Torino and Genova have upgraded their fortifications from the starting level 2 pre industrial forts to level 3 industrial forts. Alessandria and Sardina have been upgraded to an industrial fort and are currently completing the final fort level. La Spezia is building a 1st level pre industrial fort.
Genova has increased its port from a level 5 harbour to a level 10 naval base. Now all i need is a fleet worthy of the name to fill it.
I will go into a bit more detail of force dispositions and future plans on the next update again hopefully with a few screenshots to show the current situation.
Diplomacy
We are on friendly terms (over 25) with all the Italian nations including Parma. In addition we have a defensive alliance with Tuscany (their single infantry brigade will obviously help turn the tide of any conflict we get into!). We have also managed to conclude commercial agreements with all these nations enabling us to build a coal mine in Tuscany and a dye factory in the Two Sicilies (both resources being unavailable to us within our current borders and ones which we will hopefully inherit come the unification). In addition we have mutual supply and passage rights with the Two Sicilies.
Outside of Italy we have raised our relations to 100 with France and signed commercial and defensive alliance agreements with them. This has led to the building of 2 coal mines in France.
In the past year we have been working on charming Switzerland with an eye to building on their coal resource and obtaining supply and passage agreements to potentially use them to out flank Austria in any potential war.
For the same reason when we get our next set of diplomats we will be working on obtaining supply and passage agreements with Parma and the Papal States. It is my intention to use these states as routes of invasion into Austria should the time come. I will not be seeking defensive alliances with them as I wish to keep their territory inviolate from Austrian attack (more on this later)
Elsewhere France and Austria currently have a cool if not hostile relationship with each other (Currently 0) whilst our relationship with Austria is -5. I am hoping this is enough to kick off the required event chain that leads to one of the routes to unification
With our diplomatic focus firmly on our neighbours we have ignored everyone else and consequently have neutral relations with the rest of the world.
Colonisation
This is mainly a sideshow at the moment as S-P is without many of the colonial options available to the major nations until after they unify. Still there are some benefits to colonisation not least of which it gives you something else to do other than endlessly tweaking your economy every turn!
Very early on we decided to avoid any attempt at improving our colonial penetration in Tunisia as the risk of a potential conflict with France was perceived as too high. Instead our limited colonial effort has been focused on the horn of Africa.
From the start we have attempted to have all 10 merchants we have available constantly active. As well as improving the colonial penetration of the province they are in up to a maximum of 35 (the highest S-P can obtain currently) they also provide an income of 5 private capital a turn for as long as they are active (I think it is a 2% chance to fail per turn). They require a starting investment of 25 private capital and 2 manufactured goods so obviously any merchant lasting over 5 turns (to a maximum of 25 turns I think) should turn a healthy profit. I have found this very useful as private capital availability has proven to be the main limitation to expanding my economy.
In Mogadishu and Addis-Ababa where there are an opium and coffee resources respectively we have placed trading posts to give us a limited supply of these precious goods for our economy.
We have built missions in both these provinces as well. To give some limited backup to these investments we have recruited a colonial brigade, an exploration party and prospecting party and transported them to Mogadishu. Both the exploration and prospecting parties require considerable private capital to use (probably best spent else where at the moment) Despite that we have used them to discover 2 interior Ethiopian provinces and an additional resource of fish at Mogadishu (yeah fish just what I needed not!)
Currently we have an average colonial penetration of 32 in Somalia and something in the region of 10 in Abbysinia.
Economy
This is where the main focus of the early years with S-P has been.
In addition to the 3 coal mines and a dye factory built in foreign lands we have built the following resource structures
An iron mine
A sheep farm (to produce a domestic supply of cotton/wool)
A wood logging farm
A minerals mine
A chemical factory (to give us a domestic supply of chemicals and dyes)
In terms of finished goods we have built
3 vineyards
3 manufactured goods shops
1 luxury goods factory (with a further one currently being built)
1 machine parts factory (again to develop a domestic supply)
The majority of these structures were built in Liguria or Piedmont to take advantage of the railroads which get completed their 6 months into the game.
Initially we shut down the arms shop, ammunition shop, a textile shop and the shipyard in order to conserve resources. At roughly the 2 year stage we were comfortably producing enough resources to have all our industry operating. Up to the present we have not yet had a factory shutdown due to lack of inputs.
From the very beginning we have focussed on buying up as much coal as possible per turn. Apart from a single month around 3 months into the game where the coal supply dried up completely it was possible to build up sizeable stockpile. To aid in this our merchant fleet from the Mediterranean was moved to the North Sea to double up our fleets there as the majority of the available coal was produced by the North German states and Great Britain. In addition we agreed to pay 25% extra for coal and reduced our maritime tax to 1%.
At the beginning of 1855 our stockpiles of the three main strategic goods all look healthy
Coal 332 Steel 186 and Manufactured Goods 115. With the addition of the manufactured goods shops we currently have a surplus of 15 per turn.
Our other spending has been concentrated on building Merchant Fleets of which we have completed an additional 4 (of the small sail class) to give a total of 7 operating fleets and railroads which have been built in Savoire (to connect to the French and Swiss rail network), Alessandria and most recently a railway was ordered to be built in La Spezia.
Our trade surplus is healthy in most turns usually with a profit of 200 or so private capital. Sales domestically have been fully satisfied in the food and common goods categories for most of the time period played so far however we have not yet been able to provide the full amount of luxuries required by our population. This in turn has led to a rise of public satisfaction of around 0.4% per turn. Our current average overall satisfaction is 76%
Military
With the lack of conscripts available to S-P a massive increase to our starting forces has not proved possible.
The units we have added to the army in this period are
1 Colonial Brigade
2 Field Hospitals
1 Labour Regiment
2 Pioneer Regiments
2 Engineer Regiments
6 Field Artillery Battalions
1 Exploration Party
2 Prospecting Parties
3 Fortress troops (to give a basic garrison in each city)
With regards to replacements all our current units are at full strength with a single replacement chit in each category other than the Light Cavalry (for some reason).
The navy remains unchanged other than one of the recce squadrons which starts under strength with 3 elements has been built up to full strength.
Torino and Genova have upgraded their fortifications from the starting level 2 pre industrial forts to level 3 industrial forts. Alessandria and Sardina have been upgraded to an industrial fort and are currently completing the final fort level. La Spezia is building a 1st level pre industrial fort.
Genova has increased its port from a level 5 harbour to a level 10 naval base. Now all i need is a fleet worthy of the name to fill it.
I will go into a bit more detail of force dispositions and future plans on the next update again hopefully with a few screenshots to show the current situation.
1855 July To December
Diplomacy
As stated previously we have defensive alliances with France and the mighty Tuscany.
We have been focusing on building relations with Parma and Switzerland. We now have good relations with both.
Unfortuneatly we have so far failed to achieve our main goals which were to reach a commercial agreement with the Swiss. This is mainly so that we can build on their coal resource and reduce our dependancy on our French coal mines.
Also the short sited politicians in Parma and the Papal States are still refusing to ratify a mutual passage agreement. This is going to be the main plank of my strategy to confront Austria as we want to be able to use these states to attack Venezia and cut the rail line hopefully isolating any force mired outside our defences in Alessandria. Still a new year approaches we can but hope the new batch of diplomats will be more successful than the last.
Colonial Affairs
The good people of Somalia decided they would object to our commercial exploitation by declaring war on us. We quickly lost all our buildings outside of the capital Mogadishu together with an exploration and prospecting party. The colonial brigade we had their fended off several attacks and in return gained miltary control over Mogadishu and next door Baidoa. In what was probably a mistake we built a coaling station, started a fort and built an Opium farm. As quickly as the war started it was over and as a consequence we are losing military control. Not sure what will happen to the buildings when MC reduces past 50% but I guess I lose the strucures I built. We live and learn.
Elsewhere we are a couple of weeks from completing 4 trading posts on the Arabian peninsular. When completed they should give us intermittent access to both Opium and Gems.
Economy
We are keeping a balance of at least 1800 private capital as this ensures that our buisines men keep bringing us the luxuries we require. With their help we are now meeting our populations needs in all areas (17 Food, 14 Common Goods and 10 Luxuries). Our average public satisfaction stands at 91%
We are building an iron mine and wood looging facility to meet our industrial requirements. We have also started another Luxury good factory.
We have completed building vineyards on all our available fruit resources (7). The world market it seems cannot get enough of our wine with an output of 28 and regularly 50 to 60 requests.
Next on the list is an ammunition shop as there is currently a world shortage.
We have completed the railroad in La Spezia.
Our stockpiles organic
Military
As previously mentioned our basic military plan to face Austria is to draw their main Army against Alessandria whilst a corps plus supporting arms advances through Parma (or the Papal States) to attack and hopefully capture Venezia cutting off the enemy from supply.
To this end Alessandria has been built up to its maximum fortification level and its garrison has received reinforcements
I Army based in Piedmont will support the garrison hopefully with French Support
II Army based in Liguria will advance via the rail network to La Spezia and attack Venezia via Parma or the Papal States
Well so goes the plan anyway.
In addition we have just completed Police units for each city and a mixed expedition brigade for Somalia
Finally how we stand amongst nations
Thankfully there is a long way to go!
1856 January to June
Diplomacy
Good and bad for us on this front.
The bad is we have still singuarly failed to get passage agreements with the Papal States and Parma despite increasingly warm relations. As for the good we manage to conclude a defensive alliance with the Two Scilies.
Economy
With the completion of our 3rd luxury factory our trade surplus rises from on average 200 to 300 a month.
We have started the construction of the following
We have completed the following
Our internal market demand is
Organic stockpile
Inorganic stockpile
We are paying 192 private capital to maintain our current structures.
Markets we are looking to further target are ammunition, luxuries and supply where world demand is high and supply is low.
Military
Only minor variations here
We have added
We have continued to expand the naval base in Liguria currently it is now level 14 with level 15 under construction.
Alessandria completed its expansion to a level 3 fortification.
We commit to funding our first research Miltary Decorations in an attempt to boost the quality of our armies.
Replacements
Colonisation
We haven't yet lost military control of Mogadishu.
The Opium farm has an output of zero not sure if that has to do with the development level of the province or the fact we are losing military control. The coaling station is flying our flag and the fort continues to be constructed not sure for who yet.
We complete our 4 trading posts in the Arabian peninsular although the lesson to be learned is never build in a rebel held province as one is burned down minutes after completion.
If anyone wants to see anything specific please let me know
Good and bad for us on this front.
The bad is we have still singuarly failed to get passage agreements with the Papal States and Parma despite increasingly warm relations. As for the good we manage to conclude a defensive alliance with the Two Scilies.
Economy
With the completion of our 3rd luxury factory our trade surplus rises from on average 200 to 300 a month.
We have started the construction of the following
- Railway in Sardinia
- Trade fleet
- Ammunition factory in La Spezia
We have completed the following
- Wood logging in Savoire
- Iron extraction in Piedmont
Our internal market demand is
- 18 Food
- 14 Common Goods
- 10 Luxuries
Organic stockpile
Inorganic stockpile
We are paying 192 private capital to maintain our current structures.
Markets we are looking to further target are ammunition, luxuries and supply where world demand is high and supply is low.
Military
Only minor variations here
We have added
- 2 Field artillery regiments
- 1 Labour regiment
We have continued to expand the naval base in Liguria currently it is now level 14 with level 15 under construction.
Alessandria completed its expansion to a level 3 fortification.
We commit to funding our first research Miltary Decorations in an attempt to boost the quality of our armies.
Replacements
Colonisation
We haven't yet lost military control of Mogadishu.
The Opium farm has an output of zero not sure if that has to do with the development level of the province or the fact we are losing military control. The coaling station is flying our flag and the fort continues to be constructed not sure for who yet.
We complete our 4 trading posts in the Arabian peninsular although the lesson to be learned is never build in a rebel held province as one is burned down minutes after completion.
If anyone wants to see anything specific please let me know
1856 July to December
Diplomacy
In August we finally get the break through we have been looking for by signing a mutual passage agreement with Parma. In case of war this now enables us to threaten 2 of Austria's provinces whilst Austria can only attack 1 of ours at Alessandria (Austria has no agreements with Parma and we will not seek a defensive alliance with Parma to ensure their neutrality in any war). To top it off Parma approaches us with a mutual supply agreement which we sign in November.
We will continue to seek passage rights with the Papal States (all our overtures were rebuffed this period) as a backup. In addition we will seek passage rights through Switzerland to give us a means to threaten Sudtirol (Trient) after we get our elusive commercial treaty.
Economy
Our trade surplus remains on average around 300
We started the construction of the following:
Our internal demand is
Organic Stockpile
Inorganic
Unfortunately the world demand for wine is starting to tail off. We are still selling 25 to 30 a turn about half of what we sold half a year ago. Ammunition is still in high demand and we will be focusing on building another couple of factories this will also have the side affect of absorbing our surplus stocks of chemicals and nitrates.
Every other structure we buy a trade fleet since it seems to give a boost to sales requests for our products.
We are spreading out our industrialisation away from Piedmont and trying to build our working and middle class in La Spezia and Sardinia. This should also keep all our eggs from being in one basket.
Military
We have added
As per usual Liguria expands its naval base to level 16 and begins work on level 17.
Again very little has changed. We have checked the journey time for 2nd Army to Po (Parma) is only 5 days (just in case)
Colonisation
We have changed our focus slightly instead of trying to push up colonial penetration a country at a time we have decided to focus merchants and trading posts on useful resources.
We have built merchants and trading posts
So basically a waiting game. Next year should see the start of the unification event chain so we will be trying to get all our pieces in place.
In August we finally get the break through we have been looking for by signing a mutual passage agreement with Parma. In case of war this now enables us to threaten 2 of Austria's provinces whilst Austria can only attack 1 of ours at Alessandria (Austria has no agreements with Parma and we will not seek a defensive alliance with Parma to ensure their neutrality in any war). To top it off Parma approaches us with a mutual supply agreement which we sign in November.
We will continue to seek passage rights with the Papal States (all our overtures were rebuffed this period) as a backup. In addition we will seek passage rights through Switzerland to give us a means to threaten Sudtirol (Trient) after we get our elusive commercial treaty.
Economy
Our trade surplus remains on average around 300
We started the construction of the following:
- Merchant fleet x 2
- Ammunition Shop in Sardinia (July)
- Manufacturing plant in Sardinia (November)
Our internal demand is
- 18 Food
- 14 Common Goods
- 10 Luxuries
Organic Stockpile
Inorganic
Unfortunately the world demand for wine is starting to tail off. We are still selling 25 to 30 a turn about half of what we sold half a year ago. Ammunition is still in high demand and we will be focusing on building another couple of factories this will also have the side affect of absorbing our surplus stocks of chemicals and nitrates.
Every other structure we buy a trade fleet since it seems to give a boost to sales requests for our products.
We are spreading out our industrialisation away from Piedmont and trying to build our working and middle class in La Spezia and Sardinia. This should also keep all our eggs from being in one basket.
Military
We have added
- A Coastal artillery regiment to Sardinia
As per usual Liguria expands its naval base to level 16 and begins work on level 17.
Again very little has changed. We have checked the journey time for 2nd Army to Po (Parma) is only 5 days (just in case)
Colonisation
We have changed our focus slightly instead of trying to push up colonial penetration a country at a time we have decided to focus merchants and trading posts on useful resources.
We have built merchants and trading posts
- Lindi (East Africa) – Sugar
- Dubai – Gems
- Kumasi (West Africa) – Gold
- Lome (Tropical Fruit)
- Kampot
So basically a waiting game. Next year should see the start of the unification event chain so we will be trying to get all our pieces in place.
1857 January to June
Diplomacy
Overall this was a very frustrating period. We fail to make any progress in any of our stated goals. The Swiss stubbornly refuse a commercial agreement and the Papal State’s scoff at our requests for passage rights.
We do promise local support to Great Britain as part of our longer term aim to improve relations and send a diplomatic insult in the direction of Austria.
Almost with a sense of desperation we very nearly declare war on Majerteyn (Somalia) in attempt to gain full control of Mogadishu (Just for the need to do something!) however calmer heads prevail. Colonial matters are a distinctly dangerous diversion of resources with the unification of Italy still in the balance
Economy
Our trade surplus remains again on average around 300. With one stand out month where we made a profit of 500
We started the construction of the following:
In February we completed another set of education reforms which lowers our militancy and slightly increases our literacy rate.
Our population breakdown is:
Inorganic
Our economy has changed considerably since 1850 as we are now nearly entirely self reliant in nearly every category with considerable surpluses available to trade and support our population.
Military
We have added:
Liguria expands its naval base to level 17 and begins work on level 18.
With the limitation on our growth being conscripts which remains at 6 per turn. We are alternating our construction alternatively between replacements and new units.
Colonisation
Our military control over Mogadishu moves from a low point of 41% to the current standing of 68%.
Several trading posts come on line in this period providing us with a selection of required commodities.
When merchants are available again we will be targeting provinces which supply silk, tea and tobacco all products which we are currently finding it hard to obtain a regular supply.
Not every trade post will provide a resource every turn therefore the above is a sample of the goods we are getting.
With our increased supply of private capital we also attempt our first Natural Society expedition in Ottoman held Assab
No events so far in the unification event chain have occurred. The next period will therefore be another of quiet husbanding of strength.
Overall this was a very frustrating period. We fail to make any progress in any of our stated goals. The Swiss stubbornly refuse a commercial agreement and the Papal State’s scoff at our requests for passage rights.
We do promise local support to Great Britain as part of our longer term aim to improve relations and send a diplomatic insult in the direction of Austria.
Almost with a sense of desperation we very nearly declare war on Majerteyn (Somalia) in attempt to gain full control of Mogadishu (Just for the need to do something!) however calmer heads prevail. Colonial matters are a distinctly dangerous diversion of resources with the unification of Italy still in the balance
Economy
Our trade surplus remains again on average around 300. With one stand out month where we made a profit of 500
We started the construction of the following:
- Merchant fleet x 2
- Military gear plant in Liguria (January)
- Textile shop in Sardinia (April)
- Manufacturing plant in La Spezia (May)
- Merchant fleet x 2 – 1 is sent to the South China Sea whilst the other is sent to the Gulf of Mexico
- Luxury goods shop in La Spezia (February)
- Ammunition shop in Sardinia (April)
- Railroad in Sardinia (May)
- 18 Food
- 15 Common Goods (+1)
- 10 Luxuries
In February we completed another set of education reforms which lowers our militancy and slightly increases our literacy rate.
Our population breakdown is:
- Peasants 58%
- Workers 25%
- Middle class 12%
- Upper class 3%
- Aristocrats 2%
Inorganic
Our economy has changed considerably since 1850 as we are now nearly entirely self reliant in nearly every category with considerable surpluses available to trade and support our population.
Military
We have added:
- A light cavalry brigade
- Elite infantry replacements
- Supply replacements
Liguria expands its naval base to level 17 and begins work on level 18.
With the limitation on our growth being conscripts which remains at 6 per turn. We are alternating our construction alternatively between replacements and new units.
Colonisation
Our military control over Mogadishu moves from a low point of 41% to the current standing of 68%.
Several trading posts come on line in this period providing us with a selection of required commodities.
When merchants are available again we will be targeting provinces which supply silk, tea and tobacco all products which we are currently finding it hard to obtain a regular supply.
Not every trade post will provide a resource every turn therefore the above is a sample of the goods we are getting.
With our increased supply of private capital we also attempt our first Natural Society expedition in Ottoman held Assab
No events so far in the unification event chain have occurred. The next period will therefore be another of quiet husbanding of strength.
July 1857 to December 1857
Diplomacy
In a complete turn around the hawks amongst the kings advisors using perceived insults to the crown from tribesmen in Majerteyn manage to persuade the king and prime minister to declare war. Much to the dismay of the army whose garrison in Mogadishu consists of one colonial and one mixed expedition brigade. (In reality I had a rush of blood to the head probably caused by a few too many glasses of wine! Lessons to be learned alcohol and sensible gaming don’t always mix well)
Elsewhere Switzerland stubbornly refuses a commercial agreement but does finally allow a state visit. It is hoped that this boost to relations will soften attitudes and finally allow us to get our agreement.
The Papal states don’t budge either and refuse all entreaties for a mutual passage agreement. They to do accept a state visit.
Relations with Britain also steadily improve as they surprisingly also agree to a state visit.
In other news the Congress of London convenes to discuss the future of Italy
and general Manfredo Franti gains several seniority points chasing down French rebels
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to ?
Initial plans for the war consist of ensuring that Mogadishu is held and to that end the forces there are reinforced by a field artillery regiment. A naval force of 2 scouting squadrons is also dispatched to the region. This force consists of soon to be obsolete wooden corvettes whose main purpose is to provide bombardment support to our ground forces.
The first couple of battles go our way
Further reinforcements have been earmarked under General Franti 2 light cavalry brigades; a field artillery regiment and a field hospital. A Marine Brigade will also be raised shortly.
Our plan is to garrison Mogadishu strongly and begin a systematic reduction of the enemy provinces using our remaining colonial troops by raising military control enough to build a fort and then moving on hopefully with the prospect of bringing the enemy field army (estimated at about 100 power rating) to battle.
Economy
We modified several taxes this turn to stimulate internal demand and raise state funds.
Tariffs were raised from 19 to 24%
Census Tax was raised from 3 to 5%
Corporate tax was raised to 7%
Excise tax was raised to 40%
In July the population of Genova increased to level 5 and the Referendum and Plebiscite reform was passed. We also mastered the technology Propeller driven ship
We started the construction of the following:
Our population breakdown is
Inorganic
During this period we have enough gold and gems to enable us to convert them to state funds for 2 months.
Military
We have added
Liguria expands its naval base to level 18 and begins work on level 19.
La Spezia completes a level 2 industrial fort and begins work on level 3
Colonisation
We are now in full military control of Mogadishu and have proceeded to build a railway and depot here. It is hoped that the railway will boost production enough to actually allow the Opium farm we built earlier to produce something.
Merchants and trade posts are sent to provinces where rare resources are produced
We complete a natural expedition in Assab and begin an Anthropological survey of the same province
In late December we start an a natural history survey of Tripoli and search for new resources in Mogadishu with our prospectors.
Prestige
In a complete turn around the hawks amongst the kings advisors using perceived insults to the crown from tribesmen in Majerteyn manage to persuade the king and prime minister to declare war. Much to the dismay of the army whose garrison in Mogadishu consists of one colonial and one mixed expedition brigade. (In reality I had a rush of blood to the head probably caused by a few too many glasses of wine! Lessons to be learned alcohol and sensible gaming don’t always mix well)
Elsewhere Switzerland stubbornly refuses a commercial agreement but does finally allow a state visit. It is hoped that this boost to relations will soften attitudes and finally allow us to get our agreement.
The Papal states don’t budge either and refuse all entreaties for a mutual passage agreement. They to do accept a state visit.
Relations with Britain also steadily improve as they surprisingly also agree to a state visit.
In other news the Congress of London convenes to discuss the future of Italy
and general Manfredo Franti gains several seniority points chasing down French rebels
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to ?
Initial plans for the war consist of ensuring that Mogadishu is held and to that end the forces there are reinforced by a field artillery regiment. A naval force of 2 scouting squadrons is also dispatched to the region. This force consists of soon to be obsolete wooden corvettes whose main purpose is to provide bombardment support to our ground forces.
The first couple of battles go our way
Further reinforcements have been earmarked under General Franti 2 light cavalry brigades; a field artillery regiment and a field hospital. A Marine Brigade will also be raised shortly.
Our plan is to garrison Mogadishu strongly and begin a systematic reduction of the enemy provinces using our remaining colonial troops by raising military control enough to build a fort and then moving on hopefully with the prospect of bringing the enemy field army (estimated at about 100 power rating) to battle.
Economy
We modified several taxes this turn to stimulate internal demand and raise state funds.
Tariffs were raised from 19 to 24%
Census Tax was raised from 3 to 5%
Corporate tax was raised to 7%
Excise tax was raised to 40%
In July the population of Genova increased to level 5 and the Referendum and Plebiscite reform was passed. We also mastered the technology Propeller driven ship
We started the construction of the following:
- Merchant fleet x 2
- Shipyard in La Spezia (July)
- Railroad Mogadishu
- Ammunition shop in Sardinia (July)
- Manufactured goods factory in Sardinia (September)
- Merchant fleet sent to American – Pacific trade box
- 19 Food (+1)
- 16 Common Goods (+1)
- 11 Luxuries (+1)
Our population breakdown is
- Peasants 58%
- Workers 26%
- Middle class 12%
- Upper class 3%
- Aristocrats 2%
Inorganic
During this period we have enough gold and gems to enable us to convert them to state funds for 2 months.
Military
We have added
- Supply wagon x 3
- 1 light and field artillery replacement
- 2 x Transport ship replacements
Liguria expands its naval base to level 18 and begins work on level 19.
La Spezia completes a level 2 industrial fort and begins work on level 3
Colonisation
We are now in full military control of Mogadishu and have proceeded to build a railway and depot here. It is hoped that the railway will boost production enough to actually allow the Opium farm we built earlier to produce something.
Merchants and trade posts are sent to provinces where rare resources are produced
- Zanzibar (2 Opium)
- Hue (2 Silk, 1Tobacco, 1Wood)
- Mandalay (2 Opium, 1 Gem)
- Laisho (1 Tea, 1Gem)
- Loughberang (2 Tea, 1 Wood) (No tading post built here yet)
We complete a natural expedition in Assab and begin an Anthropological survey of the same province
In late December we start an a natural history survey of Tripoli and search for new resources in Mogadishu with our prospectors.
Prestige
-
Stuyvesant
- Lieutenant
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:06 am
- Location: Wilmington, NC
1858 January to June
Diplomacy
Church bells ring throughout the kingdom as finally Switzerland agrees to a commercial agreement. In fact our diplomats are positively knocked off their feet when Britain also signs a commercial agreement at the first time of asking.
The reason for obtaining this agreement in the first place was to enable a coal mine to be built on the coal resource in France-Comte. Unfortunately the local population there is in a state of rebellion with the Swiss authorities who seem very reluctant to deal with the situation. We will now turn our attention to obtaining passage rights to help move on the local rebels.
The pope causes much gnashing of teeth in the corridors of power by his continual refusal to allow our peace loving troops to march through his country.
Diplomatic relations
Elsewhere the world basks in peace other than the ongoing conflicts of China versus the Taipang rebels and Persia versus Afghanistan.
And someone takes a pot shot at Napoleon (the next event in the unification chain)
An earthquake in southern Italy
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to ?
Very little action on this front in the last 6 months as our forces were waiting for further reinforcements to arrive before assuming the offensive.
The status quo
Finally in early May General Franti arrives with a newly raised marine brigade, a light cavalry brigade and supply wagons.
After waiting a couple of weeks General Franti organises a flying column consisting of a colonial brigade, the marines, a field artillery regiment and the light cavalry. This force moves up the coast to attack Hobyo under cover of the naval squadron off shore
The enemy quietly slips out of the province to Ogadon before any hostilities occur. General Franti establishes full control of the province and proceeds with the building of a fort and mission station.
Next month we will attempt to bring the main enemy force to action in Ogadon.
Economy
We modified our Maritime Tax in March from 5% to 3% with the aim of attracting more foreign traders to use our merchant fleets (Maritime tax is one of the factors involved in deciding which country gets the resource when demand exceeds supply)
In January the populations of Genova and La Spezia both increased. This seems to have coincided with a substantial rise in the number of conscripts we are recruiting (from 6 to 13 a turn).
In May we passed more education reforms and in the following month we mastered the Military Medal technology which we had been funding.
This allows us in June to issue our first Military Medals for chasing nomads around the desert (+2 officers and reduced militancy)
We are now funding Muzzle loading rifles.
We started the construction of the following:
Our population breakdown is
Inorganic
In early May we have sufficient gold and gems to enable us to convert them to state funds.
Military
We have added
Liguria completes its expansion to a level 20 naval base. Construction begins on expanding our depots in Piedmont and Alessandria
Colonisation
We are now focussing on our colonisation efforts even to the detriment of our economic build up in attempt to close the prestige gap with the (many) nations above us. The short term focus is to overhaul Japan.
Our aim is to ensure that the limited expedition options available to us are always in play to maximise our prestige gain.
Prestige
Church bells ring throughout the kingdom as finally Switzerland agrees to a commercial agreement. In fact our diplomats are positively knocked off their feet when Britain also signs a commercial agreement at the first time of asking.
The reason for obtaining this agreement in the first place was to enable a coal mine to be built on the coal resource in France-Comte. Unfortunately the local population there is in a state of rebellion with the Swiss authorities who seem very reluctant to deal with the situation. We will now turn our attention to obtaining passage rights to help move on the local rebels.
The pope causes much gnashing of teeth in the corridors of power by his continual refusal to allow our peace loving troops to march through his country.
Diplomatic relations
Elsewhere the world basks in peace other than the ongoing conflicts of China versus the Taipang rebels and Persia versus Afghanistan.
And someone takes a pot shot at Napoleon (the next event in the unification chain)
An earthquake in southern Italy
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to ?
Very little action on this front in the last 6 months as our forces were waiting for further reinforcements to arrive before assuming the offensive.
The status quo
Finally in early May General Franti arrives with a newly raised marine brigade, a light cavalry brigade and supply wagons.
After waiting a couple of weeks General Franti organises a flying column consisting of a colonial brigade, the marines, a field artillery regiment and the light cavalry. This force moves up the coast to attack Hobyo under cover of the naval squadron off shore
The enemy quietly slips out of the province to Ogadon before any hostilities occur. General Franti establishes full control of the province and proceeds with the building of a fort and mission station.
Next month we will attempt to bring the main enemy force to action in Ogadon.
Economy
We modified our Maritime Tax in March from 5% to 3% with the aim of attracting more foreign traders to use our merchant fleets (Maritime tax is one of the factors involved in deciding which country gets the resource when demand exceeds supply)
In January the populations of Genova and La Spezia both increased. This seems to have coincided with a substantial rise in the number of conscripts we are recruiting (from 6 to 13 a turn).
In May we passed more education reforms and in the following month we mastered the Military Medal technology which we had been funding.
This allows us in June to issue our first Military Medals for chasing nomads around the desert (+2 officers and reduced militancy)
We are now funding Muzzle loading rifles.
We started the construction of the following:
- Merchant fleet
- Shipyard in Sardinia (March)
- Iron extraction in Alessandria (April)
- Military Gear in Liguria (January)
- Textile shop in Sardinia (April)
- Manufactured goods factory in La Spezia (May)
- Merchant fleet sent to Bay of Bengal trade box
- 20 Food (+1)
- 16 Common Goods
- 11 Luxuries
Our population breakdown is
- Peasants 57%
- Workers 26%
- Middle class 12%
- Upper class 3%
- Aristocrats 2%
Inorganic
In early May we have sufficient gold and gems to enable us to convert them to state funds.
Military
We have added
- Marine brigade
- Heavy cavalry and line infantry replacements
- Exploration party
- Field hospital
- Supply wagon
- Cavalry division
Liguria completes its expansion to a level 20 naval base. Construction begins on expanding our depots in Piedmont and Alessandria
Colonisation
We are now focussing on our colonisation efforts even to the detriment of our economic build up in attempt to close the prestige gap with the (many) nations above us. The short term focus is to overhaul Japan.
- Prospecting in Mogadishu finds us a wool resource
- Anthropological and Natural Society expeditions are completed (125 prestige)
- A natural society and geographic society expedition are currently underway in Tripoli.
- Loughberang trade post
- Mission and fort in Hobyo
Our aim is to ensure that the limited expedition options available to us are always in play to maximise our prestige gain.
Prestige
1858 July to December
Diplomacy
After some positive diplomatic exchanges our relationship with Britain has warmed considerably and we now consider them friendly to our nation. We hope to extend this friendship in the future by asking for access to Britain’s ports around the globe. This will now become a major goal of our future diplomatic efforts and will give very real strategic advantages.
Relations with the USA also continue to slowly improve. Our goal here is to sign a commercial agreement to aid us in accessing their vast gold reserves.
As usual the governments of Switzerland and the Papal States continue to stonewall our efforts at passage rights through their country. Our efforts in this regard will continue next year.
Not previously mentioned was the fact that several years ago we made diplomatic overtures to our Italian brother states regarding the grand project of a unifyed Italy. All have since signed up to the principle of unification (i.e. I played the unification decisions on their capital provinces until they agreed to unification. This is the 2nd way to unify Italy minus the Austrian controlled provinces but does allow you to keep Savoire and Alpes-Maritime rather than ceding them to the French)
The treaty of Plombiere is signed in early September
In conjunction with this event our relations with Austria turn hostile (-17 to -39) and our defensive alliance with France is reaffirmed (In reality this event would give you a defensive alliance with France if you hadn’t managed to already get one through normal diplomatic means)
I Army will move out of its barracks in Piedmont and deploy along the Austrian border in the hopes of provoking a diplomatic crises with Austria. The next year could be critical for our nation (although in all likelihood the Austrian AI will not attack)!
Diplomatic relations
We suffer an insurrection in Alpes-Maratime (even though the people are happy and the revolt risk is zero.)
Elsewhere in the world there is no resolution to the conflict between Persia and Afghanistan and the slaughter in China continues. In the USA there are signs of trouble as loyalty to the US declines in its southern states.
In Tunisia it looks like a French attempt to grab the country has been repulsed for the time being.
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to ?
The war here has heated up considerably in the last 6 months as we lose 4000 men to roughly 10000 of the enemy in a series of engagements.
The situation in the North
We have gained military control of Berbera and Ogaden and started building fortifications to hold them from enemy incursions. We have also built mission stations (each colonial structure allows you to supply 3 elements for free). In addition Ogaden has started work on a depot and Berbera has started construction of an anchorage.
The main Majerteyn army has moved to besiege Ogaden whilst a small detachment of fighters is besieging Berbera. General Fanti (recently reinforced with a new Colonial brigade and field hospital) will sortie this turn in an attempt to clear the besieging forces from both locations. The battle weary 1st Brigata will remain in Berbea to lick its wounds and take on replacements.
Further south a brigade of marines and a light cavalry regiment will move north up the coast in an attempt to secure Busaso (the last Majerteyn province)
The situation in the South
We were able to secure military control of Hoboyo and Baidoa. Again fortifications are being constructed together with mission stations. These two provinces are particularly valuable as they provide a shield to our main base in the area Mogadishu.
In Mogadishu itself we have constructed a railroad and are now getting production from our Opium farm (basically we become the world’s first drug cartel as no one else is selling Opium) Mogadishu is also extending its depot (to level 2).
Early skirmishes
Mogadishu August
Hoboyo August
After chasing the native army around for several months general Franti finally corners the enemy in Ogaden (September)
In late November (he was inactive for 3 turns) he tries to eliminate his enemy at Berbea
After this bloody encounter with the Majerteyn who seem to have an inexhaustible supply of replacements another battle occurs in Berbea in December
General Fanti’s column is now severely fatigued from marching through the desert and several bloody battles and suddenly looks vulnerable to a shattering defeat. Luckily reinforcements arrive by sea into Berbea which should allow him to prosecute his campaign.
Economy
In November we increased our excise and corporate taxes to 50% and 8% respectively in attempt to meet the increasing costs of our armed forces and research.
The increased funding for Muzzle Loading rifles is having an affect (currently at 76%)
We started the construction of the following:
Our population breakdown is
Inorganic
To give an example of how much we are buying and selling in a turn
We in the main will avoid buying any goods from the major powers and will usually attempt to buy goods from South Italy (see this money as being invested for the future), Mexico and Brazil and other minor nations in South America.
During this period we have sufficient gold and gems to enable us to convert them to state funds in November.
Military
We have added
Piedmont completes the expansion of its depot to level 3. Alessandria expands its depot to level 2 and starts expansion to level 3. La Spezia completes a level 3 fort.
Colonisation
Prestige
We have managed to move from 13th to 12th in prestige. Our first goal will be to overhaul Japan. So far this period we have closed the gap on them to just 350 points.
After some positive diplomatic exchanges our relationship with Britain has warmed considerably and we now consider them friendly to our nation. We hope to extend this friendship in the future by asking for access to Britain’s ports around the globe. This will now become a major goal of our future diplomatic efforts and will give very real strategic advantages.
Relations with the USA also continue to slowly improve. Our goal here is to sign a commercial agreement to aid us in accessing their vast gold reserves.
As usual the governments of Switzerland and the Papal States continue to stonewall our efforts at passage rights through their country. Our efforts in this regard will continue next year.
Not previously mentioned was the fact that several years ago we made diplomatic overtures to our Italian brother states regarding the grand project of a unifyed Italy. All have since signed up to the principle of unification (i.e. I played the unification decisions on their capital provinces until they agreed to unification. This is the 2nd way to unify Italy minus the Austrian controlled provinces but does allow you to keep Savoire and Alpes-Maritime rather than ceding them to the French)
The treaty of Plombiere is signed in early September
In conjunction with this event our relations with Austria turn hostile (-17 to -39) and our defensive alliance with France is reaffirmed (In reality this event would give you a defensive alliance with France if you hadn’t managed to already get one through normal diplomatic means)
I Army will move out of its barracks in Piedmont and deploy along the Austrian border in the hopes of provoking a diplomatic crises with Austria. The next year could be critical for our nation (although in all likelihood the Austrian AI will not attack)!
Diplomatic relations
We suffer an insurrection in Alpes-Maratime (even though the people are happy and the revolt risk is zero.)
Elsewhere in the world there is no resolution to the conflict between Persia and Afghanistan and the slaughter in China continues. In the USA there are signs of trouble as loyalty to the US declines in its southern states.
In Tunisia it looks like a French attempt to grab the country has been repulsed for the time being.
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to ?
The war here has heated up considerably in the last 6 months as we lose 4000 men to roughly 10000 of the enemy in a series of engagements.
The situation in the North
We have gained military control of Berbera and Ogaden and started building fortifications to hold them from enemy incursions. We have also built mission stations (each colonial structure allows you to supply 3 elements for free). In addition Ogaden has started work on a depot and Berbera has started construction of an anchorage.
The main Majerteyn army has moved to besiege Ogaden whilst a small detachment of fighters is besieging Berbera. General Fanti (recently reinforced with a new Colonial brigade and field hospital) will sortie this turn in an attempt to clear the besieging forces from both locations. The battle weary 1st Brigata will remain in Berbea to lick its wounds and take on replacements.
Further south a brigade of marines and a light cavalry regiment will move north up the coast in an attempt to secure Busaso (the last Majerteyn province)
The situation in the South
We were able to secure military control of Hoboyo and Baidoa. Again fortifications are being constructed together with mission stations. These two provinces are particularly valuable as they provide a shield to our main base in the area Mogadishu.
In Mogadishu itself we have constructed a railroad and are now getting production from our Opium farm (basically we become the world’s first drug cartel as no one else is selling Opium) Mogadishu is also extending its depot (to level 2).
Early skirmishes
Mogadishu August
Hoboyo August
After chasing the native army around for several months general Franti finally corners the enemy in Ogaden (September)
In late November (he was inactive for 3 turns) he tries to eliminate his enemy at Berbea
After this bloody encounter with the Majerteyn who seem to have an inexhaustible supply of replacements another battle occurs in Berbea in December
General Fanti’s column is now severely fatigued from marching through the desert and several bloody battles and suddenly looks vulnerable to a shattering defeat. Luckily reinforcements arrive by sea into Berbea which should allow him to prosecute his campaign.
Economy
In November we increased our excise and corporate taxes to 50% and 8% respectively in attempt to meet the increasing costs of our armed forces and research.
The increased funding for Muzzle Loading rifles is having an affect (currently at 76%)
We started the construction of the following:
- Luxury goods shop in Sardinia (July)
- Steel Mill in Alessandria (October)
- Merchant Fleet
- Shipbuilding completed in La Spezia (July)
- Railroad completed in Mogadishu (October)
- Iron extraction completed (Alessandria)
- Merchant fleet sent to North Baltic
- 20 Food
- 16 Common Goods
- 11 Luxuries
Our population breakdown is
- Peasants 57%
- Workers 26%
- Middle class 12%
- Upper class 3%
- Aristocrats 2%
Inorganic
To give an example of how much we are buying and selling in a turn
We in the main will avoid buying any goods from the major powers and will usually attempt to buy goods from South Italy (see this money as being invested for the future), Mexico and Brazil and other minor nations in South America.
During this period we have sufficient gold and gems to enable us to convert them to state funds in November.
Military
We have added
- Fortress artillery (Alessandria)
- Merchant and Naval ship replacements
- Infantry replacements x 2
- Colonial brigade
- Transport Squadron
- Garrison (Alessandria)
Piedmont completes the expansion of its depot to level 3. Alessandria expands its depot to level 2 and starts expansion to level 3. La Spezia completes a level 3 fort.
Colonisation
- Trading posts are opened in Tourane(Silk);Pleiko(Rice);Dongquai(Sugar);Hobyo(no resource but provides free supply for 3 combat elements)
- A natural society and geographic society expedition are completed in Tripoli. (175 prestige)
- Previously mentioned colonial structures in Somalia
Prestige
We have managed to move from 13th to 12th in prestige. Our first goal will be to overhaul Japan. So far this period we have closed the gap on them to just 350 points.
1859 January to June
Diplomacy
Tensions with Austria ratchet upwards in this period as Cavour incites Italian nationalists in Lombardy and Venezia to revolt. Austria now publicly states she has a Casus Belli against us.
The army is put on a war footing and I Army takes up positions in Alessandria. The big question now is will Austria pull the trigger?
In March in a show of Italian solidarity the Papal State finally drops their objections to passage rights for our armies. We can now march overland to any point in Italy and more importantly can march into Venezia through either Parma or the Papal State.
Switzerland still refuses any thoughts of a similar agreement despite increasingly friendly relations. We will continue are endeavours in this area.
In May King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies dies.
Dalmatia is added to our list of future objectives.
This period also sees increasingly warm relations with Britain and a thawing of relations with the USA. The US continues to refuse our offers of a commercial agreement again we will pursue this in the next half of the year mainly in an attempt to secure our supply of gold which they are certainly not short of.
We also reach a tentative hand out to Prussia without much success.
The Sheewa (Ethiopia) declare war on us.
Elsewhere Spain formally declares war on Morocco and the nation state of Rumania is formed.
Tensions mount between the USA and Brazil
Military
The current military situation and formations in Italy
I Army
II Army
Alessandria Garrison
Austrian Army
Our current war plan for dealing with Austria remains unchanged.
On the advent of hostilities I Army will fall back on Piedmont where it will rendezvous with French reinforcements moving to the front (in theory). It is hoped this withdrawal will lure the Austrian army based in Venezia forward to attack towards Alessandria.
The garrison in Alessandria has been significantly strengthened and its fortifications modernised (level 3 industrial fort). It is hoped that the city can be held but if not it should require time and casualties to reduce it.
Once the Austrian army has been detected moving forward (there are balloon units based in both Alessandria and Parma to provide warnings of enemy movements in Lombardy and Venezia) II Army will move from Liguria through Parma to Venezia primarily to cut off the enemy from its supplies and interdict any reinforcements (a detachment from this army will then move to Trent to completely isolate the Austrians). It is hoped that the Austrian force can be cut off from its supplies and then eliminated with minimum casualties.
Once this army has been removed our forces will attempt the liberation of Lombardy and Venezia.
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to June 1859
The war here has been wound up in all but name (we have not yet signed a formal peace treaty). Every enemy province has been occupied and the enemy army has taken refuge in neighbouring Shewa (Ethiopia).
The last major battles occurred in Ogadon against the main enemy army.
This is followed by a rebellion in Baidoa and the surrounding provinces
This rebellion is swiftly put down.
For his part in the war General Fanti has been promoted to a 3* general.
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
Rather unexpectedly the Sheewa declare war on us promptly followed by a series of attacks on our forward depot in Ogadon
It has yet to be decided whether we will fully prosecute this war and extend our holdings or seek a swift resolution until the prospect of a major European confrontation has blown over.
We have added
Alessandria expands its depot to level 3
Economy
We reduced our Tariffs to 19%
We are on the verge of understanding Muzzle Loading rifles (currently at 91%)
We started the construction of the following:
Our population breakdown is
Inorganic
Our coal mine in Tuscany has been closed down by industrial action since April with no signs when it will be reopened. We press ahead with more educational reforms in May
Colonisation
Prestige
We have maintained our prestige ranking this time around and are slowly shrinking the gap with Japan. Japan's prestige grows at roughly 14 per turn while ours is usually 16 per turn. During the next period several colonial missions should complete and it is hoped that we will substantially narrow the gap.
Tensions with Austria ratchet upwards in this period as Cavour incites Italian nationalists in Lombardy and Venezia to revolt. Austria now publicly states she has a Casus Belli against us.
The army is put on a war footing and I Army takes up positions in Alessandria. The big question now is will Austria pull the trigger?
In March in a show of Italian solidarity the Papal State finally drops their objections to passage rights for our armies. We can now march overland to any point in Italy and more importantly can march into Venezia through either Parma or the Papal State.
Switzerland still refuses any thoughts of a similar agreement despite increasingly friendly relations. We will continue are endeavours in this area.
In May King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies dies.
Dalmatia is added to our list of future objectives.
This period also sees increasingly warm relations with Britain and a thawing of relations with the USA. The US continues to refuse our offers of a commercial agreement again we will pursue this in the next half of the year mainly in an attempt to secure our supply of gold which they are certainly not short of.
We also reach a tentative hand out to Prussia without much success.
The Sheewa (Ethiopia) declare war on us.
Elsewhere Spain formally declares war on Morocco and the nation state of Rumania is formed.
Tensions mount between the USA and Brazil
Military
The current military situation and formations in Italy
I Army
II Army
Alessandria Garrison
Austrian Army
Our current war plan for dealing with Austria remains unchanged.
On the advent of hostilities I Army will fall back on Piedmont where it will rendezvous with French reinforcements moving to the front (in theory). It is hoped this withdrawal will lure the Austrian army based in Venezia forward to attack towards Alessandria.
The garrison in Alessandria has been significantly strengthened and its fortifications modernised (level 3 industrial fort). It is hoped that the city can be held but if not it should require time and casualties to reduce it.
Once the Austrian army has been detected moving forward (there are balloon units based in both Alessandria and Parma to provide warnings of enemy movements in Lombardy and Venezia) II Army will move from Liguria through Parma to Venezia primarily to cut off the enemy from its supplies and interdict any reinforcements (a detachment from this army will then move to Trent to completely isolate the Austrians). It is hoped that the Austrian force can be cut off from its supplies and then eliminated with minimum casualties.
Once this army has been removed our forces will attempt the liberation of Lombardy and Venezia.
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to June 1859
The war here has been wound up in all but name (we have not yet signed a formal peace treaty). Every enemy province has been occupied and the enemy army has taken refuge in neighbouring Shewa (Ethiopia).
The last major battles occurred in Ogadon against the main enemy army.
This is followed by a rebellion in Baidoa and the surrounding provinces
This rebellion is swiftly put down.
For his part in the war General Fanti has been promoted to a 3* general.
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
Rather unexpectedly the Sheewa declare war on us promptly followed by a series of attacks on our forward depot in Ogadon
It has yet to be decided whether we will fully prosecute this war and extend our holdings or seek a swift resolution until the prospect of a major European confrontation has blown over.
We have added
- Merchant and naval ship replacements
- Infantry replacements x 3 (Mainly to cover our war losses)
- Observation Balloon Unit
- Cavalry replacements (all types)
Alessandria expands its depot to level 3
Economy
We reduced our Tariffs to 19%
We are on the verge of understanding Muzzle Loading rifles (currently at 91%)
We started the construction of the following:
- Luxury goods shop in Alessandria (February)
- Railroad in Nice (April)
- Railroad in Hobyo - Somalia (June)
- Shipbuilding completed in Sardinia (March)
- 20 Food
- 16 Common Goods
- 11 Luxuries
Our population breakdown is
- Peasants 57%
- Workers 26%
- Middle class 12%
- Upper class 3%
- Aristocrats 2%
Inorganic
Our coal mine in Tuscany has been closed down by industrial action since April with no signs when it will be reopened. We press ahead with more educational reforms in May
Colonisation
- A fort and mission are built in Busaso
- A level 1 depot is completed in Mogadishu
- An anchorage is completed in Berbera and an extension ordered
- Anchorages are completed in Busaso and Hyboyo
- We explored the Goba region in Ethiopia
- We completed a depot in Ogaden
- We build a fort and mission in newly acquired Sheewan territory (Harar)
Prestige
We have maintained our prestige ranking this time around and are slowly shrinking the gap with Japan. Japan's prestige grows at roughly 14 per turn while ours is usually 16 per turn. During the next period several colonial missions should complete and it is hoped that we will substantially narrow the gap.
1859 July to December
Diplomacy
Despite our recent provocations Austria seems unwilling to resort to the final sanction of war obviously unwilling to provoke France. We remain on full alert in case of an attack as the threat level remains high. In August Alfonso Ferrero La Mamora takes over as prime minister.
The American diplomatic corps has obviously been partaking in the Opium we export them by again refusing our requests for closer economic ties citing the reason that we are a threat to world security! Yes ickle Sardinia-Piedmont has the major powers quaking in their boots.
In November the Americans again take leave of their senses and decide the time is right to begin a civil war. We will take a pragmatic (read mercenary) approach to the conflict continuing our efforts to secure a commercial agreement with the North to enable our companies to exploit the new gold deposits
whilst trading goods with the South.
Elsewhere Spain continues to try and bring Morocco under its heel and French forces again clash unofficially with Tunisia. China continues to produce a sea of blood in its own civil war and the very low key Persian - Afghan war rumbles on.
Military
In September we design and begin mass producing a muzzle loading rifle able to use the new Minie ball. Soon afterwards all our military formations begin the process of upgrading to the new weaponry.
** In game terms we use replacements from the pool to upgrade our existing formations. As my military is obviously fairly small this upgrade process was surprisingly pain free with nearly all formations upgraded after 3 turns or so for the loss of perhaps 5 replacement points I had already stockpiled. My military score has significantly increased and my colonial formations have roughly double the power rating they had before
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to June 1859
Forces loyal to the exiled Majerteyn chief appear from the interior to besiege our newly acquired outpost in Harar (captured previously from the Sheewa). Our relief columns find it extraordinarily difficult to march through the mountain passes.
Eventually in December General Fanti leading the 1st Brigata takes advantage of a break in the weather to cross the mountains unfortunately the main Majerteyn force yet again manages to slip away.
** In game terms I have acquired full military control of all the Majerteyn provinces and despite having a war score in the 70s I cannot claim any provinces from them. The only peace options available are to disband a portion of their army and ask for reparations (£1 a year maximum). As signing peace will mean I will lose all military control I will stay officially at war and keep de facto control of the area already secured (I do not appear to be suffering any noticeable war weariness). I will try to officially claim these provinces as a protectorate when the option becomes available after unification (I hope!). I have not been able to destroy the main enemy regular force despite several engagements and inflicting many hits on them. They have just been evicted from Harar and disappeared from sight but no doubt it will turn up again to harass me. So far no other powers have shown any interest in this region so hopefully I can unify and claim it before they pull the rug out from under me.
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
Since the initial confrontations in May and June we have not seen hide nor hair of their army. With General Fanti’s march to relieve Harer we have gained military control of that province. Using reports from newly arrived traders in Goba we are able to build a fort and a mission station.
** In game terms you can’t build a fort until you have at least 10 points of colonial penetration therefore in Goba I had to wait 7 turns or so for a newly placed trader before I could secure the province with a fort.
Our explorers continue to probe the extent of the lands controlled by the Sheewa and have discovered the province of Negele
The extent of our holdings
We have added
Economy
We will be tweaking our current economic policy in the next period. We will move away from internal industry development and attempt to secure an overseas source of each luxury good.
Currently we have guaranteed production of Opium from Mogadishu. Next we will attempt to build a silk farm in either one of the French provinces with this resource (this will cost about 4x as much as a regular farm due to the provinces being in rough terrain and in foreign control). Once this is done we will hopefully have concluded a commercial agreement with the USA or other gold producing nation to enable us to build a mine.
We reduced our Tariffs to 18%
We completed muzzle loading rifles and have begun sponsoring research into another military technology reserve formations.
We started the construction of the following:
Organic Stockpile
Inorganic
Colonisation
This period has seen a change in how we have been using our merchants. For several years we have been attempting to build trading posts on resources which have high demand tropical fruits, gems, gold, coffee etc in an attempt to provide a steady stream of these goods. We are now back to using them strategically to push forward our colonial penetration into Ethiopia.
In August we complete a geographical study in Hoedeida and a natural history expedition to Lindi.
We are making progress in completing what will hopefully be a rail connection between Mogadishu and Harer passing through our depot in Ogaden. Three quarters of the track has been completed or is building
Prestige
In September we pass a mile stone as we overhaul Japan and move from 12th to 11th in terms of prestige.
Despite our recent provocations Austria seems unwilling to resort to the final sanction of war obviously unwilling to provoke France. We remain on full alert in case of an attack as the threat level remains high. In August Alfonso Ferrero La Mamora takes over as prime minister.
The American diplomatic corps has obviously been partaking in the Opium we export them by again refusing our requests for closer economic ties citing the reason that we are a threat to world security! Yes ickle Sardinia-Piedmont has the major powers quaking in their boots.
In November the Americans again take leave of their senses and decide the time is right to begin a civil war. We will take a pragmatic (read mercenary) approach to the conflict continuing our efforts to secure a commercial agreement with the North to enable our companies to exploit the new gold deposits
whilst trading goods with the South.
Elsewhere Spain continues to try and bring Morocco under its heel and French forces again clash unofficially with Tunisia. China continues to produce a sea of blood in its own civil war and the very low key Persian - Afghan war rumbles on.
Military
In September we design and begin mass producing a muzzle loading rifle able to use the new Minie ball. Soon afterwards all our military formations begin the process of upgrading to the new weaponry.
** In game terms we use replacements from the pool to upgrade our existing formations. As my military is obviously fairly small this upgrade process was surprisingly pain free with nearly all formations upgraded after 3 turns or so for the loss of perhaps 5 replacement points I had already stockpiled. My military score has significantly increased and my colonial formations have roughly double the power rating they had before
Majerteyn War Sept 1857 to June 1859
Forces loyal to the exiled Majerteyn chief appear from the interior to besiege our newly acquired outpost in Harar (captured previously from the Sheewa). Our relief columns find it extraordinarily difficult to march through the mountain passes.
Eventually in December General Fanti leading the 1st Brigata takes advantage of a break in the weather to cross the mountains unfortunately the main Majerteyn force yet again manages to slip away.
** In game terms I have acquired full military control of all the Majerteyn provinces and despite having a war score in the 70s I cannot claim any provinces from them. The only peace options available are to disband a portion of their army and ask for reparations (£1 a year maximum). As signing peace will mean I will lose all military control I will stay officially at war and keep de facto control of the area already secured (I do not appear to be suffering any noticeable war weariness). I will try to officially claim these provinces as a protectorate when the option becomes available after unification (I hope!). I have not been able to destroy the main enemy regular force despite several engagements and inflicting many hits on them. They have just been evicted from Harar and disappeared from sight but no doubt it will turn up again to harass me. So far no other powers have shown any interest in this region so hopefully I can unify and claim it before they pull the rug out from under me.
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
Since the initial confrontations in May and June we have not seen hide nor hair of their army. With General Fanti’s march to relieve Harer we have gained military control of that province. Using reports from newly arrived traders in Goba we are able to build a fort and a mission station.
** In game terms you can’t build a fort until you have at least 10 points of colonial penetration therefore in Goba I had to wait 7 turns or so for a newly placed trader before I could secure the province with a fort.
Our explorers continue to probe the extent of the lands controlled by the Sheewa and have discovered the province of Negele
The extent of our holdings
We have added
- Field artillery regiment
- A garrison unit in Alessandria
- A garrison unit in La Spezia
- A coastal artillery gun battery for La Spezia
- Supply Wagon
- 1 x Cavalry; 1 x Elite Infantry, 1 x Line Infantry replacements
Economy
We will be tweaking our current economic policy in the next period. We will move away from internal industry development and attempt to secure an overseas source of each luxury good.
Currently we have guaranteed production of Opium from Mogadishu. Next we will attempt to build a silk farm in either one of the French provinces with this resource (this will cost about 4x as much as a regular farm due to the provinces being in rough terrain and in foreign control). Once this is done we will hopefully have concluded a commercial agreement with the USA or other gold producing nation to enable us to build a mine.
We reduced our Tariffs to 18%
We completed muzzle loading rifles and have begun sponsoring research into another military technology reserve formations.
We started the construction of the following:
- Coal mine in North West - Great Britain (July)
- Shipbuilding in Alpes-Maritime (October)
- Railroad in Ogaden - Somalia (November)
- Luxury Goods shop completed in Sardinia (July)
- Steel building completed in Alessandria (October)
- 20 Food
- 17 Common Goods (+1)
- 11 Luxuries
Organic Stockpile
Inorganic
Colonisation
This period has seen a change in how we have been using our merchants. For several years we have been attempting to build trading posts on resources which have high demand tropical fruits, gems, gold, coffee etc in an attempt to provide a steady stream of these goods. We are now back to using them strategically to push forward our colonial penetration into Ethiopia.
In August we complete a geographical study in Hoedeida and a natural history expedition to Lindi.
We are making progress in completing what will hopefully be a rail connection between Mogadishu and Harer passing through our depot in Ogaden. Three quarters of the track has been completed or is building
- Fort in Ogaden completed (October)
- Mission station in Harer is completed (October)
- A level 2 depot is completed in Ogaden (November) and an extension is ordered.
- Fort in Berbera is completed (December)
Prestige
In September we pass a mile stone as we overhaul Japan and move from 12th to 11th in terms of prestige.
1860 January to June
Diplomacy
The new decade starts as the old one finished, waiting for our Austrian chums across the border to man up and declare war. If our intelligence can be believed the size of the main Austrian force in Venezia has more than halved so either the Austrians are preparing a devastatingly clever trap or they are not mobilising for war.
In February Carvour is reelected as prime minister and in June Garibaldi lands in Sicily giving us a Casus Belli on our ally.
With all this going on hawks talk of liberating Tirana from the dangerous revolutionaries currently controlling the city. Plans are underway to recruit a marine division with the express intention of bringing enlightenment to this benighted part of the world.
Our single diplomatic breakthrough this period consists of securing a commercial treaty with Mexico. The USA, Brazil and Chile all refuse similar requests.
The USA captures the Confederate capital Richmond in February and makes progress down the Mississippi river. Things are looking grim for the Confederacy
The Spanish have all but conquered Morocco and the Chinese civil war continues.
Great Britain declares Singapore as a colony
Military
We are funding new research into 2 military areas Breech Loading Rifles and Reserve Formations. This research is proving to be a heavy drain on the national coffers and a decision will need to be made later on in the year about which avenue to pursue.
Our shipyards produce 3 transport and 1 light naval replacement. Also private investors donate a flotilla of merchant steamers to the government.
** In game terms some of our excess transport replacements are automatically converted into a merchant steamer.
In January our marine brigade sails from Mogadishu to lead a punitive expedition against rebels in Mombasa. The city is quickly captured and the outlying province with its dye mine is secured. A garrison brigade sails from Liguria to secure the city while the Marines sail back to garrison Mogadishu
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
One of our brigade’s advances into Negele and by April has gained military control of the province. Unfortunately this has left Goba vulnerable to attack. In late April a Sheewan force arrives and manages to surprise the garrison of the fort. In the ensuring slaughter our fort and mission station are razed and control of the province is lost.
** In game terms the Sheewan force appeared one turn and destroyed the fort the next. Unlike on other occasions there was no notification that fort was under siege or the garrison had been mustered. I’m not sure if this is WAD and a fort can fall to a surprise attack or a bug where the garrison was not triggered. Unfortunately this defeat also cost me a National Morale point
Sending a relief force to Goba has encountered similar problems to those we experienced in Harer. The mountain passes are continuously closed by snow and our forces suffer many casualties from exposure and exhaustion. General Fanti the hero of Harer is marshalling a force in neighbouring Ogaden in an attempt to reclaim the province and restore national pride.
** In game terms Goba is a mountainous province which has very harsh weather for many consecutive turns making it impossible to march a force there without it losing all its cohesion. Hopefully the weather will break and the force from Ogaden will be able to reclaim the province. I am finding it very tricky to take these mountainous provinces without any leaders or units with the mountain special ability.
We have added
Economy
Alessandria’s population increases from 5 to 6 and Sardinia’s population also increases from 4 to 5.
In February we convert gold and gems to state funds and use the resulting funds to help improve our education system.
The turn of the decade sees a flurry of new thinking and innovations
We learn how to harness the following technologies
Organic Stockpile
Inorganic
The strike in Tuscany is over and we regain production from our coal mine there.
Colonisation
Not a lot has changed over the period. We continue to try and hold the gains we have already made.
In February we complete a natural history and ethnographic survey of Zanzibar (+125 prestige)
In April we explored the province Garissa and gained military control of Negele
Prestige
Thanks to various colonial endeavours we significantly close the gap on our next objective Prussia
The new decade starts as the old one finished, waiting for our Austrian chums across the border to man up and declare war. If our intelligence can be believed the size of the main Austrian force in Venezia has more than halved so either the Austrians are preparing a devastatingly clever trap or they are not mobilising for war.
In February Carvour is reelected as prime minister and in June Garibaldi lands in Sicily giving us a Casus Belli on our ally.
With all this going on hawks talk of liberating Tirana from the dangerous revolutionaries currently controlling the city. Plans are underway to recruit a marine division with the express intention of bringing enlightenment to this benighted part of the world.
Our single diplomatic breakthrough this period consists of securing a commercial treaty with Mexico. The USA, Brazil and Chile all refuse similar requests.
The USA captures the Confederate capital Richmond in February and makes progress down the Mississippi river. Things are looking grim for the Confederacy
The Spanish have all but conquered Morocco and the Chinese civil war continues.
Great Britain declares Singapore as a colony
Military
We are funding new research into 2 military areas Breech Loading Rifles and Reserve Formations. This research is proving to be a heavy drain on the national coffers and a decision will need to be made later on in the year about which avenue to pursue.
Our shipyards produce 3 transport and 1 light naval replacement. Also private investors donate a flotilla of merchant steamers to the government.
** In game terms some of our excess transport replacements are automatically converted into a merchant steamer.
In January our marine brigade sails from Mogadishu to lead a punitive expedition against rebels in Mombasa. The city is quickly captured and the outlying province with its dye mine is secured. A garrison brigade sails from Liguria to secure the city while the Marines sail back to garrison Mogadishu
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
One of our brigade’s advances into Negele and by April has gained military control of the province. Unfortunately this has left Goba vulnerable to attack. In late April a Sheewan force arrives and manages to surprise the garrison of the fort. In the ensuring slaughter our fort and mission station are razed and control of the province is lost.
** In game terms the Sheewan force appeared one turn and destroyed the fort the next. Unlike on other occasions there was no notification that fort was under siege or the garrison had been mustered. I’m not sure if this is WAD and a fort can fall to a surprise attack or a bug where the garrison was not triggered. Unfortunately this defeat also cost me a National Morale point
Sending a relief force to Goba has encountered similar problems to those we experienced in Harer. The mountain passes are continuously closed by snow and our forces suffer many casualties from exposure and exhaustion. General Fanti the hero of Harer is marshalling a force in neighbouring Ogaden in an attempt to reclaim the province and restore national pride.
** In game terms Goba is a mountainous province which has very harsh weather for many consecutive turns making it impossible to march a force there without it losing all its cohesion. Hopefully the weather will break and the force from Ogaden will be able to reclaim the province. I am finding it very tricky to take these mountainous provinces without any leaders or units with the mountain special ability.
We have added
- Expedition brigade
- 1 x Supply; 2 x Cavalry replacement
Economy
Alessandria’s population increases from 5 to 6 and Sardinia’s population also increases from 4 to 5.
In February we convert gold and gems to state funds and use the resulting funds to help improve our education system.
The turn of the decade sees a flurry of new thinking and innovations
We learn how to harness the following technologies
- Agrochemical Synthesis - (Improved chemical production efficiency)
- Gun turret theory - (Leads to Basic Gun Turrets)
- Coal cutting machines - (Allows us to build improved coal mines)
- Artificial fertilisers
- Sieman-Martins process
- 4 Stroke engines
- Pipelines
- Hospital Ships
- Integration of marine engineers into navy rank structure
- Teaching steam engineering in naval academies
- Industrialised silk production
- Hard rock mining
- Ore extraction processes
- Structural steel
- Breech loading rifles
- Iron muzzle loaded artillery
- Military staff system
- Professionalism
- Basic Gun turrets
- Railroad in Harer – Ethiopia (January)
- Silk farm - Marsaille (June)
- Coal mine in North West - Great Britain (January)
- Luxury goods shop – Alessandria (February)
- Railroad Alpes-Maritime (April)
- Commerce steamer (replaced merchant fleet in the Mediterranean which then moved to the Atlantic trade box)
- Railroad Hybyo (June)
Organic Stockpile
Inorganic
The strike in Tuscany is over and we regain production from our coal mine there.
Colonisation
Not a lot has changed over the period. We continue to try and hold the gains we have already made.
In February we complete a natural history and ethnographic survey of Zanzibar (+125 prestige)
In April we explored the province Garissa and gained military control of Negele
- Fort in Busaso completed (January)
- Trade post completed in Markos (March)
- Mission in Goba complete (April)
- Level 3 depot complete Ogaden (May)
Prestige
Thanks to various colonial endeavours we significantly close the gap on our next objective Prussia
1860 July to December
Diplomacy
We conclude several important commercial deals with our trading partners in the Americas. The USA, Brazil and Columbia all sign commercial agreements which should give us preferential treatment in acquiring the rare goods these countries have in abundance. This is on top of the commercial agreement we signed with Mexico at the beginning of the year. In 1861 we will attempt to tie up similar agreements with the remaining main South American powers Chile and Argentina.
Repeated attempts to improve our relationship with Great Britain have mixed results. We commit ourselves to supporting them in an international crisis whilst they spurn any attempt for closer ties by rejecting our proposals for a state visit.
Austria makes no threatening moves in this period. It is felt that Austria must some how have gotten wind of the secret deal between Prime Minister Cavour and Emperor Napoleon III promising French support for Italian unification and will thus not spring our carefully laid trap. Our prospects for recovering the provinces of Venezia and Lombardy in the short term look bleak.
In Sicily Garibaldi has totally breached the defenses of Messina it looks like it is only a matter of time before it falls
** In game terms I have no idea what this means for the unification process if he is successful in taking Southern Italy but basing it on Loki’s AAR where Gary goes rogue it potentially is not good news.
In an attempt to influence and improve global opinion we lower our Tariff rate from 18% to 10%.
Morocco signs a peace accord with Spain ceding the provinces of Rabat and Tangiers.
There appears to be a very fluid war of movement occurring in America where Confederate forces appear to have reached the Canadian border whilst US forces have sliced the Confederacy into pieces with their armies reaching the Gulf of Mexico. All in all though it looks like the Confederacy will be consigned to the rubbish bin of history in fairly short order.
The Taipang uprising in China continues unabated.
Military
In August we drop our state funding for the research into Reserve Formations and decide to focus our efforts on Breech Loading Rifles as we simply cannot sustain 2 research projects at this time. We believe this branch of research gives us the maximum return on our investment and should give our armed forces a significant advantage over our enemies in the medium term.
In November Sardinian Marines under the command of General Filberto Mollard land in Tirana and quickly take control of the port. However after a standoff with local Ottoman forces on their own mission to reclaim the province General Mollard decides discretion is the better part of valor and re-embarks his landing force.
** In game terms I was hoping to seize this objective province from the rebels thinking that control would pass to me. Control of Tirana was accomplished but then it immediately reverted to Ottoman control. I’m not sure if there was already an Ottoman force in the province which I could not see or this is WAD. This differs to my experience in Mombasa which reverted to my control after the rebels were evicted.
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
The war does not progress well with the loss of the provinces of Goba (August) and Negele (November). It is not so much the enemy as the terrain (and weather) which is proving difficult to overcome.
In August our first attempt to recapture the province of Goba ends in humiliating retreat as the enemy warriors easily defeat our rain soaked and demoralised troops.
** In game terms our force from Ogaden took 2 game turns to arrive in the province (mainly due I think to the weather which was rain) at which point our cohesion was pretty much shot. In a close fought stalemate (about 1000 casualties a piece) we were forced to retreat probably decided by the lack of cohesion.
In December the weather finally clears up and we are able to advance from Ogaden and chase the enemy from Goba (the enemy retreated without a battle). With the removal of the enemy we start to rebuild our position here by constructing a new fort and a mission station. Our marine brigade moves in to garrison the province whilst the Colonial Brigade led by General Fanti plans to move on to Negele taking advantage of the favourable weather conditions.
** In game terms the recent reversals have been my fault. I had not garrisoned the newly acquired provinces with combat units before moving on allowing the enemy back in. Instead I relied solely on the forts I had constructed. Both forts constructed in Goba surrendered after a couple of turns and I was unable to relieve them because of the terrain and weather. In future I intend to provide garrisons for provinces facing enemy territory and to that end have constructed (-ing) several Expedition brigades which are currently being transported to Africa. I will use the 2 larger colonial brigades and the marine brigade I have as offensive forces. I did start this war as a learning experience which is certainly proving to be the case.
We have built the following military units:
Economy
In November we convert Gems and Gold to state funds.
With the lowering of our tariff rate our internal demand for goods dropped to 19 Food; 16 Common Goods and 10 Luxury Goods. In August the demand for food picked up slightly from (19 to 20). We were successful in fully meeting this demand over the period.
With the introduction of coal cutting machines we have for the first time produced a (small) surplus of coal. As demand for coal rises through our ongoing industrial expansion we will upgrade our other coal sites as required.
The improved coal mining technology requires extra machine parts. We will build another machine parts factory in the coming year to meet this demand.
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
In August our scientific exploits bear fruit again as we complete a natural history and anthropological survey of Dijubti. In addition our intrepid explorers bring back maps of the Wajin region.
We have completed three quarters of the proposed Mogadishu-Harer railway. The last piece of this rail link is due for completion in January 1861.
Our colonial interests
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
In August our prestige passes 4000 points and we also move from 11th to 10th in the list of prestigious nations (The previous occupier of 10th position must be a minor nation as they do not show up on the score rankings). We have nearly halved the deficit to Prussia who are in 9th position.
We conclude several important commercial deals with our trading partners in the Americas. The USA, Brazil and Columbia all sign commercial agreements which should give us preferential treatment in acquiring the rare goods these countries have in abundance. This is on top of the commercial agreement we signed with Mexico at the beginning of the year. In 1861 we will attempt to tie up similar agreements with the remaining main South American powers Chile and Argentina.
Repeated attempts to improve our relationship with Great Britain have mixed results. We commit ourselves to supporting them in an international crisis whilst they spurn any attempt for closer ties by rejecting our proposals for a state visit.
Austria makes no threatening moves in this period. It is felt that Austria must some how have gotten wind of the secret deal between Prime Minister Cavour and Emperor Napoleon III promising French support for Italian unification and will thus not spring our carefully laid trap. Our prospects for recovering the provinces of Venezia and Lombardy in the short term look bleak.
In Sicily Garibaldi has totally breached the defenses of Messina it looks like it is only a matter of time before it falls
** In game terms I have no idea what this means for the unification process if he is successful in taking Southern Italy but basing it on Loki’s AAR where Gary goes rogue it potentially is not good news.
In an attempt to influence and improve global opinion we lower our Tariff rate from 18% to 10%.
Morocco signs a peace accord with Spain ceding the provinces of Rabat and Tangiers.
There appears to be a very fluid war of movement occurring in America where Confederate forces appear to have reached the Canadian border whilst US forces have sliced the Confederacy into pieces with their armies reaching the Gulf of Mexico. All in all though it looks like the Confederacy will be consigned to the rubbish bin of history in fairly short order.
The Taipang uprising in China continues unabated.
Military
In August we drop our state funding for the research into Reserve Formations and decide to focus our efforts on Breech Loading Rifles as we simply cannot sustain 2 research projects at this time. We believe this branch of research gives us the maximum return on our investment and should give our armed forces a significant advantage over our enemies in the medium term.
In November Sardinian Marines under the command of General Filberto Mollard land in Tirana and quickly take control of the port. However after a standoff with local Ottoman forces on their own mission to reclaim the province General Mollard decides discretion is the better part of valor and re-embarks his landing force.
** In game terms I was hoping to seize this objective province from the rebels thinking that control would pass to me. Control of Tirana was accomplished but then it immediately reverted to Ottoman control. I’m not sure if there was already an Ottoman force in the province which I could not see or this is WAD. This differs to my experience in Mombasa which reverted to my control after the rebels were evicted.
Sheewa War May 1859 to ?
The war does not progress well with the loss of the provinces of Goba (August) and Negele (November). It is not so much the enemy as the terrain (and weather) which is proving difficult to overcome.
In August our first attempt to recapture the province of Goba ends in humiliating retreat as the enemy warriors easily defeat our rain soaked and demoralised troops.
** In game terms our force from Ogaden took 2 game turns to arrive in the province (mainly due I think to the weather which was rain) at which point our cohesion was pretty much shot. In a close fought stalemate (about 1000 casualties a piece) we were forced to retreat probably decided by the lack of cohesion.
In December the weather finally clears up and we are able to advance from Ogaden and chase the enemy from Goba (the enemy retreated without a battle). With the removal of the enemy we start to rebuild our position here by constructing a new fort and a mission station. Our marine brigade moves in to garrison the province whilst the Colonial Brigade led by General Fanti plans to move on to Negele taking advantage of the favourable weather conditions.
** In game terms the recent reversals have been my fault. I had not garrisoned the newly acquired provinces with combat units before moving on allowing the enemy back in. Instead I relied solely on the forts I had constructed. Both forts constructed in Goba surrendered after a couple of turns and I was unable to relieve them because of the terrain and weather. In future I intend to provide garrisons for provinces facing enemy territory and to that end have constructed (-ing) several Expedition brigades which are currently being transported to Africa. I will use the 2 larger colonial brigades and the marine brigade I have as offensive forces. I did start this war as a learning experience which is certainly proving to be the case.
We have built the following military units:
- 4 x transport; 1 x Light Warship; 1 x Line Infantry ; 1 x Cavalry replacements
- A marine division
- 3 x Expedition brigades
Economy
In November we convert Gems and Gold to state funds.
With the lowering of our tariff rate our internal demand for goods dropped to 19 Food; 16 Common Goods and 10 Luxury Goods. In August the demand for food picked up slightly from (19 to 20). We were successful in fully meeting this demand over the period.
With the introduction of coal cutting machines we have for the first time produced a (small) surplus of coal. As demand for coal rises through our ongoing industrial expansion we will upgrade our other coal sites as required.
The improved coal mining technology requires extra machine parts. We will build another machine parts factory in the coming year to meet this demand.
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
- Mine Warfare
- Air Brake
- First Trade Union Conference
- Coffee field - Harer (July)
- Railroad - Mombasa (September)
- Coffee field - Mombasa (December)
- Upgraded the coal extraction site in Bourgogne (France) to a coal pit - (August)
- Upgraded the coal extraction site in Tuscany to a coal pit - (September)
- Shipyard in Alpes-Maritime (October)
- Railroad in Ogaden
In August our scientific exploits bear fruit again as we complete a natural history and anthropological survey of Dijubti. In addition our intrepid explorers bring back maps of the Wajin region.
We have completed three quarters of the proposed Mogadishu-Harer railway. The last piece of this rail link is due for completion in January 1861.
Our colonial interests
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Mission in Kismayu (August)
- Anchorage in Mombasa (September)
Prestige
In August our prestige passes 4000 points and we also move from 11th to 10th in the list of prestigious nations (The previous occupier of 10th position must be a minor nation as they do not show up on the score rankings). We have nearly halved the deficit to Prussia who are in 9th position.
1861 January to June
Diplomacy
Our goal here was to tie up commercial agreements with Argentina and Chile whilst boosting relations with both the US and Great Britain however our diplomats reverted to type and failed to secure a single agreement. In fact the only diplomatic action of note is that the Swiss approached us for the first time asking for a State Visit which we promptly accepted.
In January there was more bad news as it was announced by the Ministry for Commerce that we had failed to achieve our production targets for luxury goods and wines. The Ministry for Defence also announced that its improbable goal of making the army the largest in the world had not been successful.
** In game terms we failed both of our missions to produce the largest amount of luxury goods (and wines) and to have the largest army. I don’t think either mission is really possible as Sardinia-Piedmont in the first decade of the game. I made a go for the Luxury and wine mission by expanding all the fruit resources to produce wine and had built all but 2 of the luxury goods factories in the pool. Perhaps if this mission appears again for the 1860’s there is a chance I might come closer to achieving it. As of June no more missions have appeared. I am assuming that new missions will be available from 1862.
In New Zealand
Elsewhere the American civil war continues with the Confederacy showing an unexpected resiliency and the war in China rumbles on.
Military
As it looks like the clauses of the treaty Plombieres to hand over Alpes-Maritime and Savoire to France in return for Lombardy and Venezia will never be activated we begin a low level fortification program with the intended aim of securing our western border and to provide a basic defence against rebels.
In February Swiss forces finally move against the rebels who have been occupying their southern provinces for several years. In the course of these operations a rebel militia division is forced over the border and is quickly destroyed by our I Army quartered in Alessandria. The commander of this force General Ferdinado Di Savoia is congratulated for his victory (his seniority increases to 9)
In March Garibaldi captures Sicily with his “Expedition of the Thousand”. After this triumph he remains strangely inactive. This inactivity is perplexing considering the Straits of Messina are not defended and he comfortably outnumbers the Neapolitan army.
In May our colonial naval squadron based in Mogadishu moves north to sweep the Red Sea of reported pirates. Whilst there are sightings we are not able to bring any to action.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
Current Situation
In January General Fanti recaptures Negele without a fight as the Sheewan occupying force retreats northwards into their mountain fastness. In March we start construction of a fort. General Fanti awaits the reinforcements on board ship to Mogadishu to secure the province before considering his next move.
In April a mixed expedition brigade enters Bonga and starts the process of pacifying the province. This is completed by May and we start the construction of a mission station and a fort.
In May the Sheewans move into action and attempt 2 attacks on our position in Harer both of which are repulsed.
General Fanti also moves out from Negele with a brigade of troops in the hope of capturing the mountainous province of Asella. Unfortunately as our troops eventually cross the mountains into Asella they are yet again reminded of the enemy’s prowess in these high valleys and forced to retreat.
General Fanti’s Doomed March
** In game terms this is another example where it took 3 turns to arrive in the province after which the force was easy pickings as its cohesion had collapsed. The Sheewan’s have 2 remaining provinces both mountainous. I am not sure I am going to be able to evict them and have to hope they will destroy themselves in attacks to reclaim their provinces. I will continue to probe here but in all likelihood I will have to wait until I posses specialist mountain troops of my own.
We have built the following military units:
Economy
After more industrial unrest in Tuscany which sees production fall at our coal mine to 25% and our surplus coal production move to a deficit we decide to upgrade our remaining two coal sites to coal pits. With these in place we now produce a significant surplus of coal.
With the introduction of these new coal mining techniques we are suddenly facing a shortage of mechanical parts. To rectify this we start construction of a second mechanical parts factory in La Spezia
We also take action to deal with our large deficit in wood mainly caused by high demand for this resource in our luxury good factories. With all 4 domestic resources in production and no other wood resources in the Italian peninsular we look to Great Britain and France to resolve this imbalance.
In January we pass another reform to our constitution by passing a bill on Referendum and Plebiscites (lowers militancy and increases contentment).
In March we start building telecoms networks in Sardinia and La Spezia which when complete should boost population and development levels in these provinces.
In April we convert more of our gold and gems to state funds to cover the costs of the recent constitutional change and military spending.
At the end of this period our internal market had grown. Demand for food increased from 19 to 21; common goods from 16 to 18 and luxury goods from 11 to 12. We were able to meet this internal demand fully over this 6 month period. Our contentment level remained high at 99% whilst our average militancy was 1%.
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
In January we complete our rail line project between Harer and Mogadishu. This line is important for several reasons as it allows supplies to move forward to our depot in Ogaden and provides a fast method of reacting to rebellion and invasion in the territory we currently control.
In March a team from the Navy completes a National Geographic Survey of Misurata in Libya (+100 prestige points). 3 new brigades of colonial troops arrive in Mogadishu and move via railway to take up garrison duties along our border with the Sheewa.
** In game terms you need a leader or military unit in an adjacent province for the time period that the National Geographic survey is in play. I am keeping a squadron of our Mediterranean fleet off the coast of Libya whilst this card is in play.
In April we finish a natural history expedition to Assab (+75 prestige points). In this month we also moved our explorer unit to Mombassa. From here they will move inland to further investigate the African interior.
In June our anthropological expedition returns from Awsa (+50 prestige points)
The Dutch declare Djakata in the East Indies to be their colony whilst our erstwhile ally France declares a protectorate over Tahiti.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
In April we overhaul the Prussian prestige score and move from 10th to 9th. The next country we will be targeting is China. At the time of passing Prussia the gap to China in 8th position was 333 points it is hoped we can catch up and even pass them later in the year.
A Few Thoughts
I am feeling that things are ticking along well. The economy is ticking over nicely with a good surplus of trade every turn and I am not short of any resource. Militarily I am slowly expanding both the Army of Italy and the colonial army. With this colonial army I have been able to establish military control of the Horn of Africa although this is not recognised by the world at large yet (ie no protectorates or colonies)
My overriding medium term goal is the unification of Italy. Whilst it is still possible that Austria will attack and activate the treaty of Plombieres it is much more likely that unification will happen by event in the late 1860’s. Until this is achieved I am hamstrung from the lack of colonial options and the size of my army.
My short term strategy is to focus on prestige growth. I have built 4 of the 6 shipyards in my building pool (I am saving the remaining 2 to aid in the industrialisation of the Italian peninsular after the unification). I am also ensuring that the colonial cards that give a prestige boost are always in play.
Linked to the above I have 3 colonial areas ready for Protectorate status Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia which will start to provide prestige soon after unification (I hope!). My focus is now moving to build up colonial penetration in Abyssinia so this area too should be ready for protectorate status as soon after unification as possible.
My longer term goal is to confront the Ottomans and capture my objective regions and their North African holdings. An even longer term goal will be to eventually to try and link the Horn of Africa holdings to those in North Africa (but I might be getting slight ahead of myself there).
As I am still a relative newbie to this game questions, comments and suggestions are most welcome!
Our goal here was to tie up commercial agreements with Argentina and Chile whilst boosting relations with both the US and Great Britain however our diplomats reverted to type and failed to secure a single agreement. In fact the only diplomatic action of note is that the Swiss approached us for the first time asking for a State Visit which we promptly accepted.
In January there was more bad news as it was announced by the Ministry for Commerce that we had failed to achieve our production targets for luxury goods and wines. The Ministry for Defence also announced that its improbable goal of making the army the largest in the world had not been successful.
** In game terms we failed both of our missions to produce the largest amount of luxury goods (and wines) and to have the largest army. I don’t think either mission is really possible as Sardinia-Piedmont in the first decade of the game. I made a go for the Luxury and wine mission by expanding all the fruit resources to produce wine and had built all but 2 of the luxury goods factories in the pool. Perhaps if this mission appears again for the 1860’s there is a chance I might come closer to achieving it. As of June no more missions have appeared. I am assuming that new missions will be available from 1862.
In New Zealand
Elsewhere the American civil war continues with the Confederacy showing an unexpected resiliency and the war in China rumbles on.
Military
As it looks like the clauses of the treaty Plombieres to hand over Alpes-Maritime and Savoire to France in return for Lombardy and Venezia will never be activated we begin a low level fortification program with the intended aim of securing our western border and to provide a basic defence against rebels.
In February Swiss forces finally move against the rebels who have been occupying their southern provinces for several years. In the course of these operations a rebel militia division is forced over the border and is quickly destroyed by our I Army quartered in Alessandria. The commander of this force General Ferdinado Di Savoia is congratulated for his victory (his seniority increases to 9)
In March Garibaldi captures Sicily with his “Expedition of the Thousand”. After this triumph he remains strangely inactive. This inactivity is perplexing considering the Straits of Messina are not defended and he comfortably outnumbers the Neapolitan army.
In May our colonial naval squadron based in Mogadishu moves north to sweep the Red Sea of reported pirates. Whilst there are sightings we are not able to bring any to action.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
Current Situation
In January General Fanti recaptures Negele without a fight as the Sheewan occupying force retreats northwards into their mountain fastness. In March we start construction of a fort. General Fanti awaits the reinforcements on board ship to Mogadishu to secure the province before considering his next move.
In April a mixed expedition brigade enters Bonga and starts the process of pacifying the province. This is completed by May and we start the construction of a mission station and a fort.
In May the Sheewans move into action and attempt 2 attacks on our position in Harer both of which are repulsed.
General Fanti also moves out from Negele with a brigade of troops in the hope of capturing the mountainous province of Asella. Unfortunately as our troops eventually cross the mountains into Asella they are yet again reminded of the enemy’s prowess in these high valleys and forced to retreat.
General Fanti’s Doomed March
** In game terms this is another example where it took 3 turns to arrive in the province after which the force was easy pickings as its cohesion had collapsed. The Sheewan’s have 2 remaining provinces both mountainous. I am not sure I am going to be able to evict them and have to hope they will destroy themselves in attacks to reclaim their provinces. I will continue to probe here but in all likelihood I will have to wait until I posses specialist mountain troops of my own.
We have built the following military units:
- 3 x Merchant; 1 x Light Warship replacements (free from shipyards)
- 1 x Light Artillery; 2 x Line Infantry; 1 Elite Infantry; 1 Supply Train replacements
- Colonial Brigade
- Expedition Brigade
- Mixed Expedition Brigade
Economy
After more industrial unrest in Tuscany which sees production fall at our coal mine to 25% and our surplus coal production move to a deficit we decide to upgrade our remaining two coal sites to coal pits. With these in place we now produce a significant surplus of coal.
With the introduction of these new coal mining techniques we are suddenly facing a shortage of mechanical parts. To rectify this we start construction of a second mechanical parts factory in La Spezia
We also take action to deal with our large deficit in wood mainly caused by high demand for this resource in our luxury good factories. With all 4 domestic resources in production and no other wood resources in the Italian peninsular we look to Great Britain and France to resolve this imbalance.
In January we pass another reform to our constitution by passing a bill on Referendum and Plebiscites (lowers militancy and increases contentment).
In March we start building telecoms networks in Sardinia and La Spezia which when complete should boost population and development levels in these provinces.
In April we convert more of our gold and gems to state funds to cover the costs of the recent constitutional change and military spending.
At the end of this period our internal market had grown. Demand for food increased from 19 to 21; common goods from 16 to 18 and luxury goods from 11 to 12. We were able to meet this internal demand fully over this 6 month period. Our contentment level remained high at 99% whilst our average militancy was 1%.
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
- 2 Stroke Engine (January)
- Signals Department (February)
- Electrical Telegraph (March) - this technology will allow us to play the Telecoms Network regional decision
- Military Balloons (February) - strangely we already have military balloons not sure what benefit this will bestow
- Wig Wag Signalling (February)
- Mechanical Shop - La Spezia (January)
- Merchant (January)
- Luxury Goods Factory - Sardinia (February)
- Wood logging in Belfast (Great Britain) - (May)
- Wood logging in Limoges (France) - (June)
- Railroad - Harer (January)
- Coffee Field - Harer (January)
- Merchant (February) - This squadron is deployed to the East Indies trade box
- Silk Orchard in Rhone (France) - (March)
- Upgraded the coal extraction site in North West (Great Britain) to a coal pit - (March)
- Upgraded the coal extraction site in Rhone (France) to a coal pit (April)
- Coffee field - Mombasa (June) - Will not produce anything until the rail road is completed in this province.
In January we complete our rail line project between Harer and Mogadishu. This line is important for several reasons as it allows supplies to move forward to our depot in Ogaden and provides a fast method of reacting to rebellion and invasion in the territory we currently control.
In March a team from the Navy completes a National Geographic Survey of Misurata in Libya (+100 prestige points). 3 new brigades of colonial troops arrive in Mogadishu and move via railway to take up garrison duties along our border with the Sheewa.
** In game terms you need a leader or military unit in an adjacent province for the time period that the National Geographic survey is in play. I am keeping a squadron of our Mediterranean fleet off the coast of Libya whilst this card is in play.
In April we finish a natural history expedition to Assab (+75 prestige points). In this month we also moved our explorer unit to Mombassa. From here they will move inland to further investigate the African interior.
In June our anthropological expedition returns from Awsa (+50 prestige points)
The Dutch declare Djakata in the East Indies to be their colony whilst our erstwhile ally France declares a protectorate over Tahiti.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Trading post in Gonder (Coffee)
- Mission in Goba
- Mission in Negele
Prestige
In April we overhaul the Prussian prestige score and move from 10th to 9th. The next country we will be targeting is China. At the time of passing Prussia the gap to China in 8th position was 333 points it is hoped we can catch up and even pass them later in the year.
A Few Thoughts
I am feeling that things are ticking along well. The economy is ticking over nicely with a good surplus of trade every turn and I am not short of any resource. Militarily I am slowly expanding both the Army of Italy and the colonial army. With this colonial army I have been able to establish military control of the Horn of Africa although this is not recognised by the world at large yet (ie no protectorates or colonies)
My overriding medium term goal is the unification of Italy. Whilst it is still possible that Austria will attack and activate the treaty of Plombieres it is much more likely that unification will happen by event in the late 1860’s. Until this is achieved I am hamstrung from the lack of colonial options and the size of my army.
My short term strategy is to focus on prestige growth. I have built 4 of the 6 shipyards in my building pool (I am saving the remaining 2 to aid in the industrialisation of the Italian peninsular after the unification). I am also ensuring that the colonial cards that give a prestige boost are always in play.
Linked to the above I have 3 colonial areas ready for Protectorate status Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia which will start to provide prestige soon after unification (I hope!). My focus is now moving to build up colonial penetration in Abyssinia so this area too should be ready for protectorate status as soon after unification as possible.
My longer term goal is to confront the Ottomans and capture my objective regions and their North African holdings. An even longer term goal will be to eventually to try and link the Horn of Africa holdings to those in North Africa (but I might be getting slight ahead of myself there).
As I am still a relative newbie to this game questions, comments and suggestions are most welcome!
1861 July to December
Diplomacy
The major news from this period is in September when Austria declared war on Parma! This David v Goliath struggle ends rather predictably in October when Austrian forces cross the border and occupy the country. The remnants of the Parmanian army retreats across the border into Alessandria where they are given shelter and supplies to help them rebuild. There are many people in the corridors of power who are muttering darkly about why we did not have a defensive alliance with Parma which we could have used to justify our own war of liberation. This is one question that will no longer trouble our illustrious prime minister
All in all most neutral observers have noted this was a good move by Austria.
This changes quite considerably the strategic balance in the area. Now Austria has the capacity to strike at 3 of our provinces and as a result our war plan to funnel Austrian forces through Alessandria is no longer a going concern. There is also the possibility that they could extend the war to the Papal States. Priority will now be given to securing an alliance with the Papal States to prevent them falling to blatant Austrian aggression.
This news contrasts sharply with the next major event in November when finally General Garibaldi recovers from his inertia and invades Calabria.
Garibaldi waiting
Garibaldi lands
Before embarking on transports covertly provided by the Royal Navy he hands over administration of Sicily to Sardinia-Piedmont and is present when our garrison arrives in Palermo. In December we reinforce this garrison with our Marine Division and an artillery regiment.
** In game terms the first events of this chain fire without a problem:
1.The King of Sicily dies
2.Garibaldi invades Sicily and captures it.
The problem is that for the next event to fire Garibaldi must capture Sicily by 1/4/1861 and there is only a 50% probability (per turn) for the next event Garibaldi lands in Calabria to happen. In this game after sieging Palermo for several months it fell in March and obviously failed the next check. To get round this I extended the last date to the end of the year and increased the probability for it to fire to 75% (as it seems unrealistic for Garibaldi to just sit on Sicily). Once it does fire it passes control of Sicily to SP and a garrison is generated which I believe is unrealistic but I left unchanged as that was the intention of the developers. I also moved a marine division here to make sure Garibaldi didn’t have second thoughts and move back (I moved this division by ship and not using an event) .
The landing in Calabria event is definitely bugged as it creates a zombie copy of Garibaldi in Calabria whilst leaving the original untouched in Sicily.
The next issue is whether Garibaldi will actually move to attack and capture Naples (which I doubt). This is required for the next event in the series. I will give him until the end of January and then will take matters into my own hands.
Almost uncommented on amongst such tumultuous events we do manage to secure a commercial agreement with Chile.
Elsewhere France again makes an attempt to gobble up Tunisia
and the Confederacy somehow manages to fight on
Military
In October our naval squadron based in Mogadishu sorties north to sweep the Red Sea of reported pirates but again fails to make an interception.
After acquiring Sicily we move quickly to build an anchorage on the island which will enable us to swiftly move reinforcements here together with improving the road network to move forces to threatened areas.
In late November our 10th Colonial brigade moves South from Negele to begin the pacification process of Wajir and Garissa. It is eventually hoped that this will provide us with an overland link to our holding in Mombassa.
During this sweep we locate a detachment of our former enemies the Majertyn. It is believed that this detachment was responsible for the slaughter of a defenceless party of explorers moving north from Mombassa.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
Current Situation
In January the 2nd Colonial Brigade is forced to retreat from Bonga. This leads to a series of battles that eventually leave Asella (a mountain province) under garrisoned. Our troops are able to take advantage of this to capture and fortify the province.
We now have the 4 units of the Sheewan army bottled up in their mountain fastness surrounded on 3 sides by our forces. A stalemate is the mostly likely outcome here unless their forces commit to suicidal counter attacks.
We have built the following military units:
Economy
In January we pass Education reforms which are again paid for by converting Gold and Gems to state funds.
In October our first telecommunication networks are established in La Spezia and Sardinia. We immediately start work on further improving them.
In December the world faces an economic crises whose source is the perfidious Austrians.
At the end of this 6 month period internal demand had risen with the acquisition of Sicily
Food from 21 to 24; Common Goods from 18 to 20 and Luxuries from 12 to 14. We were able to fully supply this demand over this 6 month period.
Our overall contentment dropped sharply to 89% as we deal with the public order situation we have inherited in Sicily.
Our balance of trade
Organic good stocks
Inorganic good stocks
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
In September we complete a geographic survey of Tunisia (+100 prestige)
In October our explorers discover Nakuru
In December we complete another anthropological survey of Aswa (+50 prestige)
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
In November we overhaul the Chinese in prestige score and move to 7th. The next country we will be targeting is the Ottoman Empire. At the time of passing China the gap to the Ottomans in 6th place was 1683 points. We are now back in the position we occupied at the start of the game!
With the annexation of Sicily we capture one of our objectives. Our basic prestige income per turn is 8 (this can vary depending if the province the shipyard is in is content or not) from prestige generating buildings (4 x shipyards) and 10 for objectives held. Only France, Russia and Great Britain now earn more prestige regularly per turn.
Also to note somehow the British have managed to suffer over 200,000 casualties so far and they have yet to go to war!
The major news from this period is in September when Austria declared war on Parma! This David v Goliath struggle ends rather predictably in October when Austrian forces cross the border and occupy the country. The remnants of the Parmanian army retreats across the border into Alessandria where they are given shelter and supplies to help them rebuild. There are many people in the corridors of power who are muttering darkly about why we did not have a defensive alliance with Parma which we could have used to justify our own war of liberation. This is one question that will no longer trouble our illustrious prime minister
All in all most neutral observers have noted this was a good move by Austria.
This changes quite considerably the strategic balance in the area. Now Austria has the capacity to strike at 3 of our provinces and as a result our war plan to funnel Austrian forces through Alessandria is no longer a going concern. There is also the possibility that they could extend the war to the Papal States. Priority will now be given to securing an alliance with the Papal States to prevent them falling to blatant Austrian aggression.
This news contrasts sharply with the next major event in November when finally General Garibaldi recovers from his inertia and invades Calabria.
Garibaldi waiting
Garibaldi lands
Before embarking on transports covertly provided by the Royal Navy he hands over administration of Sicily to Sardinia-Piedmont and is present when our garrison arrives in Palermo. In December we reinforce this garrison with our Marine Division and an artillery regiment.
** In game terms the first events of this chain fire without a problem:
1.The King of Sicily dies
2.Garibaldi invades Sicily and captures it.
The problem is that for the next event to fire Garibaldi must capture Sicily by 1/4/1861 and there is only a 50% probability (per turn) for the next event Garibaldi lands in Calabria to happen. In this game after sieging Palermo for several months it fell in March and obviously failed the next check. To get round this I extended the last date to the end of the year and increased the probability for it to fire to 75% (as it seems unrealistic for Garibaldi to just sit on Sicily). Once it does fire it passes control of Sicily to SP and a garrison is generated which I believe is unrealistic but I left unchanged as that was the intention of the developers. I also moved a marine division here to make sure Garibaldi didn’t have second thoughts and move back (I moved this division by ship and not using an event) .
The landing in Calabria event is definitely bugged as it creates a zombie copy of Garibaldi in Calabria whilst leaving the original untouched in Sicily.
The next issue is whether Garibaldi will actually move to attack and capture Naples (which I doubt). This is required for the next event in the series. I will give him until the end of January and then will take matters into my own hands.
Almost uncommented on amongst such tumultuous events we do manage to secure a commercial agreement with Chile.
Elsewhere France again makes an attempt to gobble up Tunisia
and the Confederacy somehow manages to fight on
Military
In October our naval squadron based in Mogadishu sorties north to sweep the Red Sea of reported pirates but again fails to make an interception.
After acquiring Sicily we move quickly to build an anchorage on the island which will enable us to swiftly move reinforcements here together with improving the road network to move forces to threatened areas.
In late November our 10th Colonial brigade moves South from Negele to begin the pacification process of Wajir and Garissa. It is eventually hoped that this will provide us with an overland link to our holding in Mombassa.
During this sweep we locate a detachment of our former enemies the Majertyn. It is believed that this detachment was responsible for the slaughter of a defenceless party of explorers moving north from Mombassa.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
Current Situation
In January the 2nd Colonial Brigade is forced to retreat from Bonga. This leads to a series of battles that eventually leave Asella (a mountain province) under garrisoned. Our troops are able to take advantage of this to capture and fortify the province.
We now have the 4 units of the Sheewan army bottled up in their mountain fastness surrounded on 3 sides by our forces. A stalemate is the mostly likely outcome here unless their forces commit to suicidal counter attacks.
We have built the following military units:
- Replacements: 1 x Elite Inf; 2 x Line Inf; 2 x Light Art; 3 x Supply; 1 x Cavalry; 1 x Militia
- 2 x Carabineri (for Sicily)
- Explorer
- Prospector
- Colonial Brigade
Economy
In January we pass Education reforms which are again paid for by converting Gold and Gems to state funds.
In October our first telecommunication networks are established in La Spezia and Sardinia. We immediately start work on further improving them.
In December the world faces an economic crises whose source is the perfidious Austrians.
At the end of this 6 month period internal demand had risen with the acquisition of Sicily
Food from 21 to 24; Common Goods from 18 to 20 and Luxuries from 12 to 14. We were able to fully supply this demand over this 6 month period.
Our overall contentment dropped sharply to 89% as we deal with the public order situation we have inherited in Sicily.
Our balance of trade
Organic good stocks
Inorganic good stocks
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
- Torpedo Theory (October)
- Torpedoes (October)
- Wood Logging - Epinal, France (August)
- Luxury Goods Shop - Alessandria (October)
- Railroad - Mombassa (September)
- Wood Logging - Ulster, GB (October)
- Wood Logging - Limousin, France - (December)
- Merchant fleet (December) - Sent to the Oceania trade box.
In September we complete a geographic survey of Tunisia (+100 prestige)
In October our explorers discover Nakuru
In December we complete another anthropological survey of Aswa (+50 prestige)
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Fort in Mombassa
- Trade post in Negele
Prestige
In November we overhaul the Chinese in prestige score and move to 7th. The next country we will be targeting is the Ottoman Empire. At the time of passing China the gap to the Ottomans in 6th place was 1683 points. We are now back in the position we occupied at the start of the game!
With the annexation of Sicily we capture one of our objectives. Our basic prestige income per turn is 8 (this can vary depending if the province the shipyard is in is content or not) from prestige generating buildings (4 x shipyards) and 10 for objectives held. Only France, Russia and Great Britain now earn more prestige regularly per turn.
Also to note somehow the British have managed to suffer over 200,000 casualties so far and they have yet to go to war!
1862 January to July- Italy Unified (sort of) / Roma O Morte
Diplomacy
After years of incremental progress the half formed dream of Italian unification finally becomes a reality!
In January Garibaldi forces the surrender of the Neapolitan army. The kingdom of the Two Sicily’s is no more as Garibaldi hands over the territory he has conquered to King Victor Emmanuel II. (Future generations of biscuits can now rest easy that they will be given the correct name.)
This proves to have a domino effect throughout the peninsular as Tuscany also joins the newly unified nation. The city of Bologna frees itself from Papal rule and is subsequently incorporated into the new state. In Parma the people rise whole heartedly in support of Italy despite the presence of a large Austrian occupation army. The Austrians withdraw in the face of international pressure. The price of this withdrawal is steep however as ownership of Parma’s iron mines and agricultural land is ceded to Austria.
** In game terms the unification event tried to assimilate Parma which was under Austrian occupation at the time. Ownership of Parma went to Italy (forcing the Austrian army out of the province) whilst the 2 iron mines and the wheat farm remained Austrian. Even after an Italian army moved in and gained full military control the structures remained in Austrian hands. Obviously the event was not designed to deal with this situation so I will live with it for the time being.
To cement this take over Victor Emmanuel moved quickly to assemble his deputies from all over his newly acquired realm to deal with the chaotic aftermath.
Also in this month somewhat overshadowed by events in the Mediterranean Russian diplomats humiliate Prussia over an alleged diplomatic slight.
In February Mexico our main trading partner in the Americas and Britain give diplomatic recognition to our new nation
** In game terms Mexico moves onto the list of friendly nations and Britain agrees to a state visit.
Through all of these tumultuous events the Vatican remains in firm control of Rome and the surrounding region of Lazio. This leads to many highly heated debates in the Parliament building in Turin demanding the immediate incorporation of Rome into the Italian state.
Matters come to a head in March when a Papal courier is intercepted on his way to Vienna with documents purportedly requesting an Austrian garrison to secure Rome against Italian aggression.
The thought of our most hated enemy occupying Rome is enough to unify all the various disparate factions behind firm action. In April with Italy not even 6 months old a declaration of war is delivered to the Papal States.
** In game terms I manage to forge a Casus Belli against the Papal States after three failed attempts. Each attempt is expensive as it costs 100 prestige points and 5 diplomats. Luckily I have plenty of diplomats to spare left over from the annexations of the various Italian minors.
Military
During January our II Army moves out from its positions in Liguria to reclaim Parma for the Italian nation and to secure northern Italy from any future aggression.
Our I Army moves via sea transport from Liguria to Napoli to ostensibly provide security for the Italian peninsular in the chaotic aftermath of unification. In truth the general staff are told to draw up invasion plans of the Papal States.
As part of these plans II Army is stripped of its siege artillery and engineers and is ordered to rendezvous with I Army. General Filberto Mollard and his Marines are also ordered north from Sicily to Napoli.
Papal War April 1862 to ?
Our plan of attack was to assault westwards with I Army from Abruzzo therefore avoiding a river assault. General Filberto Mollard and his marine division with attached artillery would defend Campania and discourage Papal forces from retreating southwards. Rome would be besieged and any remaining Papal forces were to be eliminated between the vice of II Army in the north and I Army advancing from the South.
The resulting battle of Rome is a resounding if expensive victory producing the heaviest casualties seen on the European continent in over a decade.
The Papal General Kalbermatten skilfully manages to keep his shattered army together and retreats north east into Romagna. Rome now defenceless falls in early April.
After detaching his siege train in Rome General Ferdinado di Savoire moves north in pursuit of his broken enemy. General Mollard moves north to secure Rome and prevent any attempt to breakout to the south.
In May another battle is fought in Toscanna where the Papal army is all but destroyed
By the beginning of June all the remaining Papal forces have been forced to surrender.
Both Ferdinado Di Savoire the commander of I Army and Ettore Gerbaix de Soniaz commander of the Guards Corps are both mentioned in dispatches and a new campaign medal is commissioned
** In game terms both leaders improve their seniority and we pass another military medal decision.
With the declaration of war the Pope flees the Vatican we must now wait for him to acknowledge the scale of the defeat.
** In game terms I need to wait for a sufficiently high war score to claim Lazio (Rome)
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
As predicted a stalemate falls over the region. Sheewan forces are not strong enough to push us out from our recent gains whilst our forces are equally not strong enough to wrest their mountain stronghold from the now concentrated units of their army.
General Fanti the “Lion of Ethiopia” begins his long trip back to Italy to oversee the shake up of the soon to be expanded Italian army. His successor has yet to be named.
We have built the following military units:
Romagna, Po, Abruzzo and Toscanna begin constructing fortifications.
We also start building harbours in Toscana and Romagna.
** In game terms I want each province to have a port so that in the event of a siege the enemy will also need to blockade the port to fully isolate it.
Economy
The economy of our new nation is split into the industrial power house of the former Sardinia-Piedmont and the mainly agrarian south.
The first steps to fully unifying the country are to improve the communications between north and south. A massive program of railway construction is undertaken and by the end of June railways are being built in every newly acquired province (including Rome). This is to be the vanguard of our industrialisation project.
After the initial wave of enthusiasm discontent quickly sweeps through the country as people look for tangible signs of change. This is not helped by the major world economic crises which has seen inflation rise to 5% and rising populations in Alpes-Maritime, Romagna and Sicily
In January we increase social protection to help the poorest in society however this proves to be just a drop in the ocean. In Parma we are even forced to send in the troops against our own people to help maintain order.
With the increase of our tax base and the accumulated treasuries of the former Italian states we are now able to fund 2 further research projects. Whilst continuing to research Breech Loading Rifles we begin funding Ironclad Wooden ships and Maritime Law
** In game terms I am aiming to boost development by funding the 2 technologies closest to completion whilst keeping funding for at least 1 military project.
The rise in population has led to a substantial increase in demand for goods by our population. We now require 49 Food; 40 Common goods and 27 luxury items which we were able to meet in every month except June when rioters in Parma looted several shops.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
With the resources of a major nation behind us we suddenly have many new options available to us to gain our place in the sun.
As we are now a recognised actor on the international stage we test this assertion by declaring Somalia as our protectorate. This pretension is accepted by the rest of the world in June. Following this success we seek to bring neighbouring Somaliland under our “protection” as well.
With this recognition of our new status we undertake several new investments in Mogadishu such as building a military outpost and the beginnings of a telecommunication network and school.
Moving outward from Mogadishu we establish military outposts over the rest of Somalia and Somaliland.
Elsewhere in the Arabian peninsular our diplomats begin pressuring tribal leaders to submit to our authority whilst our naval squadron moves off the coast of Zanzibar to impress the natives with power of our technology.
Finally after many false starts it has been identified that Harer is capable of doubling its coffee output
** In game terms my prospectors finally find another coffee resource here.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
Riding the crest of the unification wave we manage to overtake the Ottomans and move into 6th position. At the time of passing them we were 758 points behind the Austrians in 5th position however with the several attempts required to forge a Casus Belli against the Papal States and the 100 point cost to declare war this gap had risen slightly at the end of June.
After years of incremental progress the half formed dream of Italian unification finally becomes a reality!
In January Garibaldi forces the surrender of the Neapolitan army. The kingdom of the Two Sicily’s is no more as Garibaldi hands over the territory he has conquered to King Victor Emmanuel II. (Future generations of biscuits can now rest easy that they will be given the correct name.)
This proves to have a domino effect throughout the peninsular as Tuscany also joins the newly unified nation. The city of Bologna frees itself from Papal rule and is subsequently incorporated into the new state. In Parma the people rise whole heartedly in support of Italy despite the presence of a large Austrian occupation army. The Austrians withdraw in the face of international pressure. The price of this withdrawal is steep however as ownership of Parma’s iron mines and agricultural land is ceded to Austria.
** In game terms the unification event tried to assimilate Parma which was under Austrian occupation at the time. Ownership of Parma went to Italy (forcing the Austrian army out of the province) whilst the 2 iron mines and the wheat farm remained Austrian. Even after an Italian army moved in and gained full military control the structures remained in Austrian hands. Obviously the event was not designed to deal with this situation so I will live with it for the time being.
To cement this take over Victor Emmanuel moved quickly to assemble his deputies from all over his newly acquired realm to deal with the chaotic aftermath.
Also in this month somewhat overshadowed by events in the Mediterranean Russian diplomats humiliate Prussia over an alleged diplomatic slight.
In February Mexico our main trading partner in the Americas and Britain give diplomatic recognition to our new nation
** In game terms Mexico moves onto the list of friendly nations and Britain agrees to a state visit.
Through all of these tumultuous events the Vatican remains in firm control of Rome and the surrounding region of Lazio. This leads to many highly heated debates in the Parliament building in Turin demanding the immediate incorporation of Rome into the Italian state.
Matters come to a head in March when a Papal courier is intercepted on his way to Vienna with documents purportedly requesting an Austrian garrison to secure Rome against Italian aggression.
The thought of our most hated enemy occupying Rome is enough to unify all the various disparate factions behind firm action. In April with Italy not even 6 months old a declaration of war is delivered to the Papal States.
** In game terms I manage to forge a Casus Belli against the Papal States after three failed attempts. Each attempt is expensive as it costs 100 prestige points and 5 diplomats. Luckily I have plenty of diplomats to spare left over from the annexations of the various Italian minors.
Military
During January our II Army moves out from its positions in Liguria to reclaim Parma for the Italian nation and to secure northern Italy from any future aggression.
Our I Army moves via sea transport from Liguria to Napoli to ostensibly provide security for the Italian peninsular in the chaotic aftermath of unification. In truth the general staff are told to draw up invasion plans of the Papal States.
As part of these plans II Army is stripped of its siege artillery and engineers and is ordered to rendezvous with I Army. General Filberto Mollard and his Marines are also ordered north from Sicily to Napoli.
Papal War April 1862 to ?
Our plan of attack was to assault westwards with I Army from Abruzzo therefore avoiding a river assault. General Filberto Mollard and his marine division with attached artillery would defend Campania and discourage Papal forces from retreating southwards. Rome would be besieged and any remaining Papal forces were to be eliminated between the vice of II Army in the north and I Army advancing from the South.
The resulting battle of Rome is a resounding if expensive victory producing the heaviest casualties seen on the European continent in over a decade.
The Papal General Kalbermatten skilfully manages to keep his shattered army together and retreats north east into Romagna. Rome now defenceless falls in early April.
After detaching his siege train in Rome General Ferdinado di Savoire moves north in pursuit of his broken enemy. General Mollard moves north to secure Rome and prevent any attempt to breakout to the south.
In May another battle is fought in Toscanna where the Papal army is all but destroyed
By the beginning of June all the remaining Papal forces have been forced to surrender.
Both Ferdinado Di Savoire the commander of I Army and Ettore Gerbaix de Soniaz commander of the Guards Corps are both mentioned in dispatches and a new campaign medal is commissioned
** In game terms both leaders improve their seniority and we pass another military medal decision.
With the declaration of war the Pope flees the Vatican we must now wait for him to acknowledge the scale of the defeat.
** In game terms I need to wait for a sufficiently high war score to claim Lazio (Rome)
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
As predicted a stalemate falls over the region. Sheewan forces are not strong enough to push us out from our recent gains whilst our forces are equally not strong enough to wrest their mountain stronghold from the now concentrated units of their army.
General Fanti the “Lion of Ethiopia” begins his long trip back to Italy to oversee the shake up of the soon to be expanded Italian army. His successor has yet to be named.
We have built the following military units:
- Replacements: Over this 6 month period we produce enough replacement chits to have 3 chits in each land category and over 10 in each naval category
- 4 x Garrison Regiments (Puglia, Tuscany, Abrusso, Romagna)
- 2 x Expedition Brigades
- 1 x Colonial Brigade
Romagna, Po, Abruzzo and Toscanna begin constructing fortifications.
We also start building harbours in Toscana and Romagna.
** In game terms I want each province to have a port so that in the event of a siege the enemy will also need to blockade the port to fully isolate it.
Economy
The economy of our new nation is split into the industrial power house of the former Sardinia-Piedmont and the mainly agrarian south.
The first steps to fully unifying the country are to improve the communications between north and south. A massive program of railway construction is undertaken and by the end of June railways are being built in every newly acquired province (including Rome). This is to be the vanguard of our industrialisation project.
After the initial wave of enthusiasm discontent quickly sweeps through the country as people look for tangible signs of change. This is not helped by the major world economic crises which has seen inflation rise to 5% and rising populations in Alpes-Maritime, Romagna and Sicily
In January we increase social protection to help the poorest in society however this proves to be just a drop in the ocean. In Parma we are even forced to send in the troops against our own people to help maintain order.
With the increase of our tax base and the accumulated treasuries of the former Italian states we are now able to fund 2 further research projects. Whilst continuing to research Breech Loading Rifles we begin funding Ironclad Wooden ships and Maritime Law
** In game terms I am aiming to boost development by funding the 2 technologies closest to completion whilst keeping funding for at least 1 military project.
The rise in population has led to a substantial increase in demand for goods by our population. We now require 49 Food; 40 Common goods and 27 luxury items which we were able to meet in every month except June when rioters in Parma looted several shops.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
- Ironclad Wooden Ships (April)
- Railroad Transport Groups (April)
- Gatling Gun (June)
- Iron Ships (April)
- Herman Hapt USMC (April)
- Railroad Batteries (April)
- Armed Trains (April)
- Ironclad Trains (April)
- Railroads (mentioned above)
- Wood Logging - Vosges, France (February)
- Luxury Goods Shop - Sardinia - (February)
With the resources of a major nation behind us we suddenly have many new options available to us to gain our place in the sun.
As we are now a recognised actor on the international stage we test this assertion by declaring Somalia as our protectorate. This pretension is accepted by the rest of the world in June. Following this success we seek to bring neighbouring Somaliland under our “protection” as well.
With this recognition of our new status we undertake several new investments in Mogadishu such as building a military outpost and the beginnings of a telecommunication network and school.
Moving outward from Mogadishu we establish military outposts over the rest of Somalia and Somaliland.
Elsewhere in the Arabian peninsular our diplomats begin pressuring tribal leaders to submit to our authority whilst our naval squadron moves off the coast of Zanzibar to impress the natives with power of our technology.
Finally after many false starts it has been identified that Harer is capable of doubling its coffee output
** In game terms my prospectors finally find another coffee resource here.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Forts are built in Negele and Bonga
- Military outposts are built in Busaso, Ogaden, Baidoa, Hobyo and Mogadishu
Prestige
Riding the crest of the unification wave we manage to overtake the Ottomans and move into 6th position. At the time of passing them we were 758 points behind the Austrians in 5th position however with the several attempts required to forge a Casus Belli against the Papal States and the 100 point cost to declare war this gap had risen slightly at the end of June.
1862 July to December - Rome capital of Italy / Protectorate of Somaliland
Diplomacy
October and November prove to be a pivotal months for our fledgling nation. Firstly in October the Pope sues for peace and the Papal States are duly annexed into our realm.
** In game terms the war score for acquiring the province of Lazio was 250. With Rome captured and their army destroyed I was gaining about 5 points of war score per turn. I was therefore surprised to receive the surrender offer when the War Score stood at only 60. It was nice to see the AI acknowledge the futility of the situation.
In November the deputies in Turin vote overwhelmingly to move the capital to Rome. For the first time in over a thousand years the peninsular of Italy is united under one ruler.
** In game terms the Garibaldi event chain does not deal with a direct take over of the Papal States. I modified Garibaldi’s march on Rome to not occur as my Italy had already taken matters into its own hands to secure the capital and I also forced the capital moves to Rome event to occur which does not fire until after 1866 with the withdrawal of French troops from Rome.
At the same time as this consolidation at home our fledging colonial empire continues to expand.
In September after building up the infrastructure in Mogadishu we begin the process of turning Somalia into a formal colony. With no outside interest in this barren region we expect this process to be ratified by the other great powers sometime in early 1863.
** In game terms I have built up the colonial penetration to over 50 in Mogadishu and over 40 in the other 3 regions. No other nation other than Oman has colonial penetration in Somalia so I don’t expect this to be opposed.
In October the various local leaders in Somaliland agree to submit to becoming a protectorate of the Italian Empire. We also in this month announce our intention to the world to bring Dubai into our sphere of influence. The wealth of Gems available in these 2 regions has long held economic importance to us. Whilst our trading posts have given us limited access to these resources it is hoped that we can develop our own mines in the area.
** In game terms we play the protectorate card on Dubai.
When time and resources allow we will begin formalising our position in Djibouti and Abyssinia (both these areas are ready to become protectorates).
Elsewhere Britain continues to rebuff our efforts to access their overseas bases whilst we begin diplomatic overtures towards Greece with an eye to future conflict with the Ottoman Empire. To that end we have given the Greek government supply and movement rights.
In August the USA successfully brings to an end 3 years of blood letting by annexing what remained of the Confederacy. At about this time after several years of diplomatic effort relations with the USA become friendly (over 25).
Military
The unification of Italy has severely stretched the resources of the old Piedmontese army. With the acquisition of our new territories the border with Austria has expanded to include Parma and Romagna. We have deployed our II Army in Parma to cover the border area with Austria whilst I Army has moved to Rome to take over security for the Peninsular.
The defences in the new regions are sadly lacking and a building program is underway to improve them. New fortifications are being constructed in Parma and Romagna. After this line of forts is completed we will add substantial fortress and artillery units which will enable us to hopefully free up our field army for service elsewhere.
On our western border with France we are also slowly building fortifications around Nice and Chambery however our security here is reliant on our maintaining the current alliance and status quo. To this end we are being particularly careful in making sure our colonial efforts do not cross over into French spheres of influence.
Elsewhere when resources allow we will be taking care that all our important cities (objective regions) have decent fortifications and garrisons.
The 2 corps of the existing army are woefully inadequate to cover the new commitments. We have ordered the mobilisation of an additional 2 infantry corps to help bolster the power of the regular army. Another 2 infantry corps are also planned.
In August our Commander in Chief Ferdinado Di Savoia retires along with General Filberto Mollard. General Mollard is replaced by General Enrico Morrozo Della Rocco.
** In game terms I lost a 3* and a 2* general who was replaced by a single 2* general. We now have only 2 active 3* generals enough to keep two armies without command penalties.
In September we complete anchorages in Romagna, Tuscany and Lazio and began the construction of a new anchorage and fortification in Calabria.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
Again no movement in this war as the enemy remains bottled up by strong forces.
We have built the following military units:
1862 has seen a rash of spending both at home and abroad on new projects financed mostly by the accumulated treasuries of the various Italian minor states.
By September most of these funds had been spent and some difficult decisions had to be made. We again make cuts in research and are now back to funding a single research project. With many infrastructure projects required at home priority is given to economic and military projects in Italy. Colonial endeavours are to be put on the back burner.
In July we further improve the telecommunications networks in Sardinia and La Spezia.
In August we mastered Maritime Law and started to fund research into Reserve Formations.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
Territory in Military Control
In September we complete an Anthropoligical Survey of Massawa (+50PP). We also gain military control from Oman over the province of Kismayu which is part of our Somalian protectorate. We emphasise the change of regime to the locals by beginning the construction of a new fort.
In October we complete another Natural History Survey of Asosa (+75PP) and an anthropological survey of Matamma.
In November our prospectors find more coffee in Harer and a Natural History expedition returns from Wajir.
In December Marines and artillery based in Mogadishu land and capture Dar Es Salaam from rebel forces and move quickly inland to secure the surrounding region and the dye mines.
West Africa
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
At the end of the period we remain in 6th position around 300 points behind Austria.
October and November prove to be a pivotal months for our fledgling nation. Firstly in October the Pope sues for peace and the Papal States are duly annexed into our realm.
** In game terms the war score for acquiring the province of Lazio was 250. With Rome captured and their army destroyed I was gaining about 5 points of war score per turn. I was therefore surprised to receive the surrender offer when the War Score stood at only 60. It was nice to see the AI acknowledge the futility of the situation.
In November the deputies in Turin vote overwhelmingly to move the capital to Rome. For the first time in over a thousand years the peninsular of Italy is united under one ruler.
** In game terms the Garibaldi event chain does not deal with a direct take over of the Papal States. I modified Garibaldi’s march on Rome to not occur as my Italy had already taken matters into its own hands to secure the capital and I also forced the capital moves to Rome event to occur which does not fire until after 1866 with the withdrawal of French troops from Rome.
At the same time as this consolidation at home our fledging colonial empire continues to expand.
In September after building up the infrastructure in Mogadishu we begin the process of turning Somalia into a formal colony. With no outside interest in this barren region we expect this process to be ratified by the other great powers sometime in early 1863.
** In game terms I have built up the colonial penetration to over 50 in Mogadishu and over 40 in the other 3 regions. No other nation other than Oman has colonial penetration in Somalia so I don’t expect this to be opposed.
In October the various local leaders in Somaliland agree to submit to becoming a protectorate of the Italian Empire. We also in this month announce our intention to the world to bring Dubai into our sphere of influence. The wealth of Gems available in these 2 regions has long held economic importance to us. Whilst our trading posts have given us limited access to these resources it is hoped that we can develop our own mines in the area.
** In game terms we play the protectorate card on Dubai.
When time and resources allow we will begin formalising our position in Djibouti and Abyssinia (both these areas are ready to become protectorates).
Elsewhere Britain continues to rebuff our efforts to access their overseas bases whilst we begin diplomatic overtures towards Greece with an eye to future conflict with the Ottoman Empire. To that end we have given the Greek government supply and movement rights.
In August the USA successfully brings to an end 3 years of blood letting by annexing what remained of the Confederacy. At about this time after several years of diplomatic effort relations with the USA become friendly (over 25).
Military
The unification of Italy has severely stretched the resources of the old Piedmontese army. With the acquisition of our new territories the border with Austria has expanded to include Parma and Romagna. We have deployed our II Army in Parma to cover the border area with Austria whilst I Army has moved to Rome to take over security for the Peninsular.
The defences in the new regions are sadly lacking and a building program is underway to improve them. New fortifications are being constructed in Parma and Romagna. After this line of forts is completed we will add substantial fortress and artillery units which will enable us to hopefully free up our field army for service elsewhere.
On our western border with France we are also slowly building fortifications around Nice and Chambery however our security here is reliant on our maintaining the current alliance and status quo. To this end we are being particularly careful in making sure our colonial efforts do not cross over into French spheres of influence.
Elsewhere when resources allow we will be taking care that all our important cities (objective regions) have decent fortifications and garrisons.
The 2 corps of the existing army are woefully inadequate to cover the new commitments. We have ordered the mobilisation of an additional 2 infantry corps to help bolster the power of the regular army. Another 2 infantry corps are also planned.
In August our Commander in Chief Ferdinado Di Savoia retires along with General Filberto Mollard. General Mollard is replaced by General Enrico Morrozo Della Rocco.
** In game terms I lost a 3* and a 2* general who was replaced by a single 2* general. We now have only 2 active 3* generals enough to keep two armies without command penalties.
In September we complete anchorages in Romagna, Tuscany and Lazio and began the construction of a new anchorage and fortification in Calabria.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
Again no movement in this war as the enemy remains bottled up by strong forces.
We have built the following military units:
- Guards Infantry Corps
- Heavy Infantry Corps
- Light Cavalry Brigade
- Garrison Regiment in Parma
1862 has seen a rash of spending both at home and abroad on new projects financed mostly by the accumulated treasuries of the various Italian minor states.
By September most of these funds had been spent and some difficult decisions had to be made. We again make cuts in research and are now back to funding a single research project. With many infrastructure projects required at home priority is given to economic and military projects in Italy. Colonial endeavours are to be put on the back burner.
In July we further improve the telecommunications networks in Sardinia and La Spezia.
In August we mastered Maritime Law and started to fund research into Reserve Formations.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
- Maritime Law
- Commodity Futures Trading
- Reserve Formations
- Fruit Farm - Romagna (July)
- Manufactured Goods Shop - Romagna (August)
- Manufactured Goods Shop - Sicily (October)
- Railroad - Dubai (December)
- Merchant Fleet (December)
- Luxury Goods Shop - Alessandria (September)
- Naval Academy - Liguria (December)
Territory in Military Control
In September we complete an Anthropoligical Survey of Massawa (+50PP). We also gain military control from Oman over the province of Kismayu which is part of our Somalian protectorate. We emphasise the change of regime to the locals by beginning the construction of a new fort.
In October we complete another Natural History Survey of Asosa (+75PP) and an anthropological survey of Matamma.
In November our prospectors find more coffee in Harer and a Natural History expedition returns from Wajir.
In December Marines and artillery based in Mogadishu land and capture Dar Es Salaam from rebel forces and move quickly inland to secure the surrounding region and the dye mines.
West Africa
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Consulate and school in Mogadishu
- Missions in Garissa, Bassam and Kumsai
- Tradeposts in Tiaz and Aden
- Military outposts in Goba, Mombassa, Berbera, Zayla and Harer
- Roads in Berbera, Busasco and Goba
- Fort in Assella
- Consulate in Berbera
Prestige
At the end of the period we remain in 6th position around 300 points behind Austria.
1863 Jan to Jun - A Place in the Sun / More shiny rifles
In January Italy reinforces her status as an up and coming power by declaring Somalia to be her first official colony. Europe’s major powers seem happy to acquiesce to the new situation as no other nations (other than the Ottoman’s) have any direct interests in this remote region.
With this announcement the Majertyn chieftains finally cede control to Italy thus formally bringing to an end our longest running war. Several local detachments are raised by the colonial authorities to aid in providing security from the perceived Ottoman threat.
** In game terms the Majertyn nation whose capital was Mogadishu is annexed when Somalia becomes a Colony. This provides a timely if small boost in money and resources but more importantly 6 native units (although I think 1 of these units is currently in an undiscovered province so outside my control). These native units all have great patrol/evade values (although no replacements) which I intend to use as raiding and reconnaissance units.
Contingency plans are drawn up by the general staff for a potential future conflict with the Ottoman Empire. An integral part of those plans involves Massawa Harbor on the Red Sea coast which has long been claimed by our nation. This deep water port is seen as integral to controlling the Red Sea trade routes. The last several months have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity in the area as we try to undermine Ottoman influence by negotiating treaties with the local chieftains.
** In game terms I aim to peacefully acquire the Ottoman enclaves on the Red Sea by first declaring Djibouti and Eritrea (which includes Massawa Harbour one of my objective regions) as firstly protectorates and then colonies. To this end a lot of local chief colonial actions have been played on Eritrea to raise the colonial penetration to the level where I can declare a protectorate.
At the end of February we declare the Dubai region as our protectorate. We now focus our diplomatic effort on bringing Djibouti into our sphere and by the end of June this pays off as Djibouti also becomes a protectorate. Troops are quickly dispatched across the border to enforce our new diplomatic rights (i.e. secure military control).
At the same time we expand the area under our official control in the Horn of Africa by adding Somaliland as a colony.
Prime ministers come and go
Greece remains aloof to our diplomats refusing a state visit and a commercial agreement obviously cowed by the Ottoman goliath on her borders.
Elsewhere the French have committed one of their army corps to the suppression of the Tunisians and it is the usual bloody business in China.
Military
Several new significant military breakthroughs occur this period. Firstly our armies absorb the new state of the art breech loading rifle. The new fast loading rifle gives us a substantial short term advantage against armies using the old muzzle loaders in use currently with the majority of Europe’s armies.
** In game terms I needed to cover 250 hits from the replacement pool. By the end of March all my formations had been upgraded.
Secondly the general staff draws up plans for the partial mobilisation of the population in the event of a major conflict.
** In game terms the partial mobilisation decree is available if required
Lastly we begin organising and training dedicated mountain units. A brigade of this new type is currently being trained and will deploy to Ethiopia to hopefully end the deadlock there.
** In game terms it looks like you get Mountain units when Breech loading rifles is researched.
New fortifications are constructed in Parma, Bologna and Abruzzo. We begin the process of further enlarging them.
Our Carbianari (police) units are all moved south out of the former Sardinia-Piedmont to bring the rule of law to the troubled peninsular. Our I army now commanded by General Fanti is moved north into Tuscany to try and pre-empt trouble in this volatile region.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
By the beginning of the year several new expedition brigades had arrived in Mogadishu. These brigades were intended to relieve the colonial brigades holding the line against the Sheewa to free them up for future offensive operations.
In May the Sheewa sensing weakness probed our defences in Assella during the change over of the garrison force there. The new rifles introduced earlier in the year prove there worth as the Sheewan force is pushed back in disarray into the mountains.
Again no movement in this war as the enemy remains bottled up by strong forces.
We have built the following military units:
Now that the transportation network is all but completed in Italy we will try and improve one of the major bottlenecks of our economy which is the output of manufactured goods. Large scale military and infrastructure expansion has meant we have had to import large numbers of manufactured goods from overseas. As part of the ongoing industrialisation of the southern portion of Italy we aim to build factories that produce these goods in regions where civil disorder is unlikely (contentment over 50)
In January we complete further extensions to the telegraph network in La Spezia and Sardinia. Work continues to expand Sardinia’s network whilst a new network is started in Liguria.
In February we show the stick and the carrot to our populace. On the one hand we implement expensive social protection reforms whilst on the other we knock heads together when we order troops to quell social unrest.
Our internal market:
As previously mentioned we are currently using our colonial options strategically to remove the Ottoman enclave on the Red Sea.
After this has been completed focus will shift back to bringing economically important areas into the empire such as Kumasai (West Africa) with its gold deposits and Zanzibar with its Opium trade in an attempt to keep up with our population’s insatiable demand for luxury goods.
The final medium term goal will be to incorporate Ethiopia which should give us a significant boost in prestige.
In March rebels angry at our growing influence in their country burn our trade post in Aden. By the end of the month our troops had gained military control of Dubai. The situation was deemed safe enough for civilian companies to move in to develop gem mines.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
At the end of the period we remain in 6th position around 240 points behind Austria. Progress has slowed here due to the prestige penalties suffered over multiple turns for failing to pass the limit noble privileges decree. We expect to overhaul the Austrians by the end of the year.
With this announcement the Majertyn chieftains finally cede control to Italy thus formally bringing to an end our longest running war. Several local detachments are raised by the colonial authorities to aid in providing security from the perceived Ottoman threat.
** In game terms the Majertyn nation whose capital was Mogadishu is annexed when Somalia becomes a Colony. This provides a timely if small boost in money and resources but more importantly 6 native units (although I think 1 of these units is currently in an undiscovered province so outside my control). These native units all have great patrol/evade values (although no replacements) which I intend to use as raiding and reconnaissance units.
Contingency plans are drawn up by the general staff for a potential future conflict with the Ottoman Empire. An integral part of those plans involves Massawa Harbor on the Red Sea coast which has long been claimed by our nation. This deep water port is seen as integral to controlling the Red Sea trade routes. The last several months have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity in the area as we try to undermine Ottoman influence by negotiating treaties with the local chieftains.
** In game terms I aim to peacefully acquire the Ottoman enclaves on the Red Sea by first declaring Djibouti and Eritrea (which includes Massawa Harbour one of my objective regions) as firstly protectorates and then colonies. To this end a lot of local chief colonial actions have been played on Eritrea to raise the colonial penetration to the level where I can declare a protectorate.
At the end of February we declare the Dubai region as our protectorate. We now focus our diplomatic effort on bringing Djibouti into our sphere and by the end of June this pays off as Djibouti also becomes a protectorate. Troops are quickly dispatched across the border to enforce our new diplomatic rights (i.e. secure military control).
At the same time we expand the area under our official control in the Horn of Africa by adding Somaliland as a colony.
Prime ministers come and go
Greece remains aloof to our diplomats refusing a state visit and a commercial agreement obviously cowed by the Ottoman goliath on her borders.
Elsewhere the French have committed one of their army corps to the suppression of the Tunisians and it is the usual bloody business in China.
Military
Several new significant military breakthroughs occur this period. Firstly our armies absorb the new state of the art breech loading rifle. The new fast loading rifle gives us a substantial short term advantage against armies using the old muzzle loaders in use currently with the majority of Europe’s armies.
** In game terms I needed to cover 250 hits from the replacement pool. By the end of March all my formations had been upgraded.
Secondly the general staff draws up plans for the partial mobilisation of the population in the event of a major conflict.
** In game terms the partial mobilisation decree is available if required
Lastly we begin organising and training dedicated mountain units. A brigade of this new type is currently being trained and will deploy to Ethiopia to hopefully end the deadlock there.
** In game terms it looks like you get Mountain units when Breech loading rifles is researched.
New fortifications are constructed in Parma, Bologna and Abruzzo. We begin the process of further enlarging them.
Our Carbianari (police) units are all moved south out of the former Sardinia-Piedmont to bring the rule of law to the troubled peninsular. Our I army now commanded by General Fanti is moved north into Tuscany to try and pre-empt trouble in this volatile region.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
By the beginning of the year several new expedition brigades had arrived in Mogadishu. These brigades were intended to relieve the colonial brigades holding the line against the Sheewa to free them up for future offensive operations.
In May the Sheewa sensing weakness probed our defences in Assella during the change over of the garrison force there. The new rifles introduced earlier in the year prove there worth as the Sheewan force is pushed back in disarray into the mountains.
Again no movement in this war as the enemy remains bottled up by strong forces.
We have built the following military units:
- Replacements: 1 x Elite Infantry; 8 x Line Infantry; 1 x Militia; 3 x Merchant Ship; 1 x Light Warship; 1 x Cavalry
- Fortress units in Parma, Bologna and Rome
- Mountain brigade
Now that the transportation network is all but completed in Italy we will try and improve one of the major bottlenecks of our economy which is the output of manufactured goods. Large scale military and infrastructure expansion has meant we have had to import large numbers of manufactured goods from overseas. As part of the ongoing industrialisation of the southern portion of Italy we aim to build factories that produce these goods in regions where civil disorder is unlikely (contentment over 50)
In January we complete further extensions to the telegraph network in La Spezia and Sardinia. Work continues to expand Sardinia’s network whilst a new network is started in Liguria.
In February we show the stick and the carrot to our populace. On the one hand we implement expensive social protection reforms whilst on the other we knock heads together when we order troops to quell social unrest.
Our internal market:
- Food 55
- Common Goods 46
- Luxuries 31
- Molasses Extraction Centrifuges (+10% Input/Output costs for sugar structures)
- Hierarchical Corporate Structure (+10% chance to sell goods when in competition)
- Mechanical Saw (+10% Input/Output costs for wood structures)
- Bilateral Trade Treaty (-5 point modification to internal market penetration)
- Mechanical Precision Saw
- Military Academy - Rome (January)
- Manufactured Goods Shop - Rome (January)
- Coffee Field - Harer (February)
- Gem Mines - Dubai (April)
- Furniture Shop - Puglia (May)
- Furniture Shop - Abruzzo (May)
- Fruit Farm - Romagna (January)
- Railroad - Romagna (January)
- Railroad - Abruzzo (January)
- Railroad - Campania (January)
- Railroad - Calabria (January)
- Railroad - Po (February)
- Railroad - Sicily (May)
- Railroad - Lazio (June)
- Manufactured Goods Shop - Romagna (June)
As previously mentioned we are currently using our colonial options strategically to remove the Ottoman enclave on the Red Sea.
After this has been completed focus will shift back to bringing economically important areas into the empire such as Kumasai (West Africa) with its gold deposits and Zanzibar with its Opium trade in an attempt to keep up with our population’s insatiable demand for luxury goods.
The final medium term goal will be to incorporate Ethiopia which should give us a significant boost in prestige.
In March rebels angry at our growing influence in their country burn our trade post in Aden. By the end of the month our troops had gained military control of Dubai. The situation was deemed safe enough for civilian companies to move in to develop gem mines.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Governors residence in Mogadishu
- Road in Kismayu
- Colonial school in Berbera
- Colonial school in Zayla
- Mission in Trucial
- Mission in Dubai
- Fort in Wajir
Prestige
At the end of the period we remain in 6th position around 240 points behind Austria. Progress has slowed here due to the prestige penalties suffered over multiple turns for failing to pass the limit noble privileges decree. We expect to overhaul the Austrians by the end of the year.
1863 Jul to Dec - A Bloody Nose / Drawing Breath
Diplomacy
In contrast to the large upheavals we have undergone so far this decade the last six months have been relatively quiet with our main focus being on the internal development of our nascent nation.
Eritrea is formally declared a protectorate in November and troops cross the border soon afterwards. There is an uneasy standoff with the Ottomans in Massawa. In this month we also lay formal claim to Abyssinia.
** All the buildings in Djibouti and Massawa remain in Ottoman hands including the harbours. I am not sure of how ownership of these buildings is transferred when a region moves to protectorate or colony status.
Factions within our government have long been agitating that we need to exert our power in the Eastern Mediterranean and to that end our diplomats begin the process of convincing the international community that the Dodecanese Islands are rightfully ours.
** The Dodecanese are added as a new objective in November
On the international front the French remain a stalwart ally and this alliance remains the bulwark of our global strategy. We have built friendly relations with the United States and Great Britain with whom we have commercial agreements. Both of these nations however are steadfastly refusing to give us supply or access rights to territories under their control.
Relations with Austria whilst still hostile are slowly starting to thaw. One of the aims of our diplomatic effort in the coming year will be to continue to improve them.
** Current relations with Austria stand at -31. I will aim to get them over -25 to move the relationship from hostile to neutral before undertaking any adventures against the Ottomans. It should then enable me to view my relative power against theirs in the Score and objective screen.
The other Great Powers are all neutral towards us. The power of special interest to us is Prussia and a concerted effort will be made to acquire cordial relations with them.
Elsewhere we have been courting Greece as a regional ally. They are now considered as friendly towards us. We will seek to exploit this by asking for supply and military access agreements.
The French despite there manpower advantage are still finding it difficult to occupy and pacify Tunisia.
Military
I and II Armies continue to perform policing duties in our most troubled provinces.
Both these armies are reinforced with a Mountain division and a signals regiment
** Each army now has a power rating of over 2500
We have created an amphibious force of 2 Marine Divisions with various support attachments based in Liguria.
In September we complete a fortification in Calabria.
In December our fortification in Rome was updated to a modern industrial era fort. Work continues to increase these defensive works.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
The war suddenly ignites unexpectedly again in August when the entire Sheewan army decamps from Assela and kicks the two defending brigades from Negele and besieges the garrison inside our fortress.
Various piecemeal counter attacks from the surrounding areas culminate in a rather shocking defeat in November.
** I rather foolishly committed three uncoordinated forces to the attack misled by the power information on the enemy icon which does not take into account the power ratings of other enemy forces in the region of which there were four. An expensive lesson learned. Luckily (which I didn’t really deserve) all the defeated forces escaped without losing any elements. The battle above is slightly misleading in that most of the Italian force had been defeated in the previous turn and was caught up in the battle whilst trying to retreat out of the province
The theatre has been absent a military governor since General Fanti was recalled to Italy in the previous year. The general staff appoint General Caldini to lead our forces in the area. He arrives in Mogadishu in late November together with a newly raised mountain brigade.
He hurriedly begins assembling a relief column in neighbouring Goba with the aim of relieving our garrison sometime in early 1864.
** When my battered colonial regiments take on replacements the combined force will total in the region of 600 power (including 2 leaders, artillery, supply and a mountain brigade) versus a combined enemy force of roughly 350. Incidentally this will be the largest colonial army I have concentrated so far.
On a positive note one of our native levies has slipped into the last enemy province of Assela without resistance. It will soon be under our control at which point we will start to build fortifications.
We have built the following military units:
In the main this period has seen real social progress as Italy starts to knit itself into a single nation.
** Contentment has passed 70% whilst militancy has dropped to 2%. More importantly only 2 provinces are now under 50% contentment which I think is the cut off for the nastier social disorders.
In July we complete Telecommunications projects in Sardinia and Liguria. In this month we also invest our research funds into Steam Ships of the Line.
In August we issue a new Ethiopian campaign medal.
In December we begin building modern sewer systems in Alessandria and Rome.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of payments December
Our internal market:
In July our sources report that after extensive diplomatic efforts Zanzibar would also now “welcome” protectorate status. Drawn by our expanding power and influence in the region Italian colonists begin arriving in Mogadishu.
In September our prospectors identify another gem site in Dubai whilst expeditions return from Sanaa and Nakuru. The influx of large numbers of Italian colonists into Mogadishu has led to the formation of exclusive colonial societies. Exploration teams also return from Nairobi this month with tales garnered from the natives of a huge inland lake.
In December to handle the increased level of shipping to our colonial holdings we begin expanding the coaling station at Mogadishu.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
In December we finally overhaul Austria to move into 5th place. At the time of passing them the gap to France in 4th place was 3539 points (ie very big!). On the plus side our army rating is higher than 4 out of the 8 nations on the score list.
In contrast to the large upheavals we have undergone so far this decade the last six months have been relatively quiet with our main focus being on the internal development of our nascent nation.
Eritrea is formally declared a protectorate in November and troops cross the border soon afterwards. There is an uneasy standoff with the Ottomans in Massawa. In this month we also lay formal claim to Abyssinia.
** All the buildings in Djibouti and Massawa remain in Ottoman hands including the harbours. I am not sure of how ownership of these buildings is transferred when a region moves to protectorate or colony status.
Factions within our government have long been agitating that we need to exert our power in the Eastern Mediterranean and to that end our diplomats begin the process of convincing the international community that the Dodecanese Islands are rightfully ours.
** The Dodecanese are added as a new objective in November
On the international front the French remain a stalwart ally and this alliance remains the bulwark of our global strategy. We have built friendly relations with the United States and Great Britain with whom we have commercial agreements. Both of these nations however are steadfastly refusing to give us supply or access rights to territories under their control.
Relations with Austria whilst still hostile are slowly starting to thaw. One of the aims of our diplomatic effort in the coming year will be to continue to improve them.
** Current relations with Austria stand at -31. I will aim to get them over -25 to move the relationship from hostile to neutral before undertaking any adventures against the Ottomans. It should then enable me to view my relative power against theirs in the Score and objective screen.
The other Great Powers are all neutral towards us. The power of special interest to us is Prussia and a concerted effort will be made to acquire cordial relations with them.
Elsewhere we have been courting Greece as a regional ally. They are now considered as friendly towards us. We will seek to exploit this by asking for supply and military access agreements.
The French despite there manpower advantage are still finding it difficult to occupy and pacify Tunisia.
Military
I and II Armies continue to perform policing duties in our most troubled provinces.
Both these armies are reinforced with a Mountain division and a signals regiment
** Each army now has a power rating of over 2500
We have created an amphibious force of 2 Marine Divisions with various support attachments based in Liguria.
In September we complete a fortification in Calabria.
In December our fortification in Rome was updated to a modern industrial era fort. Work continues to increase these defensive works.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
The war suddenly ignites unexpectedly again in August when the entire Sheewan army decamps from Assela and kicks the two defending brigades from Negele and besieges the garrison inside our fortress.
Various piecemeal counter attacks from the surrounding areas culminate in a rather shocking defeat in November.
** I rather foolishly committed three uncoordinated forces to the attack misled by the power information on the enemy icon which does not take into account the power ratings of other enemy forces in the region of which there were four. An expensive lesson learned. Luckily (which I didn’t really deserve) all the defeated forces escaped without losing any elements. The battle above is slightly misleading in that most of the Italian force had been defeated in the previous turn and was caught up in the battle whilst trying to retreat out of the province
The theatre has been absent a military governor since General Fanti was recalled to Italy in the previous year. The general staff appoint General Caldini to lead our forces in the area. He arrives in Mogadishu in late November together with a newly raised mountain brigade.
He hurriedly begins assembling a relief column in neighbouring Goba with the aim of relieving our garrison sometime in early 1864.
** When my battered colonial regiments take on replacements the combined force will total in the region of 600 power (including 2 leaders, artillery, supply and a mountain brigade) versus a combined enemy force of roughly 350. Incidentally this will be the largest colonial army I have concentrated so far.
On a positive note one of our native levies has slipped into the last enemy province of Assela without resistance. It will soon be under our control at which point we will start to build fortifications.
We have built the following military units:
- 2 x Signal Units
- 2 x Mountain Divisions
- 1 x Marine Division
- 1 x Transport Squadron
In the main this period has seen real social progress as Italy starts to knit itself into a single nation.
** Contentment has passed 70% whilst militancy has dropped to 2%. More importantly only 2 provinces are now under 50% contentment which I think is the cut off for the nastier social disorders.
In July we complete Telecommunications projects in Sardinia and Liguria. In this month we also invest our research funds into Steam Ships of the Line.
In August we issue a new Ethiopian campaign medal.
In December we begin building modern sewer systems in Alessandria and Rome.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of payments December
Our internal market:
- Food 62
- Common Goods 50
- Luxuries 34
- Colonial Self Government (+5% internal market for colonial areas)
- Standarised screw (+10% input/outputs mechanical factories)
- Exploration of the African Interior (+20% contentment for upper class/aristocrats)
- Urban Sewer Systems (+2% contentment middle/upper class and aristocrats. Also gives the sewer network decision)
- International Working Mans Association
- Bilateral Trade Treaties (-5 point modification to internal market penetration by foreign powers)
- Mendelian Genetics (+10% population growth rate)
- Steel Rails Implementation (+55% development)
- Universal Male Sufferage
- Control of Yellow Fever and Malaria
- Le Bon Marche - Department Stores (+10% internal consumption)
- Precision Micrometer
- Mail order catalogues
- Canned Food Shop - Rome (August)
- Furniture Shop - Bologna (October)
- Gem Mine - Dubai (November)
- Gem Mine - Trucial - Dubai (December)
- Military Academy - Rome (July)
- Gem Field - Dubai (July)
- Coffee Field - Harer (July)
- Manufactured Goods Shop - Sicily (August)
- Manufactured Goods Shop - Rome (November)
In July our sources report that after extensive diplomatic efforts Zanzibar would also now “welcome” protectorate status. Drawn by our expanding power and influence in the region Italian colonists begin arriving in Mogadishu.
In September our prospectors identify another gem site in Dubai whilst expeditions return from Sanaa and Nakuru. The influx of large numbers of Italian colonists into Mogadishu has led to the formation of exclusive colonial societies. Exploration teams also return from Nairobi this month with tales garnered from the natives of a huge inland lake.
In December to handle the increased level of shipping to our colonial holdings we begin expanding the coaling station at Mogadishu.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Consulate in Djibuti
- Consulate in Massawa
- Mission in Nakuru
- Governors Mansion in Berberra
- Fort and Schools in Kismayu
- School in Baidoa
- Roads and fort in Garissa
- Outpost and road in Negele
- Outpost and Anchorage in Trucial (Dubai)
- Roads in Bonga
- Roads in Wajir
- Missionin Dijbuti
- Anchorage and Fort in Dar Es Salaam
- Roads and schools in Dubai
- Trade post in Garissa
Prestige
In December we finally overhaul Austria to move into 5th place. At the time of passing them the gap to France in 4th place was 3539 points (ie very big!). On the plus side our army rating is higher than 4 out of the 8 nations on the score list.
1864 Jan to Jun - A Change of Policy / Military Build Up
Diplomacy
As Italy begins to flex its colonial muscles again and again we are finding ourselves hemmed in by the fading might of the Ottoman Empire. As a consequence our diplomatic focus has moved away from acquiring our territories across the Po to challenging the Ottomans for hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
This has led us to seek a policy of rapprochement with Austria whilst at the same time fortifying our mutual border. It is hoped that this will provide us at least temporarily with some semblance of security on our northern border whilst we redeploy our field armies for use elsewhere.
Our initial diplomatic efforts have all been rebuffed but despite this we promise Austria local support from which we see a further small thawing of relations.
A second plank to this strategy has been to chip away at Ottoman power in the Red Sea. We have declared Djibuti and Eritrea as protectorates and have gained military (if not full political control) over these areas. We will move to declare these regions as formal colonies as soon as the necessary diplomatic spadework has been completed.
Efforts will also be renewed during the coming period to convince Greece to give us movement and supply rights through their territory. We are buying a surplus of Greek goods in the hope that it has some influence upon their government’s decision making.
We will also be attending to the open sore which is the war against the Sheewa. We will begin by adding Ethiopia as a colony during the next 6 months. This should finally enable us to annex the Sheewan state directly into our holdings (and thus end the war). This is important as it will enable us to concentrate our colonial army for action against the Ottomans.
Perhaps as a visible sign of our rising prestige the USA asks us for a state visit however Prussia remains firmly unconvinced by our diplomatic efforts.
Finally gold is found in Siberia
Military
During this period both I and II Army both receive an additional infantry division to boost there strength. After his promotion A F Mamora will now command a newly constituted III Army which will be based in Rome and be tasked with the defence of Italy. This army is only a shell at the moment containing a single infantry brigade and various support elements. Our Marine Corps has also been supplemented with 2 artillery regiments.
The navy receives two new transport squadrons bringing the total number of transport squadrons in home waters up to five.
We begin the process of modernising our forts in the Parma, Romagna, Tuscany triangle. We also build fortress artillery for Parma and Romagna. In May we complete the upgrade to our fortifications in Sicily.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
The last 6 months see a series of see-saw battles.
In February General Caldini successfully pushes the Sheewa out of Negele unfortunately not before the enemy has time to torch the fort and mission station. Again the enemy successfully retreats rather than face a superior force.
Our small native detachment is pushed out of Awasa and the enemy swiftly re-establishes control.
In early June our garrison in Bonga is attacked and forced to retreat. General Caldini launches a counter attack from Negele which forces the enemy to retreat.
We will now look to diplomatic means to resolve this conflict.
We have built the following military units:
This period is notable for the rapid increase in the size of our internal market which was boosted by several new technological advances. We also for the first time see sales of goods filtering through to our colonial territories.
The goods being sold to our colonials are now also producing taxes for the state. This extra tax income is being used to finance a second line of research. We are funding research into Iron Muzzle Loading Artillery and Iron Ships.
Our industrialisation continues at a good pace with all regions in Italy other than one all now sporting at least one factory.
The influx of new manufactured goods from our factories has helped immeasurably with our expansion however we still need to make very difficult decisions every month on whether to spend resources on economic, military and colonial projects as there is simply not enough to do everything.
The mood of our population continues to improve aided in no small part by our ability to fully supply their domestic demand. Contentment rises to 73% whilst militancy drops to 1% (only Rome is still running a high level of militancy at 10%).
In January we passed a new electoral law allowing universal male suffrage. We also extend the telegraph networks in Liguria and Sardinia. Strikes in France have a severe affect on our overall wood production.
In February we continue the extension of the telecommunications network in Liguria and Sardinia.
In May we pass a Referendum of the Plebicities which is warmly supported by the populace.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of Trade June:
Our internal market:
The march to acquiring an empire continues.
Areas ready for protectorate status:
In February colonists continue to flock to Mogadishu
In April we formally declare Ethiopia as a protectorate
Various expeditions arrive back from Africa
Prestige
We manage to maintain our position in 5th place and gradually start to pull away from Austria. In June we pass the 10,000 point mile stone. Our National Morale is 129
Note we have gained control of one of our objectives Addis Abeba
As Italy begins to flex its colonial muscles again and again we are finding ourselves hemmed in by the fading might of the Ottoman Empire. As a consequence our diplomatic focus has moved away from acquiring our territories across the Po to challenging the Ottomans for hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
This has led us to seek a policy of rapprochement with Austria whilst at the same time fortifying our mutual border. It is hoped that this will provide us at least temporarily with some semblance of security on our northern border whilst we redeploy our field armies for use elsewhere.
Our initial diplomatic efforts have all been rebuffed but despite this we promise Austria local support from which we see a further small thawing of relations.
A second plank to this strategy has been to chip away at Ottoman power in the Red Sea. We have declared Djibuti and Eritrea as protectorates and have gained military (if not full political control) over these areas. We will move to declare these regions as formal colonies as soon as the necessary diplomatic spadework has been completed.
Efforts will also be renewed during the coming period to convince Greece to give us movement and supply rights through their territory. We are buying a surplus of Greek goods in the hope that it has some influence upon their government’s decision making.
We will also be attending to the open sore which is the war against the Sheewa. We will begin by adding Ethiopia as a colony during the next 6 months. This should finally enable us to annex the Sheewan state directly into our holdings (and thus end the war). This is important as it will enable us to concentrate our colonial army for action against the Ottomans.
Perhaps as a visible sign of our rising prestige the USA asks us for a state visit however Prussia remains firmly unconvinced by our diplomatic efforts.
Finally gold is found in Siberia
Military
During this period both I and II Army both receive an additional infantry division to boost there strength. After his promotion A F Mamora will now command a newly constituted III Army which will be based in Rome and be tasked with the defence of Italy. This army is only a shell at the moment containing a single infantry brigade and various support elements. Our Marine Corps has also been supplemented with 2 artillery regiments.
The navy receives two new transport squadrons bringing the total number of transport squadrons in home waters up to five.
We begin the process of modernising our forts in the Parma, Romagna, Tuscany triangle. We also build fortress artillery for Parma and Romagna. In May we complete the upgrade to our fortifications in Sicily.
Sheewan War May 1859 to ?
The last 6 months see a series of see-saw battles.
In February General Caldini successfully pushes the Sheewa out of Negele unfortunately not before the enemy has time to torch the fort and mission station. Again the enemy successfully retreats rather than face a superior force.
Our small native detachment is pushed out of Awasa and the enemy swiftly re-establishes control.
In early June our garrison in Bonga is attacked and forced to retreat. General Caldini launches a counter attack from Negele which forces the enemy to retreat.
We will now look to diplomatic means to resolve this conflict.
We have built the following military units:
- 2 x Fortress Artillery
- 2 x Infantry Divisions
- 1 x Transport Squadron
- 2 x Field Artillery Regiments
- Replacements: 3 x Merchant Ship; 1 x Light Warship
This period is notable for the rapid increase in the size of our internal market which was boosted by several new technological advances. We also for the first time see sales of goods filtering through to our colonial territories.
The goods being sold to our colonials are now also producing taxes for the state. This extra tax income is being used to finance a second line of research. We are funding research into Iron Muzzle Loading Artillery and Iron Ships.
Our industrialisation continues at a good pace with all regions in Italy other than one all now sporting at least one factory.
The influx of new manufactured goods from our factories has helped immeasurably with our expansion however we still need to make very difficult decisions every month on whether to spend resources on economic, military and colonial projects as there is simply not enough to do everything.
The mood of our population continues to improve aided in no small part by our ability to fully supply their domestic demand. Contentment rises to 73% whilst militancy drops to 1% (only Rome is still running a high level of militancy at 10%).
In January we passed a new electoral law allowing universal male suffrage. We also extend the telegraph networks in Liguria and Sardinia. Strikes in France have a severe affect on our overall wood production.
In February we continue the extension of the telecommunications network in Liguria and Sardinia.
In May we pass a Referendum of the Plebicities which is warmly supported by the populace.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of Trade June:
Our internal market:
- Food 71
- Common Goods 59
- Luxuries 39
- Modern Slaughter House (+15% input/output cost to cattle farms)
- Income Tax (+20pts to max income tax)
- New Petroleum Industry (adds oil field structure and increases potential oil stockpile by 100%)
- Joint Stock Companies (+10% modifier to sell goods when in competition)
- Health Spas (+10% consumption for national and colonial markets)
- Steam Ship of the Line (adds commerce steamer to force pool)
- Monetary Unions (+5% consumption for national and colonial markets)
- Thomas Cooke (+10% consumption for national and colonial markets)
- Mechanisation of the Canning Process (+10% input/output cost to cattle farms / canned food factories)
- Glover Tower (+20% input/output cost to nitrate mines)
- Investment Banks (+10% modifier to sell goods when in competition)
- Mastered Bimetallic Cans (+10% input/output cost to cereal / tropical farms)
- New Drilling Implementation
- National Banks
- Paper Money
- Ocean Liners
- Tobacco Field - Raleigh (USA) - January
- Iron Extraction - Parma - February
- Tropical Fruit Farm - Mombasa - April
- Ammunition Shop - Abruzzo - May
- Shipbuilding - Napoli - June
- Coffee Field - Harer - January
- Tea Field - Garissa - January
- Gems Field - Dubai - February
- Furniture Shop - Abruzzo - March
- Furniture Shop - Puglia - March
- Gems Field - Trucial (Dubai) - March
- Canned Food Factory - Lazio - June
- Merchant Fleet
The march to acquiring an empire continues.
Areas ready for protectorate status:
- Zanzibar
- Lome
- Eritrea
- Abyssinia
- Djibuti
- Ethiopia
- Somalia
- Somaliland
- Dubai
In February colonists continue to flock to Mogadishu
In April we formally declare Ethiopia as a protectorate
Various expeditions arrive back from Africa
- Natural History - Qatar / Ghaydah (Arabia)
- Anthropological -Qatar
- Coaling station in Kismayu
- School, Governors Residence in Dubai
- Roads in Trucial
- Anchorage, Mission in Assab
- Telegraph, Coaling Station Upgrade in Mogadishu
- Fort in Dubai
- Consulate in Markos
- Mission in Massawa
- Mission in Awsa
- Military Outpost in Djibuti
- Fort in Makuro
Prestige
We manage to maintain our position in 5th place and gradually start to pull away from Austria. In June we pass the 10,000 point mile stone. Our National Morale is 129
Note we have gained control of one of our objectives Addis Abeba
1864 Jul to Dec - We Love the Greeks / War Plans
Diplomacy
This period sees some very important and frankly unexpected breakthroughs after our diplomatic overtures to Greece. In short succession Greece agrees to a state visit and a commercial agreement which provides a considerable boost to relations between our nations. In return we agree to provide Greece with local support in the event of a diplomatic crisis. Perhaps most importantly Greece agrees to allow us military passage rights through their country. The next 6 months will see us pressure the Greeks to allow us access to their supply depots.
Another victory for our diplomats is the steady reduction of tension with the Austrian Empire which sees them take a neutral (if cautious) stand towards us. In conjunction with this de-escalation of hostilities we withdraw our I Army from the border in the hope of preventing any diplomatic incidents.
We also receive requests from Egypt and Switzerland for state visits.
Military
Balkan Situation:
Our military planners have been wrestling with the problem of how to force territorial concessions from the Ottomans. Clearly with such a large and diverse empire we will need to capture Istanbul to bring them to the negotiating table and to have any hope of obtaining our primary objectives of Tirana and Libya.
To this end our plan calls for an invasion of the Balkans with Istanbul being the final objective. We also intend to use our colonial army to mount secondary invasions in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsular to capture Jerusalem and Medina with the aim of diverting Ottoman resources away from the main thrust and undermining their national morale. Once Istanbul has been captured we will then move to secure Libya before initiating peace talks.
Initially it was envisaged that our main Balkan thrust would be composed of two amphibious invasions. The first of these spearheaded by our newly formed Marine Corps (roughly 1000 power) and covered by the majority of our navy would land at Thessalonica with the aim of capturing the Naval base and supply depot there. Once secured II Army (roughly 3000 power) would then be ferried in and once concentrated would advance along the coast towards Istanbul. Simultaneously a landing by I Army (roughly 3000 power) supported by an independent marine division and covered by several squadrons of the new fangled Ironclads would take place at Tirana. Thereafter this army would move to cover the left flank of II Army moving via Sophia to capture the supply depot.
One of the weaknesses of this plan would be the length of time it would take to fully transport both armies from Italy giving the enemy several weeks to prepare defensive positions and raise fresh troops. With the ability to base troops in Greece we will now be able to fully assemble II Army in Attica before declaring hostilities freeing up all our naval transport to support the landing of I Army at Tirana. Our Marine Corps will still attempt to capture Thessalonica by Coup de Main whilst II Army marches overland to link up with this bridgehead. Once we linkup with the marines and naval transport is available the Marine Corps will then land on the south side of the Dardanelles with the intention of opening the straits to allow a naval blockade of Istanbul and further dilute Ottoman resources away from our main thrust.
A tentative target date for this operation is March 1866 which hopefully gives us the time to resolve the Sheewa conflict, build up our garrisons along the Po and flesh out III Army to provide a reserve force. This date should also allow us the longest possible spell of dry weather.
In preparation for the coming conflict both our land and naval forces receive significant reinforcements
We built the following naval units:
Our marine corps OOB is as follows:
The Navy has been split into 2 units.
Adriatic Fleet (Abruzzo):
We complete the design and manufacture of a new iron breech loading cannon. All our formations are upgraded from the old bronze muzzle loaders to the new artillery (hence the high number field artillery replacements bought this period). We are funding research into the possibility of breech loaded artillery but it is unlikely that this will pay off in time for the Ottoman conflict
Other innovations include Wigwag signalling; Balloons; Professionalism; Military Staff System; Armed Trains; Herman Hart USMRCC and Railroad Batteries. These innovations range from upgrades to existing units to perhaps most importantly reducing the loss of cohesion an army suffers when on the move.
To support our operations we have built depots in the main embarkation ports of Reggio (Calabria) and Ancona (Abruzzo). Several of our fortifications in the peninsular have begun the process of expansion (Lazio, Napoli and Sicily). With their depots complete I and II armies redeploy to their embarkation ports.
Economy
Again this period saw another increase in the size of our internal market
Industrialisation in this period slows as significant resources are diverted to the military although we do manage to begin construction of our last available shipyard.
Steel production whilst never high has been up until now sufficient to meet our needs. With the high demand caused by our military program steel is becoming a bottleneck in our economy. To rectify that several new steel mills are planned. All the new industry will be placed outside of the old Sardina - Piedmont in an effort to industrialise all the newly acquired territories.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
We started the following industrial improvements:
In August we organise a new referendum of Plebiscites. This contributes to a sizeable increase in contentment over the period to 80%. Militancy remains at 1%
In September we order further expansion to the Telegraph networks in Savoire and Sardinia and sewers are completed in Lazio and Alessandria.
In November in order to meet the extra demand on our treasury from the military we raise Excise Tax from 53 to 70%.
Colonisation
Italy’s colonial empire
Areas ready for formal status:
Colonial facts and figures for my SOI:
Extent of East Africa under my military control:
** Notice the 2 light green provinces where the unruly Sheewa continue to frustrate me!
In August the loyalty of the population in Mogadishu passes 50%
In November we formally declare Zanzibar as a protectorate.
By December the Ottoman colonial penetration in Djibuti is completely wiped out (this has the effect of destroying the Ottoman controlled port in the province)
Expeditions:
Prestige
We continue to increase the gap to Austria in 6th position and reduce the gap to France in 4th to under 3000 points.
With Austria now visible on the score screen we note with some nervousness that they have the 2nd largest army. Our national morale drops slightly to 128
This period sees some very important and frankly unexpected breakthroughs after our diplomatic overtures to Greece. In short succession Greece agrees to a state visit and a commercial agreement which provides a considerable boost to relations between our nations. In return we agree to provide Greece with local support in the event of a diplomatic crisis. Perhaps most importantly Greece agrees to allow us military passage rights through their country. The next 6 months will see us pressure the Greeks to allow us access to their supply depots.
Another victory for our diplomats is the steady reduction of tension with the Austrian Empire which sees them take a neutral (if cautious) stand towards us. In conjunction with this de-escalation of hostilities we withdraw our I Army from the border in the hope of preventing any diplomatic incidents.
We also receive requests from Egypt and Switzerland for state visits.
Military
Balkan Situation:
Our military planners have been wrestling with the problem of how to force territorial concessions from the Ottomans. Clearly with such a large and diverse empire we will need to capture Istanbul to bring them to the negotiating table and to have any hope of obtaining our primary objectives of Tirana and Libya.
To this end our plan calls for an invasion of the Balkans with Istanbul being the final objective. We also intend to use our colonial army to mount secondary invasions in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsular to capture Jerusalem and Medina with the aim of diverting Ottoman resources away from the main thrust and undermining their national morale. Once Istanbul has been captured we will then move to secure Libya before initiating peace talks.
Initially it was envisaged that our main Balkan thrust would be composed of two amphibious invasions. The first of these spearheaded by our newly formed Marine Corps (roughly 1000 power) and covered by the majority of our navy would land at Thessalonica with the aim of capturing the Naval base and supply depot there. Once secured II Army (roughly 3000 power) would then be ferried in and once concentrated would advance along the coast towards Istanbul. Simultaneously a landing by I Army (roughly 3000 power) supported by an independent marine division and covered by several squadrons of the new fangled Ironclads would take place at Tirana. Thereafter this army would move to cover the left flank of II Army moving via Sophia to capture the supply depot.
One of the weaknesses of this plan would be the length of time it would take to fully transport both armies from Italy giving the enemy several weeks to prepare defensive positions and raise fresh troops. With the ability to base troops in Greece we will now be able to fully assemble II Army in Attica before declaring hostilities freeing up all our naval transport to support the landing of I Army at Tirana. Our Marine Corps will still attempt to capture Thessalonica by Coup de Main whilst II Army marches overland to link up with this bridgehead. Once we linkup with the marines and naval transport is available the Marine Corps will then land on the south side of the Dardanelles with the intention of opening the straits to allow a naval blockade of Istanbul and further dilute Ottoman resources away from our main thrust.
A tentative target date for this operation is March 1866 which hopefully gives us the time to resolve the Sheewa conflict, build up our garrisons along the Po and flesh out III Army to provide a reserve force. This date should also allow us the longest possible spell of dry weather.
In preparation for the coming conflict both our land and naval forces receive significant reinforcements
We built the following naval units:
- 3 x Ironclad Squadrons
- 1 x (Sail) Battleship Squadron
- 1 x Scouting Squadron
- 1 x Transport Squadron
- Replacements: 2 x Heavy Warship; 3 x Light Coastal Warship
- 2 x Field Artillery Regiments
- 2 x Siege Artillery Regiments
- 6 x Supply units
- 3 x Light Infantry Brigades
- 2 x Cavalry Divisions
- 2 x Light Cavalry Brigades
- 1 x Marine Division
- Replacements: 9 x Field Artillery; 2 x Light Artillery, 4 x Line Infantry
- 2 x Infantry Corps
- 1 x Mountain Division
- 1 x Infantry Division
- 1 x Cavalry Division
- 5 x Artillery Regiments
- 2 x Siege Artillery
- 1 x Light Cavalry Brigade
- Support: 2 Supply; 1 Balloon; 1 Signals; 1 Pioneer; 1 Engineer; 1 Labourer; 1 Medic
Our marine corps OOB is as follows:
- 2 x Marine Divisions
- 2 x Artillery Regiments
- Support: 2 Supply; 1 Medic; 1 Engineer
The Navy has been split into 2 units.
Adriatic Fleet (Abruzzo):
- 3 x Ironclad Squadrons
- 1 x Scouting Squadron
- 3 x Transport Squadrons
- 1 x (Sail) Battleship Squadron
- 2 x Frigate Squadrons
- 2 x Scouting Squadrons
- 3 x Transport Squadrons
We complete the design and manufacture of a new iron breech loading cannon. All our formations are upgraded from the old bronze muzzle loaders to the new artillery (hence the high number field artillery replacements bought this period). We are funding research into the possibility of breech loaded artillery but it is unlikely that this will pay off in time for the Ottoman conflict
Other innovations include Wigwag signalling; Balloons; Professionalism; Military Staff System; Armed Trains; Herman Hart USMRCC and Railroad Batteries. These innovations range from upgrades to existing units to perhaps most importantly reducing the loss of cohesion an army suffers when on the move.
To support our operations we have built depots in the main embarkation ports of Reggio (Calabria) and Ancona (Abruzzo). Several of our fortifications in the peninsular have begun the process of expansion (Lazio, Napoli and Sicily). With their depots complete I and II armies redeploy to their embarkation ports.
Economy
Again this period saw another increase in the size of our internal market
- Food 80
- Common Goods 68
- Luxuries 44
Industrialisation in this period slows as significant resources are diverted to the military although we do manage to begin construction of our last available shipyard.
Steel production whilst never high has been up until now sufficient to meet our needs. With the high demand caused by our military program steel is becoming a bottleneck in our economy. To rectify that several new steel mills are planned. All the new industry will be placed outside of the old Sardina - Piedmont in an effort to industrialise all the newly acquired territories.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
We started the following industrial improvements:
- Fruit Farm - Calabria - July
- Steel Mill - Calabria - August
- Shipbuilding - Puglia - September
- Fruit Farm - Calabria - October
- Opium Field - Zanzibar - December
- Tobacco Field - Raleigh (USA) - July
- Iron Extraction - Parma - August
- Furniture Shop - Romagna - August
- Tropical Fruit Farm - Mombasa - October
- Fruit Farm - Calabria - December
- Iron Muzzle Loading Artillery (improved artillery units)
- Military Staff System
- Wigwag Signalling
- Professionalism
- Refrigeration (allows chill room)
- Armed Trains (-25% cohesion loss when units moving, -15% hit modifier when units moving)
- Balloons (I already had balloons not sure if this provides an improved balloon unit)
- Herman Hapt USMRCC (-25% cohesion loss when units move)
- Railroad Batteries (-25% cohesion loss when artillery units move, -15% hit modifier when artillery units moving)
- Breech Loading Artillery
- Chill Room
In August we organise a new referendum of Plebiscites. This contributes to a sizeable increase in contentment over the period to 80%. Militancy remains at 1%
In September we order further expansion to the Telegraph networks in Savoire and Sardinia and sewers are completed in Lazio and Alessandria.
In November in order to meet the extra demand on our treasury from the military we raise Excise Tax from 53 to 70%.
Colonisation
Italy’s colonial empire
Areas ready for formal status:
- Lome
- Eritrea
- Abyssinia
- Djibuti
- Zanzibar
- Djibuti
- Somalia
- Somaliland
- Dubai
Colonial facts and figures for my SOI:
Extent of East Africa under my military control:
** Notice the 2 light green provinces where the unruly Sheewa continue to frustrate me!
In August the loyalty of the population in Mogadishu passes 50%
In November we formally declare Zanzibar as a protectorate.
By December the Ottoman colonial penetration in Djibuti is completely wiped out (this has the effect of destroying the Ottoman controlled port in the province)
Expeditions:
- Natural History - Qatar / Ghaydah (Arabia)
- Anthroplogical - Qatar / Ghaydah (Arabia)
- National Geographic - Tripolitania
- Trucial - Fort
- Markos - Mission, Telegraph
- Berbera - Colonial Society
- Mombasa - School
- Djibuti - School
- Ankobar - School, Mission
- Zanzibar - Anchorage, Port, Consulate
- Gondor - Fort, Roads
- Harer - School
Prestige
We continue to increase the gap to Austria in 6th position and reduce the gap to France in 4th to under 3000 points.
With Austria now visible on the score screen we note with some nervousness that they have the 2nd largest army. Our national morale drops slightly to 128
1865 Jan to Jun - The world falls in love with Italy / Cruising in the Med
Diplomacy
Our diplomatic manoeuvres towards Greece and the acquisition of a supply treaty are all rebuffed during this period. Perhaps the reality of what the Greek government signed up to last year and the prospect of large Italian armies stationed on their territory have caused one or two politicians to rethink their position. In what seems a placating gesture the Greeks place an order for a new frigate squadron at our shipyard in Liguria.
The coming six months will see us make another determined effort to acquire that allusive supply treaty from the Greeks. In addition we will test the waters with Montenegro to see what concessions we can acquire from them as they just so happen to border our invasion site at Tirana.
Our relations with the USA continue to improve and this culminates in the US government seeking to arrange a state visit.
Over the past few years we have noticed a substantial increase in the budget for the diplomatic corps. When questioned senior diplomats claim that the funds have been used to provide lavish banquets in foreign capitals in the hope of influencing the great and the good of these nations. This has been hugely successful with many states now proclaiming “eternal” friendship with our nation.
** In reality at the end of June for no reason I could see (could be a bug) relations with all the powers increased markedly. If I was to guess because I have not been monitoring country relations closely all powers increased there relationship with us by 25 points or so! I’m not sure if this will disappear as fast as it came but it certainly makes the world a friendlier place.
Military
As we seek to legitimise our claims against the Ottoman Empire we send out several naval squadrons to “fly the flag” in the Eastern Mediterranean. This aggressive patrolling also provides us with valuable information on our enemies’ capabilities. These voyages identify 3 Turkish armies
Adrianople:
Samaria:
Mugla:
We also seek to increase the power of our East African colonial army with the addition of several new units. These new units arrived in theatre at the end of May.
Our war with the Sheewa takes another twist as we finally manage to break the bloody stalemate. In February General Caldini takes the initiative and in a series of bloody battles drives the Sheewa from Abyssinia altogether and across the border into the rump state of Ethiopia. Whilst bloodied and defeated the brave Sheewan warriors are still a force to be reckoned with and with this in mind we have placed forces along the border to keep them from the lands now claimed by the Empire.
It is hoped that our diplomats may now find a way to permanently end the bloodshed.
In April we continue to improve our fortifications on the Austrian border in Po, Romagna and Toscana (expanding to level 3 industrial fort)
We built the following naval units:
Our internal market:
Again economic expansion took a back seat to military expansion in this period.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of Trade June:
We started the following industrial improvements:
In February we passed an education reform act.
In May we started construction of telecom networks in Savoire and Firenze and in June began expanding the sewer systems in Romagna and Abruzzo.
Our contentment rises slightly to 83% whilst militancy remains at 1%
Colonisation
For several years now soldiers, merchants and explorers have been moving southward from our colony in Somalia into the area known as Kenya. This activity has reached such a point that Kenya is now formally ready to be given protectorate status.
In February the colonial prestige gain per turn increases from 1 to 2.
In May Djibuti is formally adopted as a colony in our empire
Italy’s colonial empire
Areas ready for formal status:
Prestige
The gap to France in 4th position closes to just over 2200 points. In January we passed 11,000 points.
Our diplomatic manoeuvres towards Greece and the acquisition of a supply treaty are all rebuffed during this period. Perhaps the reality of what the Greek government signed up to last year and the prospect of large Italian armies stationed on their territory have caused one or two politicians to rethink their position. In what seems a placating gesture the Greeks place an order for a new frigate squadron at our shipyard in Liguria.
The coming six months will see us make another determined effort to acquire that allusive supply treaty from the Greeks. In addition we will test the waters with Montenegro to see what concessions we can acquire from them as they just so happen to border our invasion site at Tirana.
Our relations with the USA continue to improve and this culminates in the US government seeking to arrange a state visit.
Over the past few years we have noticed a substantial increase in the budget for the diplomatic corps. When questioned senior diplomats claim that the funds have been used to provide lavish banquets in foreign capitals in the hope of influencing the great and the good of these nations. This has been hugely successful with many states now proclaiming “eternal” friendship with our nation.
** In reality at the end of June for no reason I could see (could be a bug) relations with all the powers increased markedly. If I was to guess because I have not been monitoring country relations closely all powers increased there relationship with us by 25 points or so! I’m not sure if this will disappear as fast as it came but it certainly makes the world a friendlier place.
Military
As we seek to legitimise our claims against the Ottoman Empire we send out several naval squadrons to “fly the flag” in the Eastern Mediterranean. This aggressive patrolling also provides us with valuable information on our enemies’ capabilities. These voyages identify 3 Turkish armies
Adrianople:
Samaria:
Mugla:
We also seek to increase the power of our East African colonial army with the addition of several new units. These new units arrived in theatre at the end of May.
Our war with the Sheewa takes another twist as we finally manage to break the bloody stalemate. In February General Caldini takes the initiative and in a series of bloody battles drives the Sheewa from Abyssinia altogether and across the border into the rump state of Ethiopia. Whilst bloodied and defeated the brave Sheewan warriors are still a force to be reckoned with and with this in mind we have placed forces along the border to keep them from the lands now claimed by the Empire.
It is hoped that our diplomats may now find a way to permanently end the bloodshed.
In April we continue to improve our fortifications on the Austrian border in Po, Romagna and Toscana (expanding to level 3 industrial fort)
We built the following naval units:
- 1 x Frigate Squadron
- 1 x Scouting Squadron
- Replacements: 3 x Merchant Ship; 1 x Light Warship
- 1 x Infantry Corps L
- 1 x Infantry Division
- 5 x Supply Wagons
- 1 x Signal Regiment
- 1 x Balloon Observation Regt
- 1 x Pioneer Regiment
- 2 x Field Artillery Regiments
- 1 x Siege Artillery
- 1 x Light Cavalry
- 1 x Garrison (Calabria)
Our internal market:
- Food 80
- Common Goods 68
- Luxuries 44
Again economic expansion took a back seat to military expansion in this period.
Organic Stockpile:
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of Trade June:
We started the following industrial improvements:
- Railroad - Djibuti - January
- Steel Furnace - Parma - April
- Textile Shop - Toscana - June
- Fruit Farm - Calabria - April
- Ammunition Shop - Abruzzo - May
- Shipbuilding - Campania - June
- Ironclad Trains (-25% cohesion loss and -15% hits whilst moving)
- Steam Trawlers (Gives fishing harbour structure)
- Guncotton (Allows brown prismatic powder tech)
- Hard rock mining (15% input \ output costs for Iron \ Coal \ Minerals \ Gold \ Gems)
- Structural Steel (Changes icon used to display towns on map)
- Grants for Settlement of Aboriginal Lands
- Social Darwinism
- The Paris Commune
- Anarchism
- Elementary Education Act
- Recognition of Trade Unions
- Brown Prismatic Powder
- Reinforced Concrete
In February we passed an education reform act.
In May we started construction of telecom networks in Savoire and Firenze and in June began expanding the sewer systems in Romagna and Abruzzo.
Our contentment rises slightly to 83% whilst militancy remains at 1%
Colonisation
For several years now soldiers, merchants and explorers have been moving southward from our colony in Somalia into the area known as Kenya. This activity has reached such a point that Kenya is now formally ready to be given protectorate status.
In February the colonial prestige gain per turn increases from 1 to 2.
In May Djibuti is formally adopted as a colony in our empire
Italy’s colonial empire
Areas ready for formal status:
- Kenya
- Eritrea
- Abyssinia
- Zanzibar
- Abyssinia
- Somalia
- Somaliland
- Dubai
- Djibuti
- Natural History - Qatar / Ghaydah (Arabia)
- Anthroplogical - Haramut (Arabia)
- National Geographic - Misurata, Tripoli
- We explore the Kilgum (Uganda)
- Zanzibar - Anchorage
- Asella - School
- Djibuti - Depot, Harbour, Governors Residence
- Mogadishu - Harbour improved (to level 4)
- Lamu - Mission
- Asawa - Mission
- Negele - Mission
Prestige
The gap to France in 4th position closes to just over 2200 points. In January we passed 11,000 points.
1865 Jul to Dec - The Sheewa Defeated / The Army Deploys
Diplomacy
In a series of very protracted negotiations with the tribal leaders in Abyssinia our diplomats succeed where our army has so often failed by finally managing to settle our longest running conflict with the Sheewa. The price for the enemy is steep with all of Abyssinia now formally surrendered to the empire and incorporated as a colony. As a gesture of respect to a brave enemy they are permitted to retain their arms and will now serve as an auxiliary force to the colonial army.
** I finally succeeded in declaring a colony over Abyssinia. Both Abyssinia and Sheewa are annexed and hey presto the war is finally over. I have now inherited significant forces from these 2 states which whilst useful are already adding to the burden of supply in the area. A portion of these forces are moving to Djibuti on the Red Sea in preparation for opening a second front against the Ottomans.
Abyssinian forces
Sheewan Forces
During August the Greeks finally acceded to our requests for supply rights.
Montenegro desperately rebuffs all our attempts for a similar set of treaties which would have allowed us to strike at the Ottomans from the north.
Taking advantage of the love for all things Italian currently being experienced around the world we manage to further improve relations with the Prussians by signing a commercial agreement and agreeing to a state visit.
We have now secured friendly relations with four of the major powers France, Great Britain, USA and Prussia. Hopefully this will be enough to shield us from the worst of the international condemnation when operations begin against the Ottomans next year. The Ottomans remain diplomatically isolated and have no external allies.
Military
With the crossing of the T’s and the dotting of the I’s only just dry on the Greek supply treaty II Army boards ship for Attica ostensibly to discourage any Ottoman move against Greece. By the end of the year II Army is fully formed in Greece ready to strike north.
At the same time our Marine Corps moves to its embarkation port in Calabria together with half our transport fleet.
The main military focus in the last 6 months has been the build up of III Army. 2 Infantry Corps, 3 Divisions and several support units have been added to its OOB. This formation has been earmarked to defend Italy but may be deployed as a reserve force if our armies become bogged down in the Balkans.
The next 3 months before the outbreak of hostilities will see us focus on building up our replacement pools.
The Ottoman war planned first phase:
Sicily upgrades its fortifications (Industrial Level 2).
** All my European objective regions now have at least level 2 industrial fortifications with all but Sicily now building to the final level (level 3). This should help prevent national morale loss should the AI decide to go raiding.
We have built the following naval units:
For the first time in nearly a decade textile demand greatly outstrips supply. With this increased demand prices on textiles have quadrupled. We are currently struggling to meet our requirements in this area and intend to build two new factories (the number of factories we have left in our structure pool) to meet our internal demand and to sell on the world market.
With the improved 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] generation factories and new steel factory construction we are no longer facing bottlenecks in this area and are able to build up a healthy surplus.
Our Internal Market:
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of payments December:
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
This period sees us ramp up our colonial presence in North Africa as merchants, missionaries and diplomats descend on Libya.
In November Abyssinia becomes a colony and Kenya is declared as a protectorate. In December we begin our attempt to add Yemen as a protectorate.
We discover coffee in Gonder and our explorers discover and map the province of Entebbe in Uganda. Explorers have now also arrived at Lome in West Africa with the intention of expanding our holdings in this area.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
Prestige
The gap to France in 4th place decreases to under 2000 points (1915). We move up to 4th place in terms of military power whilst Austria’s military power grows scarily (possibly due to a military tech upgrade). Our national morale is 120.
In a series of very protracted negotiations with the tribal leaders in Abyssinia our diplomats succeed where our army has so often failed by finally managing to settle our longest running conflict with the Sheewa. The price for the enemy is steep with all of Abyssinia now formally surrendered to the empire and incorporated as a colony. As a gesture of respect to a brave enemy they are permitted to retain their arms and will now serve as an auxiliary force to the colonial army.
** I finally succeeded in declaring a colony over Abyssinia. Both Abyssinia and Sheewa are annexed and hey presto the war is finally over. I have now inherited significant forces from these 2 states which whilst useful are already adding to the burden of supply in the area. A portion of these forces are moving to Djibuti on the Red Sea in preparation for opening a second front against the Ottomans.
Abyssinian forces
Sheewan Forces
During August the Greeks finally acceded to our requests for supply rights.
Montenegro desperately rebuffs all our attempts for a similar set of treaties which would have allowed us to strike at the Ottomans from the north.
Taking advantage of the love for all things Italian currently being experienced around the world we manage to further improve relations with the Prussians by signing a commercial agreement and agreeing to a state visit.
We have now secured friendly relations with four of the major powers France, Great Britain, USA and Prussia. Hopefully this will be enough to shield us from the worst of the international condemnation when operations begin against the Ottomans next year. The Ottomans remain diplomatically isolated and have no external allies.
Military
With the crossing of the T’s and the dotting of the I’s only just dry on the Greek supply treaty II Army boards ship for Attica ostensibly to discourage any Ottoman move against Greece. By the end of the year II Army is fully formed in Greece ready to strike north.
At the same time our Marine Corps moves to its embarkation port in Calabria together with half our transport fleet.
The main military focus in the last 6 months has been the build up of III Army. 2 Infantry Corps, 3 Divisions and several support units have been added to its OOB. This formation has been earmarked to defend Italy but may be deployed as a reserve force if our armies become bogged down in the Balkans.
The next 3 months before the outbreak of hostilities will see us focus on building up our replacement pools.
The Ottoman war planned first phase:
Sicily upgrades its fortifications (Industrial Level 2).
** All my European objective regions now have at least level 2 industrial fortifications with all but Sicily now building to the final level (level 3). This should help prevent national morale loss should the AI decide to go raiding.
We have built the following naval units:
- 2 x Transport Squadrons
- 1 x Guards Infantry Corps
- 1 x Cavalry Division
- 1 x Mountain Division
- 1 x Light Cavalry Brigade
- 2 x Signals Regiment
- 1 x Field Hospital
- 1 x Labour Regiment
- 2 x Balloon Observation Battalion
For the first time in nearly a decade textile demand greatly outstrips supply. With this increased demand prices on textiles have quadrupled. We are currently struggling to meet our requirements in this area and intend to build two new factories (the number of factories we have left in our structure pool) to meet our internal demand and to sell on the world market.
With the improved 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] generation factories and new steel factory construction we are no longer facing bottlenecks in this area and are able to build up a healthy surplus.
Our Internal Market:
- Food 86
- Common Goods 72
- Luxury Goods 48
Inorganic Stockpile:
Balance of payments December:
We learned how to harness the following technologies:
- Siemens Regenative Furnace (Adds steel structure upgrade steel factory)
- Industrialised Silk Production (Adds silk structure upgrade silk orchard)
- Ore Extraction & Processing (Adds upgrade structures for Iron, Minerals, Gold and Gems)
- Flag Signalling (+10% to Short/Medium Range for light and heavy ships)
- Dahlgren Guns (Allows rifled guns research)
- Blast Furnaces
- Rifled Guns
- Integration of Marine Engineers 43%
- Iron Ships 61%
- Precision Micrometer 76%
- Iron Breech Loading Artillery 79%
- Mechanical Precision Saw 80%
- Coal Pit – Susquanna Valley (USA) - December
- Upgrade to Silk Orchard – Rhone (France) – August
- Upgrade to Steel Factory – Alessandria – August
- Steel Furnace – Calabria – August
- Opium Farm – Zanzibar – September
- Ship building - Puglia – October
- Upgrade to Steel Factory – Piedmont – October
- Upgrade to Gems Pit – Dubai - October
This period sees us ramp up our colonial presence in North Africa as merchants, missionaries and diplomats descend on Libya.
In November Abyssinia becomes a colony and Kenya is declared as a protectorate. In December we begin our attempt to add Yemen as a protectorate.
We discover coffee in Gonder and our explorers discover and map the province of Entebbe in Uganda. Explorers have now also arrived at Lome in West Africa with the intention of expanding our holdings in this area.
We completed the following Colonial buildings:
- Roads – Tarbor, Assoca, Nairobi
- Depot – Djibuti
- Mission – Nairobi, Assella, Acra, Lome, Zanzibar
- Outpost – Gonder, Aksum, Awsa, Asmara, Assab
- School – Assella, Assab, Trucial
- National Geographic Survey – Tripolitania
- Antherpological Expedition – Qatar
- Forts – Gonder, Zanzibar
- Colonial Society – Markos
- Consulate – Nairobi
Prestige
The gap to France in 4th place decreases to under 2000 points (1915). We move up to 4th place in terms of military power whilst Austria’s military power grows scarily (possibly due to a military tech upgrade). Our national morale is 120.
1866 Jan to Feb - The Eve of War / Garibaldi Returns
Diplomacy
At the beginning of February our government reluctantly responds to the many Ottoman “provocations” and "slights" we have suffered over the past decade. Diplomats formally declare that a state of war exists between Italy and the Ottoman Empire. The fate of our nation now rests in the hands of our brave soldiers crammed into dingy transport holds from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean.
The drum beat of war however has stirred the return of a hero of the unification. Garibaldi is back!
Elsewhere the British perhaps with an eye on the crises in the Med continue to refuse us supply rights at their bases and we gave movement and supply rights to the Prussians. The Chinese strike a major blow at the Taipang rebellion by capturing Nanking.
Military
With Garibaldi’s return Victor Emanuel steps down as head of I Army to coordinate the running of the war from Rome. Garibaldi accepts command of I Army whilst the force he has raised joins the 2nd echelon forces marshalling in Rome. These forces will work behind our armies to secure our line of communications.
In early February our Adriatic fleet slips anchor with assault units of I Army to take position off Tirana. At the same time the marine transports and their escorts weigh anchor from Calabria to take up assault positions in the Aegean Sea. There mission to capture Thessalonica is by far the most dangerous of all the forces involved in the initial phase. If successful however the road to Adrianople should lay open.
General Fanti readies II Army in Greece for a rapid march north to link up and relieve the Marines in their isolated beachhead.
We also withdraw our merchants from the Black Sea.
It is rumoured that the manufacture and distribution of the new Breech Loading Artillery could begin as soon as June.
** The research of Breech loading artillery is at 86% so should be available somewhere between the next 7 to 10 turns (with funding).
A Balkan campaign medal is issued to our assault troops in an attempt to keep morale as high as possible. (I used the military medal decree in January)
In anticipation of heavy casualties we begin the training of replacements for our combat formations.
We have built the following naval units:
We started the following industrial improvements:
Colonisation
Regular troops and our small naval detachment are moving to Djibuti which will be the center of our operations in this theatre. Their initial mission will be to secure Yemen after its declaration as our Protectorate which should occur in the next month or so. Once this is completed we will use this as our base of operations for striking at Medina and the rest of Ottoman controlled Arabia.
Small forces are also massing in Massawa Harbour with the aim of capturing the Ottoman holdings in this province.
At the same time we will begin landing Ethiopian irregular forces along the Red Sea coast with the aim of disrupting any Ottoman build up.
Prestige
Our national morale stands at 120
At the beginning of February our government reluctantly responds to the many Ottoman “provocations” and "slights" we have suffered over the past decade. Diplomats formally declare that a state of war exists between Italy and the Ottoman Empire. The fate of our nation now rests in the hands of our brave soldiers crammed into dingy transport holds from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean.
The drum beat of war however has stirred the return of a hero of the unification. Garibaldi is back!
Elsewhere the British perhaps with an eye on the crises in the Med continue to refuse us supply rights at their bases and we gave movement and supply rights to the Prussians. The Chinese strike a major blow at the Taipang rebellion by capturing Nanking.
Military
With Garibaldi’s return Victor Emanuel steps down as head of I Army to coordinate the running of the war from Rome. Garibaldi accepts command of I Army whilst the force he has raised joins the 2nd echelon forces marshalling in Rome. These forces will work behind our armies to secure our line of communications.
In early February our Adriatic fleet slips anchor with assault units of I Army to take position off Tirana. At the same time the marine transports and their escorts weigh anchor from Calabria to take up assault positions in the Aegean Sea. There mission to capture Thessalonica is by far the most dangerous of all the forces involved in the initial phase. If successful however the road to Adrianople should lay open.
General Fanti readies II Army in Greece for a rapid march north to link up and relieve the Marines in their isolated beachhead.
We also withdraw our merchants from the Black Sea.
It is rumoured that the manufacture and distribution of the new Breech Loading Artillery could begin as soon as June.
** The research of Breech loading artillery is at 86% so should be available somewhere between the next 7 to 10 turns (with funding).
A Balkan campaign medal is issued to our assault troops in an attempt to keep morale as high as possible. (I used the military medal decree in January)
In anticipation of heavy casualties we begin the training of replacements for our combat formations.
We have built the following naval units:
- Replacements: 4 x Light Warship; 3 x Merchant
- Replacements: 1 x Elite Infantry; 7 x Line Infantry; 1 x Light Infantry; 3 x Cavalry; 2 x Heavy Cavalry; 2 x Field Artillery; 1 x Light Artillery; 1 x Supply
We started the following industrial improvements:
- Textile Shop - Tuscany - February
- Commerce Steamer (constructed by the business men event)
Colonisation
Regular troops and our small naval detachment are moving to Djibuti which will be the center of our operations in this theatre. Their initial mission will be to secure Yemen after its declaration as our Protectorate which should occur in the next month or so. Once this is completed we will use this as our base of operations for striking at Medina and the rest of Ottoman controlled Arabia.
Small forces are also massing in Massawa Harbour with the aim of capturing the Ottoman holdings in this province.
At the same time we will begin landing Ethiopian irregular forces along the Red Sea coast with the aim of disrupting any Ottoman build up.
Prestige
Our national morale stands at 120
1866 Early March - D Day
Balkans Theatre
At the end of February our forces cross the border into Ottoman territory at several points.
Planned Moves Late February:
The enemy militia is last seen retreating towards Plovdiv whilst the Marine Corps itself takes light casualties and remains combat effective. For this action General Cucchiari is congratulated (Seniority moves to 13)
Soon afterwards marine cavalry scouts detect the movement of an enemy corps (roughly 800 pwr) led by General Abdi Pashir moving from Adrianople towards Thessalonica. It quickly turns into a race between II Army and the enemy to see who will get there first.
Luckily for the marines General Fanti and II Army win and the enemy wisely chooses discretion over valour and is last seen retreating towards Thrakia (Kavala)
** General Fanti was inactive this turn and was therefore advancing in defensive mode which meant the enemy was able to slip away without combat.
In the Aegean an enemy flotilla is spotted but manages to evade our fleet whilst a Russian "merchant" squadron passes through no doubt attempting to pick up intelligence.
The landings in the Adriatic are carried out without a hitch as General Garibaldi lands and captures Tirana with no opposition.
Situation Early March:
In our initial onslaught we take full military control of Albania (Tirana), Thessala (Larissa) and Halkidiki (Thessalonica). We also capture the towns of Janina and Skopje.
With the acquisition of Tirana our engineers begin constructing a coaling station, depot and fortifications for the city. Elsewhere engineers also begin throwing up fortifications around Thessalonica to help protect this vital supply hub.
Elsewhere in Massawa harbour we besiege the enemy’s military outpost and harbour installations.
Our national morale rises to 127 (above the critical threshold of 125) whilst Ottoman morale dips to 94.
Our casualties rise from 75900 to 78200 (+ 2300) whist Ottoman casualties rise from 172000 to 188600 (+ 16600)
Planned Moves Early March:
Elsewhere the Greeks make the final payment on their new frigate squadron. We complete missions in Sennar \ Kisumu and schools in Gonder \ Aswa
** All in all the turn passed as well as I could have hoped. My forces are safely ashore with a considerable local superiority in numbers with the possibility of an immediate thrust to capture Adrianople. Obviously this is one turn a lot can happen!
At the end of February our forces cross the border into Ottoman territory at several points.
Planned Moves Late February:
- I Army led by General Garibaldi (3000 pwr) performs a landing at Tirana (Assault mode) covered by the guns of the Adriatic fleet. Enemy forces here consist of a single light cavalry regiment.
- II Army led by General Fanti moves from Attica via Thessala to reinforce the landings at Thessalonica. No enemy forces are present in Thessala
- The Marine Corps led by General Cucchari lands over the beach at Thessalonica with orders to assault the city at the earliest opportunity. The enemy force here consists of several militia and garrison regiments.
- An independent cavalry division moves north from Greece with orders to capture Janina and Skopje.
- An independent light infantry brigade, light cavalry brigade and 2 supply units move north from Greece to Thessalonica whilst another light infantry brigade moves north to capture Larissa.
The enemy militia is last seen retreating towards Plovdiv whilst the Marine Corps itself takes light casualties and remains combat effective. For this action General Cucchiari is congratulated (Seniority moves to 13)
Soon afterwards marine cavalry scouts detect the movement of an enemy corps (roughly 800 pwr) led by General Abdi Pashir moving from Adrianople towards Thessalonica. It quickly turns into a race between II Army and the enemy to see who will get there first.
Luckily for the marines General Fanti and II Army win and the enemy wisely chooses discretion over valour and is last seen retreating towards Thrakia (Kavala)
** General Fanti was inactive this turn and was therefore advancing in defensive mode which meant the enemy was able to slip away without combat.
In the Aegean an enemy flotilla is spotted but manages to evade our fleet whilst a Russian "merchant" squadron passes through no doubt attempting to pick up intelligence.
The landings in the Adriatic are carried out without a hitch as General Garibaldi lands and captures Tirana with no opposition.
Situation Early March:
In our initial onslaught we take full military control of Albania (Tirana), Thessala (Larissa) and Halkidiki (Thessalonica). We also capture the towns of Janina and Skopje.
With the acquisition of Tirana our engineers begin constructing a coaling station, depot and fortifications for the city. Elsewhere engineers also begin throwing up fortifications around Thessalonica to help protect this vital supply hub.
Elsewhere in Massawa harbour we besiege the enemy’s military outpost and harbour installations.
Our national morale rises to 127 (above the critical threshold of 125) whilst Ottoman morale dips to 94.
Our casualties rise from 75900 to 78200 (+ 2300) whist Ottoman casualties rise from 172000 to 188600 (+ 16600)
Planned Moves Early March:
- I Army will move towards Sofia via Skopje with the intention of taking the depot there (17 days)
- II Army will move towards Adrianople via Kavala with the intention of forcing the enemy corps away from Thessalonica and to begin the siege of Adrianople (8 days).
- Marine Corps will move to Plovdiv to prevent the enemy corps from retreating north.
- A light infantry brigade will move into Larissa to secure military control whilst the other light infantry brigade garrisons Thessalonica
- The cavalry division at Skopje will move north to capture Pristina.
- A light cavalry brigade will move North to capture Petric.
- All the transports in the Adriatic and Aegean will return to Abruzzo to pick up the rest of I Army and our 2nd echelon forces
- Our naval forces in the Agean will attempt to intercept the Ottoman squadron.
Elsewhere the Greeks make the final payment on their new frigate squadron. We complete missions in Sennar \ Kisumu and schools in Gonder \ Aswa
** All in all the turn passed as well as I could have hoped. My forces are safely ashore with a considerable local superiority in numbers with the possibility of an immediate thrust to capture Adrianople. Obviously this is one turn a lot can happen!
1866 Late March - Adrianople or Bust
Balkans Theatre
Situation Late March:
** Unfortunately I think I have lost the images for the following battles
The action starts off slowly with a minor skirmish in Skopje between our cavalry division and an opposing light cavalry regiment which is convincingly routed from the field. We suffer 0/0 casualties/hits to our enemies 358/7 casualties/hits (no elements are lost). Our cavalry then moves to complete its mission of capturing Pristina.
II Army’s advance along the coast ends up in two significant actions. The first at Kavala sees us make an opposed river crossing against an Ottoman Corps. The Ottomans are defeated and forced to retreat to Adrianople. II Army suffers 5637/61 casualties/hits versus 16963/179 casualties/hits (1 Ottoman light cavalry element is lost).
In the following action in Adrianople which is again carried out in the face of an opposed river crossing we inflict significant casualties. We suffer 4612/57 casualties/hits versus 25881/254 casualties/hits (again only a single Ottoman light cavalry regiment is lost). The enemy retreats unexpectedly back into Kavala astride our supply line. General Franti is mentioned in dispatches (new seniority is 11)
** I did not expect the Ottoman corps to retreat this way thinking they would retreat north or back into Istanbul. I think this was likely due to the fact I did not have military control in Kavala as I was pushing my army through the region (rather than stopping) to get to Adrianople quickly.
The final action occurs in Plovdiv where our Marine Corps encounters the motley collection of militia regiments which they faced in Thessalonica. We suffer 205/2 v 3280/32 casualties/hits. Unfortunately no elements were destroyed. Again they retreat unexpectedly back to Thessalonica and put the city under siege.
** I think this battle shows just how tough it is to actually destroy a force.
I Army advances slowly across the Balkan Mountains securing military control of the region around Skopje in its wake.
A light cavalry brigade secures Petric. It will remain here to gain control of the surrounding area.
With the unexpected retreat results we make a modification to our plan. I Army will abandon its march on Sofia (which is in rebel hands anyway and thus denying the use of its depot to the Ottomans) and instead will march though Thessalonica to raise the siege and forward into Kavala to engage the Ottoman Corps.
II Army will stay put and begin siege operations against Adrianople whilst the Marines gain control around Plovdiv to open a supply line to Adrianople and prevent the Ottoman corps from breaking out to the north.
Our national morale is 127 whilst Ottoman national morale rises slightly to 97.
Our casualties rise from 78200 to 88400 (+ 10200) whist Ottoman casualties rise from 188600 to 234450 (+ 45850)
Elsewhere Yemen becomes our protectorate and we discover the region of Trimale in West Africa.
The Chinese civil war comes to an end.
The Latin Monetary Union occurs:
** This event gives us commercial agreements with all the countries mentioned however Belgium is the only country we previously did not have an agreement with.
We improve sewer systems in Abruzzo / Romagna and begin construction of a new mechanical parts factory in Campania.
We build 2 line infantry and 1 supply unit replacements
Situation Late March:
** Unfortunately I think I have lost the images for the following battles
The action starts off slowly with a minor skirmish in Skopje between our cavalry division and an opposing light cavalry regiment which is convincingly routed from the field. We suffer 0/0 casualties/hits to our enemies 358/7 casualties/hits (no elements are lost). Our cavalry then moves to complete its mission of capturing Pristina.
II Army’s advance along the coast ends up in two significant actions. The first at Kavala sees us make an opposed river crossing against an Ottoman Corps. The Ottomans are defeated and forced to retreat to Adrianople. II Army suffers 5637/61 casualties/hits versus 16963/179 casualties/hits (1 Ottoman light cavalry element is lost).
In the following action in Adrianople which is again carried out in the face of an opposed river crossing we inflict significant casualties. We suffer 4612/57 casualties/hits versus 25881/254 casualties/hits (again only a single Ottoman light cavalry regiment is lost). The enemy retreats unexpectedly back into Kavala astride our supply line. General Franti is mentioned in dispatches (new seniority is 11)
** I did not expect the Ottoman corps to retreat this way thinking they would retreat north or back into Istanbul. I think this was likely due to the fact I did not have military control in Kavala as I was pushing my army through the region (rather than stopping) to get to Adrianople quickly.
The final action occurs in Plovdiv where our Marine Corps encounters the motley collection of militia regiments which they faced in Thessalonica. We suffer 205/2 v 3280/32 casualties/hits. Unfortunately no elements were destroyed. Again they retreat unexpectedly back to Thessalonica and put the city under siege.
** I think this battle shows just how tough it is to actually destroy a force.
I Army advances slowly across the Balkan Mountains securing military control of the region around Skopje in its wake.
A light cavalry brigade secures Petric. It will remain here to gain control of the surrounding area.
With the unexpected retreat results we make a modification to our plan. I Army will abandon its march on Sofia (which is in rebel hands anyway and thus denying the use of its depot to the Ottomans) and instead will march though Thessalonica to raise the siege and forward into Kavala to engage the Ottoman Corps.
II Army will stay put and begin siege operations against Adrianople whilst the Marines gain control around Plovdiv to open a supply line to Adrianople and prevent the Ottoman corps from breaking out to the north.
Our national morale is 127 whilst Ottoman national morale rises slightly to 97.
Our casualties rise from 78200 to 88400 (+ 10200) whist Ottoman casualties rise from 188600 to 234450 (+ 45850)
Elsewhere Yemen becomes our protectorate and we discover the region of Trimale in West Africa.
The Chinese civil war comes to an end.
The Latin Monetary Union occurs:
** This event gives us commercial agreements with all the countries mentioned however Belgium is the only country we previously did not have an agreement with.
We improve sewer systems in Abruzzo / Romagna and begin construction of a new mechanical parts factory in Campania.
We build 2 line infantry and 1 supply unit replacements
1866 April - Garibaldi Gets Mad
Balkan Theatre
Situation Early April:
After a cold wet slog through the mountains Garibaldi gets to vent his frustration by playing a game of pass the militia
The hapless militia force retreats into the path of our cavalry waiting in Petric
Who then pass them back to Gari to toy with.
All of this slows him down enough that he is unable to engage the Ottoman corps waiting obligingly in Kavala.
II Army’s artillery and engineers cause a breech in Andrianople’s formidable fortifications.
The Marines secure the region around Plovdiv and open a supply path to Adrianople.
Our 3rd cavalry division secures Nish and returns to Kosovo to secure the surrounding region
The only movement made by our forces is to complete the advance of Garibaldi to confront the Ottoman corps in Kavala.
Our NM is 127 Ottoman NM is 91.
Our casualties rise from 88400 to 89500 (+ 1100) whist Ottoman casualties rise from 234450 to 251150 (+ 16700)
Situation Late April:
The siege of Adrianople continues to produce results as a second breech is opened in the defences.
All of the remaining portion of I army and our 2nd echelon force have now landed in Tirana.
Garibaldi fights two battles in two days firstly putting the militia force out of its misery. The force which greeted our marines in Thessalonica is now completly destroyed
and then instigating the fisty cuffs in Kavala
the Ottomans manage to disengage relatively intact but then blunder into II Army (+4NM).
8 guard regiments are destroyed in a valiant rearguard action but their sacrifice is not entirely in vain as the mangled remnants of the corps somehow manage to cross the Bosphorus. The significance of this victory over and above the damage done to the Ottoman army is that there are now no major Ottoman formations left in Europe leaving the rest of the regions here to wither on the vine.
Whilst our army covers itself in glory our navy’s performance is less than stellar(-1NM).
** One plus side here is the wooden frigate elements will now be replaced by the more advanced screw/sale frigates.
Our NM increases to 129 our casualties rise from 89500 to 107900 (+18400) Ottoman casualties are significantly higher
** Oddly the Ottomans drop off the score page no idea why
Planned moves:
Situation Early April:
After a cold wet slog through the mountains Garibaldi gets to vent his frustration by playing a game of pass the militia
The hapless militia force retreats into the path of our cavalry waiting in Petric
Who then pass them back to Gari to toy with.
All of this slows him down enough that he is unable to engage the Ottoman corps waiting obligingly in Kavala.
II Army’s artillery and engineers cause a breech in Andrianople’s formidable fortifications.
The Marines secure the region around Plovdiv and open a supply path to Adrianople.
Our 3rd cavalry division secures Nish and returns to Kosovo to secure the surrounding region
The only movement made by our forces is to complete the advance of Garibaldi to confront the Ottoman corps in Kavala.
Our NM is 127 Ottoman NM is 91.
Our casualties rise from 88400 to 89500 (+ 1100) whist Ottoman casualties rise from 234450 to 251150 (+ 16700)
Situation Late April:
The siege of Adrianople continues to produce results as a second breech is opened in the defences.
All of the remaining portion of I army and our 2nd echelon force have now landed in Tirana.
Garibaldi fights two battles in two days firstly putting the militia force out of its misery. The force which greeted our marines in Thessalonica is now completly destroyed
and then instigating the fisty cuffs in Kavala
the Ottomans manage to disengage relatively intact but then blunder into II Army (+4NM).
8 guard regiments are destroyed in a valiant rearguard action but their sacrifice is not entirely in vain as the mangled remnants of the corps somehow manage to cross the Bosphorus. The significance of this victory over and above the damage done to the Ottoman army is that there are now no major Ottoman formations left in Europe leaving the rest of the regions here to wither on the vine.
Whilst our army covers itself in glory our navy’s performance is less than stellar(-1NM).
** One plus side here is the wooden frigate elements will now be replaced by the more advanced screw/sale frigates.
Our NM increases to 129 our casualties rise from 89500 to 107900 (+18400) Ottoman casualties are significantly higher
** Oddly the Ottomans drop off the score page no idea why
Planned moves:
- I Army moves to clear the defences on the north side of the Bosphorus.
- The rest of I Army will undertake a risky move by sea from Tirana to Kavala
- II Army will continue to besiege adrianople.
- The marines move north in an attempt to wrest Sophia from the rebels.
- A light cavalry unit is split off from the marines to perform a reconnaissance of the Black Sea coast.
- Other light forces are to push north and west to secure these regions in our rear.
- We complete our fortification program in Romagna, Po and Toscana
- We pass an education reform act.
- Sewers are started in Tuscany and Sicily
- We begin construction of a fruit farm in Tuscany
- We start building a fort in Sanna (Yemen)
- A steel furnace is completed in Po
- A consulate is built in Aden
- Various replacements are ordered
1866 May - Adrianople Falls
Balkans Theatre
Situation Early May:
II Army continues to make progress at Adrianople inflicting another breach in the fortifications there (for a total of 3).
I Army began its siege of the Ottoman fortifications on the Gallipoli peninsular. The remaining part of I Army completes its hazardous naval dash (in light of our main battle fleet being in port to lick its wounds) into Kavala. The remainder of I Army (with most of its artillery and siege guns) will now march overland to join up with their comrades.
I and II Armies dig their artillery in along the Bosphorus to intercept shipping. (I’d forgotten to toggle the option to bombard)
The marines capture the depot at Sophia and force the rebels to retreat to Ogosta.
The cavalry raid up the black sea coast captures Burgas and discovers the Ottomans have garrisons in the other 2 regions along the coast.
3rd cavalry division forces the Ottoman light cavalry force to retreat from Nish and also secures the surrounding region.
Planned Moves:
Situation Late May (East):
In preparation for there assault II Army creates another breech in the defences (total 4 +10 hits)
The Marines encounter Militia outside of Plevna:
On the next day the main assault begins on Adrianople(no screenshot)
We carry the city and suffer 7072 (76) v 50400 (432) casualties (hits). 17 garrison regiments are forced to surrender and 1 NM point is gained.
Situation Late May (West):
Our cavalry division is held at the outskirts of Sarajevo:
A rebel infantry regiment is destroyed in Sliven however its attached artillery regiment manages to evade capture.
Planned Moves East:
Planned Moves West:
A light infantry brigade will take over the advance on Sarajevo whilst the cavalry units in the area rest and take on replacements.
Our national morale is 131 versus 76. Our casualties rise from 107900 to 119300 (+11400) whilst Ottoman casualties rise from 251150 (early April) to 398300 (+147150) this includes the defeat of the enemy army in Kavala and the fall of Adrianople.
Elsewhere
Situation Early May:
II Army continues to make progress at Adrianople inflicting another breach in the fortifications there (for a total of 3).
I Army began its siege of the Ottoman fortifications on the Gallipoli peninsular. The remaining part of I Army completes its hazardous naval dash (in light of our main battle fleet being in port to lick its wounds) into Kavala. The remainder of I Army (with most of its artillery and siege guns) will now march overland to join up with their comrades.
I and II Armies dig their artillery in along the Bosphorus to intercept shipping. (I’d forgotten to toggle the option to bombard)
The marines capture the depot at Sophia and force the rebels to retreat to Ogosta.
The cavalry raid up the black sea coast captures Burgas and discovers the Ottomans have garrisons in the other 2 regions along the coast.
3rd cavalry division forces the Ottoman light cavalry force to retreat from Nish and also secures the surrounding region.
Planned Moves:
- II Army will order the assault on Adrianople
- I Army will continue its siege operations and await reinforcements
- The marines will march on Plevna to take the depot.
- Cavalry divisions will push north to take Sliven and west in an attempt to take Sarajevo which is held by a garrison brigade.
- A light infantry brigade will move to Sophia to provide a garrison for the depot there.
Situation Late May (East):
In preparation for there assault II Army creates another breech in the defences (total 4 +10 hits)
The Marines encounter Militia outside of Plevna:
On the next day the main assault begins on Adrianople(no screenshot)
We carry the city and suffer 7072 (76) v 50400 (432) casualties (hits). 17 garrison regiments are forced to surrender and 1 NM point is gained.
Situation Late May (West):
Our cavalry division is held at the outskirts of Sarajevo:
A rebel infantry regiment is destroyed in Sliven however its attached artillery regiment manages to evade capture.
Planned Moves East:
- II Army will rest and take on replacements and supplies
- I Army will assault the defences at Galipolli
- The marines will continue to siege Plevna.
- A light cavalry brigade will hunt down the rebel artillery unit in Sliven.
Planned Moves West:
A light infantry brigade will take over the advance on Sarajevo whilst the cavalry units in the area rest and take on replacements.
Our national morale is 131 versus 76. Our casualties rise from 107900 to 119300 (+11400) whilst Ottoman casualties rise from 251150 (early April) to 398300 (+147150) this includes the defeat of the enemy army in Kavala and the fall of Adrianople.
Elsewhere
- We master breech loaded artillery (3 new units)
- We master mechanical precision saw (+10% wood structure input/output; allows steam powered saw mill)
- General Cuchiari is promoted to 3 stars.
- We purchase an infantry brigade.
- We start a wood logging farm in Bromberg Prussia.
- We start a fort and coaling station in Aden
- We complete missions in Tripolitania and Qatar.
- We completed a natural history expedition in Contondu (West Africa)
1866 June - Opening the Bosphorus
Balkans Theatre
Situation Early June:
This month proved to be fairly quiet as Italian Armies carried out sieges and took on replacements. The main action occurred at Gelibolu (Gallipoli) where I Army completed its siege:
II Army remained on the defensive in Adrianople whilst it replaced its artillery with the new breech loaders now arriving from Italy.
The marines made slow progress against Plevna inflicting just a single breach on the defences.
In the west the Ottoman forces retreated into Sarajevo and a siege duly begun.
Planned Moves Early June:
After capturing Gelibou I Army marched back into Adrianople to replenish whist II Army took up the burden of the advance by crossing the straits to besiege Canakkale.
This move once completed would open the Bosphorus to naval movement and hence allow a naval blockade of Constantinople.
Planned Moves Late June:
Our national morale is 131 versus 79 (+3). Our casualties rise from 119300 to 122550 (+3250) whilst Ottoman casualties rise from 398300 to 401700 (+3400). Ottoman prisoners rise from 71400 to 98700 (27300) (garrison surrenders)
Elsewhere:
Situation Early June:
This month proved to be fairly quiet as Italian Armies carried out sieges and took on replacements. The main action occurred at Gelibolu (Gallipoli) where I Army completed its siege:
II Army remained on the defensive in Adrianople whilst it replaced its artillery with the new breech loaders now arriving from Italy.
The marines made slow progress against Plevna inflicting just a single breach on the defences.
In the west the Ottoman forces retreated into Sarajevo and a siege duly begun.
Planned Moves Early June:
After capturing Gelibou I Army marched back into Adrianople to replenish whist II Army took up the burden of the advance by crossing the straits to besiege Canakkale.
This move once completed would open the Bosphorus to naval movement and hence allow a naval blockade of Constantinople.
Planned Moves Late June:
- I Army will begin what is hoped will be the culmination of the campaign by advancing on Constantinople. At Constantinople there is a mixed Ottoman force led by our old foe Adbi Pasha (roughly 2000 power + garrison troops)
- II Army is ordered to assault the fortifications at Canakkale. Scouts report another small Ottoman force just to the south around Smyrna (700 power)
- The marines are also ordered to bring the siege of Plevna to a conclusion.
- In the west a Militia Division moves towards Sarajevo in an attempt to wrap up the campaign here.
Our national morale is 131 versus 79 (+3). Our casualties rise from 119300 to 122550 (+3250) whilst Ottoman casualties rise from 398300 to 401700 (+3400). Ottoman prisoners rise from 71400 to 98700 (27300) (garrison surrenders)
Elsewhere:
- Units upgrade to the new breech loading artillery
- Coaling station in Albania is completed
- Fort in Tabor (Ethiopia) is completed
- Textile shop in Tuscany is completed
- We mastered Precision Micrometer (gives 2nd tier structure for mechanical parts)
- Discovered the province of Ptomey (West Africa)
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