Manufacturing Italy (a PoN GC)

[Director]

Well I for one can only hope that a passing centurion caught that Briton and gave him grammar within an inch of his life!
Anyone who would so casually slaughter the delicate precision of Latin might do anything - might try passing himself off as an ambassador, for Heaven's sake!
And once that starts, none of us are safe - you mark my words! None of us. Spray-painted in our own beds by savages improperly declensing Russian gerunds, likely as not, or caught in a drive-by graffitestomy with Chinese characters of, shall we say, dubious perspicacity!

Shocking. Simply shocking, when people can mangle languages like that and the law does nothing. And in colors too! The world we live in...



I find that I have a tendency to take an AI player's initial passivity for inability, leading me to commit my reserves just as I need them elsewhere. Given that Great Britain is likely to be more constrained by transport than manpower, I urge you to not only have a powerful reserve but to keep it uncommitted until the vital moment. And secondly, kill transports - kill transports - kill more transports.

[Dewirix]

I find that I have a tendency to take an AI player's initial passivity for inability, leading me to commit my reserves just as I need them elsewhere.

Me too. I think it's partly down to the economics (for want of a better word) of the situation. This applies to cases where I'm at or below parity with the enemy forces. I know that in order to win I need to make more effective use of my resources than they achieve with theirs, which militates against keeping a significant portion of my forces inactive (maximising POWER x DAYS ACTIVE).

It's also the reason that wars like the one looming in this AAR are attractive to a player. Loki can make use of naval superiority (either local or global) to lock down British forces outside of Africa and the Med, allowing him to effectively remove those pieces from the board until he's ready to deal with them.

Of course, from what we've seen, he's going straight for the jugular in India, which will prove interesting, to say the least.

[Stuyvesant]

This takes a few attempts, but the British ambassador to Jerusalem is finally caught painting graffiti – this was removed before seen by anyone but the police - but was believed to have stated "Romanes Eunt Domus". War was the only reasonable response that would satisfy Italy's mortally wounded pride.

That's rather classy compared to the scenario that was running through my head*, but still, a deadly blow to Italian prestige. War, indeed, is the only proper response to such behavior.

*My thoughts ran like this: back when Gari was pissing off all the Abrahamic religions, he probably left some graffiti in Jerusalem (in an inconspicuous place, say the Temple Mount) to the effect of "Garibaldi woz here". I expected the British ambassador/consul/miscreant to have added something like "Gary's a poof" and a poorly drawn penis next to it. I will readily admit that your example is a bit more mature.

So, to war it is. This should prove interesting. Will you shred the Royal Navy and utilize the judicious application of a stout stick to the heads of Queen Victoria's finest, or will your Italian navy hew more to historic standards and sink your hopes of taking down the British? I look forward to finding out.

[Sir Garnet]

For more excitement, find someone capable who hasn't read your AAR to play Great Britain for the war, and preferably has the ability to pun and quip in Latin (or even Classsical Greek!).

[loki100]

I a straight up fight between you and GB, I think it'll come down to whoever has the better navy. Once you establish naval superiority in the Med and Indian Ocean you can shift your forces around, allowing you to make up for overall numerical inferiority by concentrating to strike targets and giving you the flexiblity to run away to lick your wounds if necessary.

Also, as a minor nitpick, why would there be a British ambassador to Jerusalem? As I understand it, ambassadors are the top-ranking diplomats assigned to a given country, which in this case would be Italy, so they're not likely to be wandering around the boondocks of your empire. Perhaps it was the British consul to Jerusalem, which might give you opportunities for a suitably Roman-flavoured name for the war.

EDIT: Oh, and great stuff in the post. Very much looking forward to seeing dear old Blighty suitably humbled.

I think the spread out nature of this war, and that neither of us is going to find it easy to invade the other directly, means that seapower will be critical. Actually, as often in this era, preserving ones own, rather than destroying the enemy's navy is the core issue. It is (rightly) hard to catch a fleet in open sea, but if either of us loses our fleet the other can operate with leisure.

Maybe the Ambassador was there on a holiday, after all these upper class persons did rather like touring around hot and dusty places. Anyway he is now in an Italian prison, having double latin lessons till he learns that if he must do graffiti, he should at least spell it properly.

Well I for one can only hope that a passing centurion caught that Briton and gave him grammar within an inch of his life!
Anyone who would so casually slaughter the delicate precision of Latin might do anything - might try passing himself off as an ambassador, for Heaven's sake!
And once that starts, none of us are safe - you mark my words! None of us. Spray-painted in our own beds by savages improperly declensing Russian gerunds, likely as not, or caught in a drive-by graffitestomy with Chinese characters of, shall we say, dubious perspicacity!

Shocking. Simply shocking, when people can mangle languages like that and the law does nothing. And in colors too! The world we live in...



I find that I have a tendency to take an AI player's initial passivity for inability, leading me to commit my reserves just as I need them elsewhere. Given that Great Britain is likely to be more constrained by transport than manpower, I urge you to not only have a powerful reserve but to keep it uncommitted until the vital moment. And secondly, kill transports - kill transports - kill more transports.

I don't know if it travelled to the US but there is a wonderful set of books based on a school boy called Molesworth. Among too many classic lines and images was a long riff on what gerunds got up to when no one was watching them:



One of the things the AGE engine models very well is the advantage in this era of being the army that could sit and wait on ground of its choosing. As Narwhal has said many times – 'ask yourself what would McClellan do?”. Its a hard lesson as one so often wants to be active but this game (and their others) rewards passivity, as long as you are in the correct place.

I agree about reserves. I have four armies in Italy (plus the reserves) that I can draw on when I need. I will need them all, but each either rescues me from an error (next post) or adds a critical mass to a stalemated front.

Me too. I think it's partly down to the economics (for want of a better word) of the situation. This applies to cases where I'm at or below parity with the enemy forces. I know that in order to win I need to make more effective use of my resources than they achieve with theirs, which militates against keeping a significant portion of my forces inactive (maximising POWER x DAYS ACTIVE).

It's also the reason that wars like the one looming in this AAR are attractive to a player. Loki can make use of naval superiority (either local or global) to lock down British forces outside of Africa and the Med, allowing him to effectively remove those pieces from the board until he's ready to deal with them.

Of course, from what we've seen, he's going straight for the jugular in India, which will prove interesting, to say the least.

Well oddly, India is isolated. Already, the British need to go around the Cape and I am trying to gain land control there. Even if I fail, I have a large (and fresh) navy in region. Anything that arrives from Europe is going to exhausted even before it tries to engage or evade my navy (Tsushima anybody?). I need one theatre were there is a lot of warscore and India is it. There are masses of British objectives (so lost prestige and lost morale for them, and warscore for me). The unknown is whether or not it hosts a massive British army.

But yes, overall, this is going to be a lesson in the application of naval power. And the British AI is too tempted by the wrong targets (my merchant ships).

That's rather classy compared to the scenario that was running through my head*, but still, a deadly blow to Italian prestige. War, indeed, is the only proper response to such behavior.

*My thoughts ran like this: back when Gari was pissing off all the Abrahamic religions, he probably left some graffiti in Jerusalem (in an inconspicuous place, say the Temple Mount) to the effect of "Garibaldi woz here". I expected the British ambassador/consul/miscreant to have added something like "Gary's a poof" and a poorly drawn penis next to it. I will readily admit that your example is a bit more mature.

So, to war it is. This should prove interesting. Will you shred the Royal Navy and utilize the judicious application of a stout stick to the heads of Queen Victoria's finest, or will your Italian navy hew more to historic standards and sink your hopes of taking down the British? I look forward to finding out.

I originally had a scenario involving the ambassador doing something unspeakable in the Trevi fountain, but I do think the real CB is a much classier concoction.

I think Gari's version of leaving graffiti was based on the results of artistically arranged shell holes.

For more excitement, find someone capable who hasn't read your AAR to play Great Britain for the war, and preferably has the ability to pun and quip in Latin (or even Classsical Greek!).

It would have been interesting. Problem is I have been playing large chunks while up a dodgy ladder painting 3m high ceilings. As above, I'm in an odd cycle where I have time to play (its strange but PoN is actually great if you are busy and don't have the time to sit at a computer and just play) but little to write.

Anyway, apart from at sea, the AI is far from inept. Its naval mistake is to adopt the strategy of a weak power (commerce raiding) rather than that of a strong power (sea line interdiction and projection of land force).

[loki100]

So here I am, just starting the war that, if it all goes right, might actually see me win the game. I still think pulling GB's prestige down is key to having any realistic chance of having double their prestige (I expect to have more prestige than them in about 3 years in any case).

Before covering the war it may be worth thinking about what I want. Primarily I want the British to lose prestige (ie face military defeats and the temporary loss of key provinces while I gain those things). Since, in PoN, you can only claim national provinces if you have a valid reason, there will be no Italian enclave in the UK ... well not directly.

I can claim colonies though and one obvious and cheap option is Qatar where I am dominant but the British remain the colonial power.



You can, however, use your warscore to force your opponent to release nations. This fits with the prestige issue as obviously they may well lose control of one or more of their objectives as well as any industry that was located in the new state. There are some interesting options there.

I guess the question is how much warscore I can muster without an invasion of the British Isles.

Anyway with that stuff out of the way, I thought you'd all enjoy a detailed look at how I have developed the economy of those provinces I took from the Austrians. Or maybe a detailed examination of just how much sand I am now colonial master over?

....

Oh ... ok then.

Well in early September, after the British had confessed to their crimes against Latin grammar, the armies and fleets set sail. Due to the distances, the first weeks were quiet but by the end of September, Italian troops were disembarking in S Africa and India.

I'll split the rest of this report up into coverage of the Indian, Mediterranean and African campaigns, and I'll keep to that division for most of the war.

Mediterranean

Early scouting had indicated no real British garrison at Malta. Since I had enough armies in Italy to handle a hasty invasion, one army is sent.



The main fleet sails out to blockade the harbour and gain some much needed gunnery practice.

By October, Francesco was in a position to assault the fort, unlike in Bombay, this was carried out with some ease, destroying or capturing the garrison.




Africa

Some early scouting had indicated a very large British army was located at Durban. Accordingly, the Italian army landed at Umtata to the south. I should be able to secure this quickly and can use my naval superiority to keep open my supply lines.



The second Italian army will land in October and that will give me superiority over Archibald's mob. I mean what proper country names its generals 'Archibald' no wonder they don't learn Latin properly in their public schools.

Late September also witnessed the opening battle of the war. Giuseppe caught the British and inflicted a handy defeat.



The problem was the British were able to escape into Italian held E Africa. The result would be a long chase to pin down the elusive British formation as it wreaked damage to Italy's colonial holdings [1].


(you have all read Svejk haven't you?)

I won't discuss that aspect in great detail, it took a lot of my time and planning but its mostly a case of the British (a) burned my holdings and (b) escaped again.

This gives some idea of the despicable things they were up to [2]:



With the two armies now safely entrenched south of Durban I decide to risk an assault on Kaapstad (Cape Town) with some other units I have available.



This, and Durban, are the two depots the British have in the region so are key to control over S Africa.

In the meantime at Durban, things become rather scary. There is not one, but two big British armies. They have 3,500 CP and I have 2,600.



I can't attack but they may be tempted to an assault on me. On the defense, in hilly terrain, I think I can generate a stalemate, if not quite the Alpine killing fields I used in the first Austrian war.


India



Here I'd decided to go for Bombay, the depot would ease supply problems as it would be a lot more difficult to ferry supply units to and from India than it would have been in S Africa.

However, the results were grim. Newspapers in Italy stressed the victory and how it had driven the British into the fort. In truth one of the two armies recently landed was incapable of further combat operations until it was reinforced [3].



The little inset shows what was left of one of my armies. Ricci had a Guard Corps – 8 battalions – on landing, 5 have been totally destroyed and the remaining 3 are badly damaged. His line infantry corp is not in a much better state.

Fortunately Cosenz's army had managed to land unopposed and was strong enough to invest the fort. But with only one mobile force, the Italians were vulnerable if there was a strong British army in India.



Securing the fort, and thus a safe spot to re-organise, was now critical and Cosenz's army stormed the positions in early October.



Two new corps were sent from India to replace those damaged at Bombay. I'd raised these pre-war precisely as I expected something like this to happen (they were the force in Piedmont in the OOB post). The wrecked corps would be used to garrison the fort and provide a secure base for Italian operations in India. In a passive mode and on a depot, over time they will recover their lost elements



Should note, the port was destroyed when I captured the city, as I didn't have the colonial penetration to keep it intact. Fortunately the depot survived the change of ownership.

The initial Italian plan was cautious. One army would stay at Bombay while Cosenz pushed north capturing a number of provinces and not facing any serious opposition.




So there we are. Malta is in Italian hands and I am thinking of going for Gibralter next. The war in South Africa is a bit of a stalemate, but I have the flexibility of naval superiority. The war in India is a bit of a mystery, at least till I know if there is a large British force there. The battle at Bombay was a stark reminder of just how bloody the PoN combat system can be.

[1] – wonderfully realistic given the real campaign in this region during the First World War. In the AGE system, it is nearly impossible to trap a single column with a single column, or make it fight when it wishes to evade, unless you get lucky.
[2] – there is an option to destroy a rail line but I don't think this was intentional. What happens if they capture my colony, but don't have the colonial penetration to sustain the buildings there. So those buildings and structures are removed. The same happened a lot in some areas of India (honest I wasn't going around deliberately burning down British owned factories).
[3] – one of two things happened. If you embark a force on ships it keeps the stance it held on land before (ie all out attack, attack, defend) and uses that when it lands. So I either put one army in that stance and the other in defend (so Cosenz did not assault the fort on landing) or Cosenz went inactive (ie could not attack) on the voyage. I prefer the latter explanation as it makes me seem less of a careless idiot.

[Dewirix]

Well, the assault on Bombay was a spectacularly bloody affair, and the British are looking worryingly strong in South Africa. However, you seem to have the upper hand in the Med. Will taking Gibraltar allow you to seal it off from the west?

I keep forgetting that you hold Suez and the southern entrance to the Red Sea, but given that, you've already got interior lines that the Royal Navy can't hope to match. If you succeed in knocking South Africa out of the game, there can't be much more the British can do to protect the subcontinent. It all comes down to how many forces they have on the ground.

[Stuyvesant]

The main fleet sails out to blockade the harbour and gain some much needed gunnery practice.

...

(you have all read Svejk haven't you?)

I won't discuss that aspect in great detail, it took a lot of my time and planning but its mostly a case of the British (a) burned my holdings and (b) escaped again.

...

[2] – there is an option to destroy a rail line but I don't think this was intentional. What happens if they capture my colony, but don't have the colonial penetration to sustain the buildings there. So those buildings and structures are removed. The same happened a lot in some areas of India (honest I wasn't going around deliberately burning down British owned factories).

In chronological order:

- I didn't know that there were camels on Malta. Or do you mean that the Regia Marina can point its guns at other objects than semi-docile wildlife?

- I haven't read Svejk, but my parents used to have it on their bookshelf when I was little. Does that count for anything?

- Seems the British learned a lesson from your behavior in your playthroughs of Wars in America with Narwhal. You could say that you inadvertently showed them the light, a-hah!

- Sure you weren't burning down those British factories on purpose. I'm sure it was all an unfortunate accident, perhaps the Italians were diligently putting out their campfires (Smokey says: "Only you can prevent forest fires!") and just accidentally happened to shove all the smoldering embers into, say, a cotton warehouse or an ammunition plant. Could've happened to the best of them.

Snark aside, it is almost shocking to have finally made it to the long-prophesied war with the Redcoats. We've come a long way. It's like waking up one morning and realizing high school graduation was almost 20 years ago and you really have no excuse anymore to call yourself young... But I digress.

Where was I? Oh yes, the war. Malta: good. South Africa: Scary. India: bloody beginning, unknown ending. Malta shows you can clearly take on British fortifications (although Bombay shows it can get messy very quickly) and you did slap around that smaller British force in Tanzania. But until I see the results from a battle with one of the big British stacks, it's too early to say whether you can handle their armies or not.

[loki100]

Well, the assault on Bombay was a spectacularly bloody affair, and the British are looking worryingly strong in South Africa. However, you seem to have the upper hand in the Med. Will taking Gibraltar allow you to seal it off from the west?

I keep forgetting that you hold Suez and the southern entrance to the Red Sea, but given that, you've already got interior lines that the Royal Navy can't hope to match. If you succeed in knocking South Africa out of the game, there can't be much more the British can do to protect the subcontinent. It all comes down to how many forces they have on the ground.

In a way I have contrived the nightmare of British Imperial planners in the Nineteenth Century. Their sealanes are stretched and under threat. They need to defend everywhere, I can pick my targets (and pull out if it goes too wrong). It does seem that the mindset of having a larger fleet than any 2 other powers made sense (even if it did lead to WW1). As long as I don't lose naval equity (at the least) I can pick my theatre of war and they cannot, effectively, reinforce India. Which, of course, is not to say I have the power to actually take it though.

If I take Gibralter, and base the main fleet there, then I believe the Med is pretty secure. If so, I can then think about releasing some of the armies guarding Italy for action elsewhere. I daren't strip them all as I have pretty poor relations with my Germanic neighbours, though hopefully France would come to my aid in case of war.

In chronological order:

- I didn't know that there were camels on Malta. Or do you mean that the Regia Marina can point its guns at other objects than semi-docile wildlife?

Well I believe it has some pretty feral chaffinches, and every one knows the only way to hit a small bird is with a very large shell.

- I haven't read Svejk, but my parents used to have it on their bookshelf when I was little. Does that count for anything?

it does indeed, as generations of University students can attest, merely holding the book, buying or borrowing it is all that is needed to ensure that the contents enter your brain

- Seems the British learned a lesson from your behavior in your playthroughs of Wars in America with Narwhal. You could say that you inadvertently showed them the light, a-hah!

- Sure you weren't burning down those British factories on purpose. I'm sure it was all an unfortunate accident, perhaps the Italians were diligently putting out their campfires (Smokey says: "Only you can prevent forest fires!") and just accidentally happened to shove all the smoldering embers into, say, a cotton warehouse or an ammunition plant. Could've happened to the best of them.

Yep, there was a distinct scent of hypocrisy when I was cussing the computer for having the temerity to burn down my holdings. All those lost factories are really having an impact on the UK's long term prestige gain. When I fought Austria, I left the industry intact (and was happy to use it during the war) but then I wanted Austria as a long term trading partner. Britain, unfortunately, I want to leave with a long term prestige problem.

Snark aside, it is almost shocking to have finally made it to the long-prophesied war with the Redcoats. We've come a long way. It's like waking up one morning and realizing high school graduation was almost 20 years ago and you really have no excuse anymore to call yourself young... But I digress.

To think that in the late 1860s I was terrified of going to war with the Ottomans. I'm not sure how this will end, but am reasonably confident I won't lose. As to the time thing, I remember having a shock when I realised a new intake of students hadn't been born when I went to University, it got worse 4 years later when I realised the ones graduating hadn't been born then. Since then ...

Where was I? Oh yes, the war. Malta: good. South Africa: Scary. India: bloody beginning, unknown ending. Malta shows you can clearly take on British fortifications (although Bombay shows it can get messy very quickly) and you did slap around that smaller British force in Tanzania. But until I see the results from a battle with one of the big British stacks, it's too early to say whether you can handle their armies or not.

!890 is best seen as a bit of testing the ground. It looks like I haven't badly misjudged either of the two main theatres and can lock down the Med. Its then a case of taking my small advantages and building them up. But yes, we are yet to see a big clash that will tell us something about respective combat power. But then NM differential is still very much in my favour and that helps, also some of my armies have seen a lot of combat so I suspect are more experienced than their rivals.

[loki100]

Well the war has started. Clearing out Malta was a bonus. It looks like S Africa is a stalemate but I have two advantages. That small attack on Kaapstad may work, and, if so the British will have a real supply problem. Also Giuseppe will be available once he has finished off that British column.

Finally India, where I still don't have much of a clue how this is going to work out. At the worst, I think I can evacuate, use the units in S Africa and then, with India isolated, return with more force.

This is a short update as all my images are saved in six month blocks and its handy to keep the updates within those time blocks.

Again, I'll follow the logic of splitting up the reports by sector.

Africa

Despite being outnumbered, I decide on a small raid into the British held regions. What I am trying to do is to get those two armies to break apart.



Neither actually achieved very much, the AI seems to be as keen as I am to stay in a good position.

To the north, Giuseppe is playing hunt the Brit.



As you can see I am bringing in fresh columns. These are too weak to defeat the British, but by forcing that column to fight there is more chance that Giuseppe will catch up, and, it stops them burning down my colonies.

Well that plan produced a fight ok, just with the wrong people. One of my numerous neighbours has been bribed by Perfidious Albion to join in,



Italian diplomats (some of whom are still trying to remove the paint from their hands) are hastily sent to make them happy people, I really do not need a 50,000 column of native troops running around in E Africa at the moment [1]

India

A British force moves on Bombay and the cavalry fall back. Here Ricci splits up his army and Dezza moves to battle.



At the same time Cosenz continues his campaign to liberate the Italian Tea Plantation that was stolen in 1885. I remember these things (I have still have an unsettled score with Siam over my stolen Rice too).



Mediterranean

Not much happened here. The army at Malta recovered its losses, but in mid-December was ordered to Gibralter. This will be a lot tougher, but I can sustain a siege, backed by a naval blockade rather than risk an all out attack.



Overall

My replacement pool is still strong despite the Bombay losses. I am building fresh merchant ships to replace those being sunk by the Royal Navy.



Since this is a war for prestige (and to defend the proper use of the locative case), I seem to be doing well.



My prestige is up from 85,500 to 89,500 (not that different to normal). The British from 95,500 to 96,700. That alone justifies the war (well it justifies a purely electronic war). A gain of 1200 is some 500 below their normal increment and reflects a series of minor battles and the loss of a chunk of their industry that they had located in India. In addition, I have taken a few of their objective provinces.

In terms of losses, they have had around 210,000 (ie from 2.78m to 2.99m) and I've had 110,000 (ie from 2.58m to 2.69m). This makes sense as so far, there have been no really one sided battles and I had heavy losses in the battles at Bombay. I suspect they have lost a fair few prisoners but those will be mostly from the automatic garrisons that spawn when a town is under attack.

NM is of some interest, with them up a little from 86 to 89. I think this is no more than the mechanism that tends a state towards 100 if nothing else happens. Equally, few battles so far have seen shifts of NM. Mine is up 4 from 128 to 132 which probably does reflect that I have won the opening rounds.

In terms of combat power, they are at 127 compared to 136 pre-war. I presume we have both mobilised, so that may reflect that my reserves are better than their reserves, or that while losses are equal, I have culled far more actual elements from the British OOB than I have lost from mine.

The UK has offered peace and the transfer of Papua New Guinea. I don't think that exactly matches my underlying war goals.

Summary

I am basically content with the opening phase. It looks like I can secure the Mediterranean and if so, the formations in Italy become a strategic reserve rather than being locked in place for self-defense.

Africa is a bit of a stalemate, but one that mostly suits me. Once Giuseppe has finished off that roving British column, I'll have equity with the British but far more strategic flexibility (no sign yet of the Royal Navy). India, I am starting to think I have been very lucky. No sign of a large army and I easily outnumber individual columns that I encounter.

Cosenz's campaign may seem a bit random but I am after all the British depots if I can. There are three scattered along the Ganges valley and if I take them, they will have some problems (though I suspect the remaining towns will produce enough for their local needs).

1891 dawns with Italy feeling reasons to be optimistic. Having said this, the early campaigns have been fairly low key, with no large or decisive clashes between the two sides. Not least the British navy is obsessed with my merchant ships and won't come near my shiny (small) battleships.

Whimps.


[1] – ie 'offer local support' to at least push relations above 0, this worked as they reverted to being neutral. Here I followed the advice by Jim-NC a few posts back and to confirm, it does stop these border raids.

[Dewirix]

Things are looking good in India, but I can't help feeling that you're being led into a trap. Probably just me being paranoid though.

I'm a little disappointed that the Royal Navy are letting you have free run of the high seas. I'd love to see a proper battle between your fleets, but there doesn't seem to be much point in going looking for a fight when the status quo favours you.

[Stuyvesant]

Italian diplomats (some of whom are still trying to remove the paint from their hands) are hastily sent to make them happy people

The poor, hardworking life of the Italian diplomat: one day, your busy [s]framing[/s] catching British miscreants in the Levant, the next day you're bundled off to the depths of Africa to try to sugarcoat decades of brutal warfare, Garibaldi-style and claim that the British are really evil and that the Italians are swell and everything will be better as soon as the locals allow for a few pizza restaurants to open up. I do not envy those envoys.

BTW, I hear turpentine is effective at removing paint, they might want to try that. Just not in combination with torching stuff in India: that would not go well.

I understand the logic of depot-hunting in India, but can you guard your supply lines while your troops are swallowed by the Indian Subcontinent's interior? I'd be a wee bit concerned about getting cut off in the midst of India and having to fight your way back to the coast at Bombay (kinda like Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, but with icy conditions swapped out for scorching heat). The situation in the Med looks entirely under your control and South Africa doesn't seem to hold any nasty surprises - just the minor dilemma of how to dislodge those two powerful stacks. Since India is your real goal, I think South Africa can wait.

[Sir Garnet]

Depending on the supply productivity of the regions they control, bottling up the British armies in around Natal-Zululand and cutting their supplies with naval blockade, encroachment and destruction of rails and other means of support is a useful strategy while you snap up the rest of South Africa.

I don't know what the AI does in India, but the natural force dispositions are to have a strong force at Bombay, forces on the northwest frontier dealing with the restive locals and facing the Russians, a sizable reserve in north-central India (around Delhi) and some small forces on the borders in the Himalayas and Burma. Ceylon is a good naval base, but may well be lightly defended on land. If the AI follows these dispositions, you are already dealing with one of the main forces and might expect a series of British reinforcements from the difficult northwest down the coast and a sizable block of troops down the rails from the north/east and that should be it other than a trickle of troops from elsewhere.

I don't know what the Indian princedoms and their small armies do in such a war but it would be interesting to find out if you save and later examine some of these turns.

Also interesting if the British destroy depots to deny them to you.

[morningSIDEr]

This takes a few attempts, but the British ambassador to Jerusalem is finally caught painting graffiti – this was removed before seen by anyone but the police - but was believed to have stated "Romanes Eunt Domus". War was the only reasonable response that would satisfy Italy's mortally wounded pride.

The blaggards! An entirely proportional response from Italy in such a situation, truly outrageous stuff from Britain.

You can, however, use your warscore to force your opponent to release nations. This fits with the prestige issue as obviously they may well lose control of one or more of their objectives as well as any industry that was located in the new state. There are some interesting options there.

I'm more than a little worried by the screenshot accompanying this paragraph. You are truly considering releasing Scotland upon an unsuspecting world?!

Very interesting stuff thus far. Some bloody fighting in India, and like everyone else I remain eager to find out what awaits you there, whether or not a British doomstack is just about to wander over to the Italian position. Italy appears quite secure in the other theatres, well large, menacing British force in Africa aside, waiting to see Britain's response.

^^ Hi morningSIDEr

Hello, good sir! I hope you are keeping well.

Wotchers, morningSIDEr! (Is that the correct Jeeves and Wooster expression? I'm still working on my oblivious upper-crust nincompoop English)

Good to see you around and your overall analysis of the Italian armed forces seems spot on. But never underestimate loki's burning <a-ha! 'tis A pun!> desire to play with matches in Her Royal Majesty's Dominions.

Pip pip dear boy! I think you have struck upon a burning issue, quite whether Britain will be able to match the fire raising prowess of loki I await to see!

[Matnjord]

"The smell of British blood has awoken the Mnjord from its lair. Its eyes look at the map, the position of the armies, the death toll, the burned up matches. It whispers only a single word before sitting down to admire the incoming slaughter: Good...good..."

[loki100]

Things are looking good in India, but I can't help feeling that you're being led into a trap. Probably just me being paranoid though.

I'm a little disappointed that the Royal Navy are letting you have free run of the high seas. I'd love to see a proper battle between your fleets, but there doesn't seem to be much point in going looking for a fight when the status quo favours you.

I was a bit disappointed at the lack of naval action, judging by the one encounter in the next update, they are mostly reliant on sail, so it does make sense to keep out of the way of my coal powered, steel battleships.

India, I was still very unsure over. I think, as ever, SirGarnett is spot on as I did face a slow accretion of small columns moving in from the NE and the West, fortunately, they haven't yet coalesced into a powerful army, so I can often cull one of the larger groups (these are less likely to seek to evade combat). But I had hugely vulnerable lines of communication and that is going to cause trouble later in 1891.

The poor, hardworking life of the Italian diplomat: one day, your busy [s]framing[/s] catching British miscreants in the Levant, the next day you're bundled off to the depths of Africa to try to sugarcoat decades of brutal warfare, Garibaldi-style and claim that the British are really evil and that the Italians are swell and everything will be better as soon as the locals allow for a few pizza restaurants to open up. I do not envy those envoys.

BTW, I hear turpentine is effective at removing paint, they might want to try that. Just not in combination with torching stuff in India: that would not go well.

I understand the logic of depot-hunting in India, but can you guard your supply lines while your troops are swallowed by the Indian Subcontinent's interior? I'd be a wee bit concerned about getting cut off in the midst of India and having to fight your way back to the coast at Bombay (kinda like Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, but with icy conditions swapped out for scorching heat). The situation in the Med looks entirely under your control and South Africa doesn't seem to hold any nasty surprises - just the minor dilemma of how to dislodge those two powerful stacks. Since India is your real goal, I think South Africa can wait.

Yep, its tough in the Italian diplomatic corps. You have to act like a screaming drama queen in a Verdi opera at European conferences, daub slogans on the Temple Mount and go and make peace with a tribe I'm not too sure where they actually live. But think of the rewards ...

I'm coming to the view that supply in PoN is too permissive. I can understand why, its something that could badly trip up the AI and probably cause frustration to the player, but the consequence is that if Cosenz was cut off from the coast (and this actually will happen later in the year), he can survive very well. In turn, the loss of most of their main depots doesn't seem to really hurt the British forces fighting in India.

By Feb 1891, the Med is under control so I can start to feed the armies in Italy to the main theatres. First I want to end that irritating war in E Africa, then I can think of tilting the balance in either of S Africa or India.

Depending on the supply productivity of the regions they control, bottling up the British armies in around Natal-Zululand and cutting their supplies with naval blockade, encroachment and destruction of rails and other means of support is a useful strategy while you snap up the rest of South Africa.

I don't know what the AI does in India, but the natural force dispositions are to have a strong force at Bombay, forces on the northwest frontier dealing with the restive locals and facing the Russians, a sizable reserve in north-central India (around Delhi) and some small forces on the borders in the Himalayas and Burma. Ceylon is a good naval base, but may well be lightly defended on land. If the AI follows these dispositions, you are already dealing with one of the main forces and might expect a series of British reinforcements from the difficult northwest down the coast and a sizable block of troops down the rails from the north/east and that should be it other than a trickle of troops from elsewhere.

I don't know what the Indian princedoms and their small armies do in such a war but it would be interesting to find out if you save and later examine some of these turns.

Also interesting if the British destroy depots to deny them to you.

There is only 1 Indian state in existence (consequence of the Mutiny events?) and that remains neutral.

I think your analysis of the British OOB in India is spot on. I obviously and bloodily took out the Bombay force at the start, but there is a slow build up in both the NE and NW and i guess that reflects some mobilising reserves (I presume the British can raise units in India) and their redeployment of the frontier armies.

As in my response to Stuyvesant, I do think that overall supply is too easy in PoN. Equally despite being in such a large war, i can still cheerfully sell ammunition to the world and do not need to up my own production. There could be some useful balancing done here to make it more of an issue, without enforcing too much frustration for the player and confusion for the AI.

The blaggards! An entirely proportional response from Italy in such a situation, truly outrageous stuff from Britain.

I'm more than a little worried by the screenshot accompanying this paragraph. You are truly considering releasing Scotland upon an unsuspecting world?!

Well of the 4 options, Cyprus is already overun by rebels, I really wouldn't want to deprive the British of their Irish problems. As to the state in India, unfortunately, *ahem* some careless person has already destroyed all the industry. My goal is to cost the British prestige and one way is to deprive them of factories (as well, of course, as weakening them more in the long term). Now of course, I agree that being realistic, the prospect of Scottish Independence is not really very credible.

Very interesting stuff thus far. Some bloody fighting in India, and like everyone else I remain eager to find out what awaits you there, whether or not a British doomstack is just about to wander over to the Italian position. Italy appears quite secure in the other theatres, well large, menacing British force in Africa aside, waiting to see Britain's response.

Hello, good sir! I hope you are keeping well.

Pip pip dear boy! I think you have struck upon a burning issue, quite whether Britain will be able to match the fire raising prowess of loki I await to see!

yep broadly, I'm happy. I have a stalemate in Africa but I can add extra forces once I have the Med under control, and seem to be dominant in India (and again can add more troops, which the British really cannot do).

anyway, as everyone knows, if you want a proper Pizza you need a very hot oven ... and hot ovens have a tendency to burn done (entire provinces) -- maybe this analogy doesn't quite work

"The smell of British blood has awoken the Mnjord from its lair. Its eyes look at the map, the position of the armies, the death toll, the burned up matches. It whispers only a single word before sitting down to admire the incoming slaughter: Good...good..."

There will indeed be plenty more slaughter, but the next update is more a case of knocking down their national morale by slowly taking provinces ...

[loki100]

For most of this war, I will keep to three month intervals as I think that offers enough space to focus on the main shifts and turns without having too much detail.

Overall, in this quarter I finished off the Mediterranean campaign, releasing reinforcements to hopefully break the stalemate in Africa. In the meantime, a steady stream of British forts fall in India. Each gives me a +1 on NM and some prestige, the loss of any associated structures will be costing the British prestige. In addition, a number of one-sided clashes occured, most of which added to my NM (and cost the British).

For this update, I'll keep it split into the three main theatres.

Mediterranean

At Gibralter there is a large garrison so Francesco settled for what I feared was going to be a siege.



This actually proved to be relatively brief, with the British surrendering within the month.

The navy had imposed a complete blockade and, having failed to find any Dodos, the fleet decided to revert to shelling animals that began with B. Helpfully Gibralter has some baboons.

They also found time to destroy a small British naval squadron – the first proper naval clash of the war.



A demoralising dual defeat for the British as the surrender cost them another NM point and Gibralter is one of their objectives (so there will be an ongoing hit on their prestige).

With the fall of Gibralter, I decide its safe to take one of the reserve armies out of Italy. Di Prioli is sent first to E Africa where a second column will help trap the wandering British. After that, I can either keep him in Africa or he can deploy to India.



Italy is now fairly secure. I still am keeping one large field army there (really as a strategic reserve) plus all the reserve formations that mobilised at the start of war. In addition, Francesco's powerful army remains encamped at Gibralter.

Africa

The final act of 1890 was a defeat at Kaapstad. The force that I landed is strong enough to be a threat but not powerful enough to maintain a siege.



Even so I'll keep it in that sector as it can capture smaller towns and interdict the British supply lines.

In East Africa, much to my surpise, one of the rail lines the British had destroyed was repaired.



Equally, di Priola turned the tide in the region, actually bringing the British to battle at the end of February.



Even though the British escaped that trap, they stumbled over one of the secondary blocking forces. The second battle meant they failed to slip out of the slowly tightening net.



Given that the second battle was a native and colonial force of 13,000 against 26,000 regulars I suspect that British army has low cohesion (I think it has moved every turn) and is probably low on ammunition and supplies.

India

Cosenz continued his campaign in the north and by the end of January has brought Delhi under siege. My tea plantation will be liberated.





The only problem with that victory was that the retreating British destroyed the Tea Plantation (and all the other industry and agriculture around Delhi)[1]. Oddly the depot was left intact.

In central India, I am slowly pushing into British held territory. I'm keeping the armies close together, just in case, but am steadily taking provinces (and thus costing them prestige for lost structures).



In general, when a battle does happen, I have sufficient numbers to win a decent victory (helped I suspect by the bonus from high NM).



This is the start of a steady stream of promotions as Italy rewards the Generals who are taking India from the British.



Towards the end of March, Dezza catches another British army by surprise (mostly they retreated from these encounters) and inflicts a heavy defeat.



Summary Stuff


Well, Italy celebrates its success in war by electing a politician with an impressive beard.



As the song put, Rudi can't fail. So clearly, Italy's victory is now guarenteed ... maybe

Losses and so on



Compared to the end of 1890, the main changes are their National Morale is down from 89 to 77 (this reflects the steady cull of their provinces in India and a few decent battles) and mine is up from 132 to 143. Anything over 125 is good in terms of the enemy believing they are losing the war but the critical value is to force them below 75. At that stage domestic discontent becomes a real problem.

Losses for them are up 110,000 (2.99m to 3.1m) which supports the view that most the damage has been a steady flow of garissons surrendering rather than major victories in the field. My losses are around 80,000 (2.69m to 2.77m).

Relative combat power remains the same (127) so I don't think I've made a real dent in the size of their armed forces.

Nonetheless, they are now sending regular peace offers



Not that I am interested in a small unimportant (oil rich) chunk of their empire that is near my old target Siam. And I really do not need the cash.

[1] – I realise, given my reputation, this is implausible. But really would I, voluntarily, burn down my own Tea Plantation that I have been scheming for 5 years to regain?

[Matnjord]

First naval clash? Bah! Just a few old wooden ships about to be decommissioned, bah! Where are the hulking behemoths of steel, the leviathans of iron? When will the rain of iron and blood begin, when will the biblical slaughter on the seas begin?

Since you mentioned it, are you going at some point to take Siam?

[Stuyvesant]

anyway, as everyone knows, if you want a proper Pizza you need a very hot oven ... and hot ovens have a tendency to burn done (entire provinces) -- maybe this analogy doesn't quite work

So are you saying that you have gargantuan mobile siege ovens, lumbering all over India and big enough to cause Dresden-style firestorms on a provincial level? The mere imagery is disturbing my mental state...

The war is going well for you. Gib fell very quickly, you're finally pecking away at the Burn-happy British in East Africa and India... Well, very steady progress but no spectacular tilting of the balance yet (perhaps that will never happen, and you'll just steadily reduce the British position in India until they've been defeated). You did take Delhi, which must hurt from a prestige perspective. But how are you going to exact a proper vengeance for the unconscionable torching of your tea plantation (I can't comprehend how the Brits, of all people, could corrupt their own moral values to destroy anything tea-related. Did they hire a bunch of foreign auxiliaries to do it for them)? I mean, there is really no amount of land that can do justice to this outrage.

[loki100]

So are you saying that you have gargantuan mobile siege ovens, lumbering all over India and big enough to cause Dresden-style firestorms on a provincial level? The mere imagery is disturbing my mental state...

as ever, proper feedback with the next update, but the concept of the 'Pizza Oven of Doom' is one to savour .... stuff matches, this is the industrial age.

[Dewirix]

Are there any signs that the AI is capable of pulling its forces together in India for a counterattack? I'm not really familiar with the AGEOD combat system, but from reading your AARs I assume the British will need sufficient command points to co-ordinate a large force. Can they just drop the necessary generals into place, or do they have to ship them out from Britain?

I'm having fun imagining the look of grief and horror on the face of the British officer charged with burning the tea plantation. In the end, duty won out over sentimentality, probably aided by the fact that he knew the barbarous Italians would probably take their cuppas with ice and lemon.

[Director]

So are you saying that you have gargantuan mobile siege ovens, lumbering all over India and big enough to cause Dresden-style firestorms on a provincial level? The mere imagery is disturbing my mental state...

I believe loki is saying that the combination of Italian pizza and Indian curry has caused entire regions of the country to spontaneously combust, which seems very reasonable to me. Certainly the army's mobile pizza ovens are unsuited to taking in such incendiary foods; one might as well attempt to cook jellied gasoline as bake a really good curry.


On a more serious note, I think you have arrived at a strategic fork and may need to make a decision to prioritize either India or South Africa. Certainly the rapid collapse of Gibraltar is... well, disturbing, frankly, in the way that the sudden fall of Singapore was in WWII. Given how the British public reacted to the tiny defeats of the Boer and Zulu wars, the loss of Gibraltar (and with it the Mediterranean) must be inspiring riots in the streets. Please don't repatriate the captured commander since he will surely be 'Bynged' to encourage the others.

Of the two theaters I think I would prefer to concentrate on S Africa and roll up British forces there before switching to India. You would still have to leave a large field force on standby to knock over any British expeditionary forces, but I think that might be superior to concentrating on India and leaving South Africa as a running sore easily reachable from the British Isles. With your interior lines you should find it easy to switch armies back and forth... but only so long as they do not go deeply into the interior.

Of course it is the speed with which armies can be maneuvered inside the theater that will count as much or more than pure numbers, and India may be superior for your purposes in that regard... but I still advise you to tilt heavily to one or the other.


In 'real life' there was a huge controversy in and around the Royal Navy over whether to modernize (later and most famously headed by John Fisher) or to maintain a conservative status quo (Lord Charles Beresford). Fisher eventually captured the opinion of Edward VII and prevailed, but it was a close-fought, bitter political struggle for the heart and soul of the Navy and by no means fore-ordained that modernization would win out. Sounds like in your world (as in 'Special Providence') the Beresford faction led the Navy to stagnation and - now - defeat.

How very typical of the British Army that they would spend their time burning a tea plantation and permit you to take their supply depot. Shades of Rommel and the Afrika Korps...

[loki100]

First naval clash? Bah! Just a few old wooden ships about to be decommissioned, bah! Where are the hulking behemoths of steel, the leviathans of iron? When will the rain of iron and blood begin, when will the biblical slaughter on the seas begin?

Since you mentioned it, are you going at some point to take Siam?

I must admit I have so far been disappointed with the war at sea. No clash of steel, just a casual sinking of a few sailing ships by 12 battleships bored with shelling passing animals.

Siam is on my list of people who did bad things to me in the past. If I can push up the warscore, I can grab Borneo, if I really push up the warscore I gain Queensland, either give me a base in that wider region. I fear though, as with Egypt, I doubt I can force them to give me what I want back.

The war is going well for you. Gib fell very quickly, you're finally pecking away at the Burn-happy British in East Africa and India... Well, very steady progress but no spectacular tilting of the balance yet (perhaps that will never happen, and you'll just steadily reduce the British position in India until they've been defeated). You did take Delhi, which must hurt from a prestige perspective. But how are you going to exact a proper vengeance for the unconscionable torching of your tea plantation (I can't comprehend how the Brits, of all people, could corrupt their own moral values to destroy anything tea-related. Did they hire a bunch of foreign auxiliaries to do it for them)? I mean, there is really no amount of land that can do justice to this outrage.

As in the next update, this is a war of slow incremental gains rather than dramatic huge battles. Its in part a product of the huge, and separated theatres that I think has tended to ensure the two sides are quite dispersed.

Are there any signs that the AI is capable of pulling its forces together in India for a counterattack? I'm not really familiar with the AGEOD combat system, but from reading your AARs I assume the British will need sufficient command points to co-ordinate a large force. Can they just drop the necessary generals into place, or do they have to ship them out from Britain?

I'm having fun imagining the look of grief and horror on the face of the British officer charged with burning the tea plantation. In the end, duty won out over sentimentality, probably aided by the fact that he knew the barbarous Italians would probably take their cuppas with ice and lemon.

The AGE AI will concentrate when it can. Pocus has put in a routine to try and break up mega-stacks but as with the holidaying Prussians a few years back, it will make them. It has an inbuilt bonus which is the worst malus is -23% not -35%. That matters as not only does the CP penalty affect everything but at 35% you lose one off your rate of fire (most modern units can fire twice). So you not only fire worse, you fire less.

You can't teleport generals, so that adds to my many small bonuses (boni?) in India. I have some independent corps sieging smaller towns or securing my lines of communications but all my main armies are led by a commander. The British seem to lack officers and I think I may have killed one or two that I encountered at the start of the campaign.

One can but imagine the shock in the Gentlemen's clubs around Whitehall. Generally bad news from the warfronts leads to comments about the declining standards of the youth of today. Into this general brew of discontent a darker tone is introduced:

“Have you heard about young Parsons? The useless whipper-snapper burn the tea”.
“What, he over heated it, you really cannot get the staff these days … quick get the attention of that Italian waiter”
“No, worse, so bad his family have fled to their estates in disgrace. He burnt down a tea plantation to stop the Italians capturing it”
“No wonder the Empire is collapsing … now where has that damn waiter got to”.

I believe loki is saying that the combination of Italian pizza and Indian curry has caused entire regions of the country to spontaneously combust, which seems very reasonable to me. Certainly the army's mobile pizza ovens are unsuited to taking in such incendiary foods; one might as well attempt to cook jellied gasoline as bake a really good curry.

Oddly curry has become the latest issue in the Scottish Independence debate … . But yes combining the two really is asking for trouble.

On a more serious note, I think you have arrived at a strategic fork and may need to make a decision to prioritize either India or South Africa. Certainly the rapid collapse of Gibraltar is... well, disturbing, frankly, in the way that the sudden fall of Singapore was in WWII. Given how the British public reacted to the tiny defeats of the Boer and Zulu wars, the loss of Gibraltar (and with it the Mediterranean) must be inspiring riots in the streets. Please don't repatriate the captured commander since he will surely be 'Bynged' to encourage the others.

Must be said the public response to minor setbacks at the end of the Nineteenth century were more a response to some lunatic campaigns by parts of the press as anything else. The lunacy at Mafeking was more or less a set up to give newspapers exciting coverage – not much really changes.

In this case, I've knocked their NM below 75 in the next update. This matters as at that stage domestic discontent starts to rise (and in later 1891 I do see some small rebel groups running around) and their willingness to make peace increases.

Of the two theaters I think I would prefer to concentrate on S Africa and roll up British forces there before switching to India. You would still have to leave a large field force on standby to knock over any British expeditionary forces, but I think that might be superior to concentrating on India and leaving South Africa as a running sore easily reachable from the British Isles. With your interior lines you should find it easy to switch armies back and forth... but only so long as they do not go deeply into the interior.

Oddly I was planning to do the reverse. That stalemate at Durban suited me and I was having a bit of a problem keeping two large armies supplied (I have no port as it *ahem * burnt down) so it means rotating the supply wagons out to sea and back (takes 3 turns) and dispatching some ships back to my main port to pick up new supplies. On that basis I was going to concentrate on India and leave South Africa stalemated. As we'll see in the next update, the AI had a 'Hooker not McClellan' moment and as a result, the situation in Africa became much more favourable. In consequence, I am now following your analysis.

Of course it is the speed with which armies can be maneuvered inside the theater that will count as much or more than pure numbers, and India may be superior for your purposes in that regard... but I still advise you to tilt heavily to one or the other.

The good thing in India is the rail net. A move than can take 18-30 days on foot becomes 3-6. In turn that allows me to turn the tables a few times. Its hard to shift on a continental scale, but within the two active theatres in India (crudely along the Ganges and in the centre) I can juggle units with some speed. Helped by having 2 cavalry corps that can operate independently if I wish.

In 'real life' there was a huge controversy in and around the Royal Navy over whether to modernize (later and most famously headed by John Fisher) or to maintain a conservative status quo (Lord Charles Beresford). Fisher eventually captured the opinion of Edward VII and prevailed, but it was a close-fought, bitter political struggle for the heart and soul of the Navy and by no means fore-ordained that modernization would win out. Sounds like in your world (as in 'Special Providence') the Beresford faction led the Navy to stagnation and - now – defeat.

I know its a truism that many national armed forces 'prepare for the last war' but more fundamentally what is easy to miss is how conservative they are (sometimes in a political sense, often culturally and in terms of imagination).

At the start of the Great Patriotic War, Kulik (one of Stalin's cronies from Tsaritsyn) responded to the defeats of the Soviet tank divisions by arguing the Red Army should abandon the tank. The appropriate response was an 18,000 strong cavalry division based on the columns that had won the Civil War.

The same individual when he saw a prototype for the PPSH-41 (the semi automatic weapon that solved the Soviet infantry's problem with aimed fire) remarked it was a good choice for traffic police but inappropriate for the army (which implies the driving in Moscow in the 1930s must have been really bad).

I think part of the RN's problem was to romanticise sail over the crude, vulgar and industrial concept of coal. Add to that, they had a huge amount invested in sail, so many of the command had trained on them, commanded them etc and it was a large (if you forgive the pun) sunk cost. Easier for an emerging naval power like Germany to regard sail as a thing of the past.

How very typical of the British Army that they would spend their time burning a tea plantation and permit you to take their supply depot. Shades of Rommel and the Afrika Korps...

Maybe they were more concerned to defend the tea from a nation of coffee drinkers. So the barracks, stores and depots were abandoned, but the brave and futile last stand was an attempt to save the tea. Yep, sounds plausible to me.

[loki100]

Given the geographically spread out nature of this war, as a few of you have noted, the opening exchanges have been relatively low key. In a way this carries on into this update but the war in Africa shifts in my favour.

I had a strategy at the start but it was pretty vague. In effect I was sure that Italy was safe and there was a potential to secure the Mediterranean. S Africa was an 'easy' target as I had a land connection (even if I chose to use naval movement for the actual invasion) and India was the real target. After six months, I think the best way to describe my actual strategy is one of building out from a core.

The first core was the Med, and that has allowed me to release one of my reserve armies. I have another in Italy, plus a number of useful mobilised corps and divisions. The second is E Africa. On top of that I'd decided that one of S Africa or India can be a stalemate. I was happy at the stand off in S Africa, as I was pinning a larger British force with my smaller army and, at some stage, could reinforce from E Africa. In addition the siege at Kaapstad had to pay off at some point.

On this basis, the chance to do real damage seemed to be in India. All those lost factories cost the British as you lose 1 PP for losing a 'structure' and they are then denied the per-turn prestige gain for a working factory (1-3 depending on type and level). Add on to this, every one of their objectives I hold is again a lost prestige gain. Equally each victory is a +1 to me and -1 to them.

Since my real war aim is for them to lose prestige, then, once E Africa is resolved, my opening plan was to focus on India. As we will see, things didn't quite work out that way.

Anyway, on to the details. Only two theatres to report now as the Med is quiet.

Africa

East

E Africa started with yet another hunt for that British column. I now have 2 armies in theatre, and either can inflict a heavy defeat. Smaller columns are trying to close down its scope for movement.



The British escaped the direct attack but stumbled onto Giuseppe and the Alices and the resulting victory saw the complete destruction of that British army.



With that win, the main combat formations marched back to the coast to be redeployed. I left a fresh corps just to ensure that any incursions by hostile locals (yep, amazingly, despite the 'pizza oven of doom' some of them are still hostile to Italy) can be fended off.

South

At the start, it appeared that very little was happening in S Africa. Both sides stared aggressively and in a manly fashion at each other from their trenches. Suited me to be honest [1].

However, by late April it became clear the British had made a huge error. Archibald had been ordered from Durban to raise my siege at Kaapstad.



In effect, the remaining army at Durban, though still powerful was now outnumbered. I quickly deployed my armies and drove the British into the fortifications, even as the fleet put in place a naval blockade.



With the formations from E Africa soon to be available, the British seemed doomed.



However, with Archibald on the way, I decide to evacuate the army that is besieging Kaapstad. It can't fight his army and, if Durban falls, I have the numbers and time to take the whole of S Africa at my leisure.



In Late May, the British try to break out at Durban but are handily defeated.



With that, the Italian army settled down to a siege. Despite the African heat, the pizza ovens were turned up to 11, the British were left in no doubt as to the serious nature of their plight.

India

The opening stages in the Central region saw a confused campaign as I fed in more forces from Bombay (leaving just the wrecked and slowly recovering corps) but equally a growing number of smaller (corps sized mostly) British units tried to contest my advance.



As in the introduction, one attraction here is the relatively cheap prestige gain that is on offer as I overrun provinces and win minor battles. In truth its back and forth stuff as I lack the power needed to really secure all my gains but on balance it moves in my favour.

In the north, Cosenz is facing an annoying bunch of smaller forces, and there is a bit of moving around to secure my supply lines (I don't want to break his army up). These battles are typical of the campaigns across India in this phase.



Here I was too late to protect my small garrison but the British then paid a large price for getting too close to my army.

Typically bloody stuff but note I although only had a small numerical advantage (52,000-40,000) except in terms of artillery. Nonetheless a major win and I think that reflects my growing advantage in terms of National Morale.

However, Cawnpore had been my real objective (another British depot) in the north but I had been forced to raise the siege to secure my supply lines.



In general the war carried on in that style. Towns gained and lost, but generally tilting in my favour. The shock was at the end of May when the British retook Delhi.



Only for Cosenz again to break off his siege at Cawnpore and quickly take back the city. Nonetheless, the situation in N India was becoming rather worrying. A number of British forces are probing at my supply lines and threatening to retake secondary towns. The brief loss of Delhi was an indication that I was losing the initiative in this sector. Cosenz was unable to advance as he constantly had to regain control of my existing territory.



Overall

That was a strange quarter. Clearly, matters in Africa are now very much in my favour. It will take time to capture Durban and Archibald's army is large enough to need handling with care. But its a matter of when I capture that region, not whether I can.

India is downright confusing. I lack the power I really need. I clearly win the main clashes, equally I take back what I lose fairly quickly, but I am struggling to advance. I was also finding it hard to select a scale of screenshot that puts things into context (which was made harder as every turn the context shifted).

This all puts a lot of priority on deciding, correctly, how to use the two armies freed by the victory in E Africa.

In prestige terms, the war is paying off.



Losses remain light. They lost 19,000 (3.1m to 3.29m) and I lost 9,000 (2.77m to 2.86m). This reflects the lack of pitched battles, so far there has been no repeat of the slaughter of the Austrian or the first Turkish wars. However, I have taken a lot of prisoners (both from automatic garrisons and trapping larger armies) so the British have lost more combat formations than a simple casualty count would imply.

The NM situation is important. The British are now in the range where domestic discontent becomes a problem and their armies fight much less well. They have dropped from 77 to 63 and I have increased from 143 to 157. This reflects the sheer number of small actions and that the great majority have been in my favour.

In prestige terms I am up to 94,100 (up from 89,400 in December 1890), a gain of 4,700. This is well in advance of my normal gain and again reflects the slow gain in terms of provinces and winning minor skirmishes. The British have gone from 96,700 to 97,800 (a gain of 1100). This is the inverse, they have been losing structures, have lost objectives (Delhi, Bombay, Malta and Gibralter) as well as most of the actual battles. The loss of a lot of industry must be hurting them too.

The final key indicator is that their relative strength has dipped from 126 to 113. That reflects quite a decent cull of their global combat power, especially when linked to the combat advantage from my NM bonus.

After 9 months, my feeling is the war has swung very much in my direction. That army at Durban is doomed (I won't assault but will starve it out) and then S Africa is mine for the taking. India is a mess of disconnected fronts and towns changing hands (feels more like RuS than anything else). The British strategy seems to be to deploy lots of powerful corps sized columns. These can take back towns but are very vulnerable if caught by one of my field armies.

In manpower terms, the war is not causing me problems (makes sense given the relatively low casualty figures). The worst is the serious damage the British are doing to my commerce fleets.



[1] - One thing I discovered, you can send supply wagons back to an offshore fleet where they will take supply from the fleet, they can then return to land fully supplied. Over time the fleet loses supply but this does allow a sustained presence as long as you have naval superiority.

[Jim-NC]

You burnt all your ports in South Africa? That's what you get for turning your Pizza Ovens to 11! I must say, that I seem to see a pattern here. Your cooks seem to all be pyros.

[Stuyvesant]

You burnt all your ports in South Africa? That's what you get for turning your Pizza Ovens to 11! I must say, that I seem to see a pattern here. Your cooks seem to all be pyros.

loki has a tendency to set the world aflame, if given the option. For Pete's sake, he managed to torch the frozen Siberian tundra in our RUS game (yes, I am still traumatized by the experience).

Anyway, onwards to the update. It seems to my untrained eye that you are overextended in India. More than enough power to swat any individual British unit, but not enough formations to maintain a cohesive front that keeps all of those British forces out of your hair. Oh well, if you don't do anything too ambitious in India, you can wait for South Africa to resolve itself and then bring some extra forces to close the Indian chapter. Time is on your side.

[Jim-NC]

loki has a tendency to set the world aflame, if given the option. For Pete's sake, he managed to torch the frozen Siberian tundra in our RUS game (yes, I am still traumatized by the experience).

Anyway, onwards to the update. It seems to my untrained eye that you are overextended in India. More than enough power to swat any individual British unit, but not enough formations to maintain a cohesive front that keeps all of those British forces out of your hair. Oh well, if you don't do anything too ambitious in India, you can wait for South Africa to resolve itself and then bring some extra forces to close the Indian chapter. Time is on your side.

Time may or may not be on his side. If Britain is raising fresh troops, then any corps will be formed in England, and have to be sent to India/Africa by boat. This means that the longer Loki waits, the better the chance that the Brits will re-inforce their armies. Right now, he has local operational superiority, and is dictating events. What happens when Britain starts to move the home armies to attack him?

[Dewirix]

In terms of preventing the British reinforcing their position in India, what would be the impact of denying them bases in South Africa and the Indian ocean? Loki's unlikely to be able to push them out of all their Indian ports, but there's probably nothing between Nigeria and the subcontinent if South Africa's in Italian hands.

I'm guessing it would mean that any fleets that do get sent out would be low on organisation, and ripe for interception by the Regia Marina.

[Jim-NC]

Even without South Africa, Britain has a string of ports that would be perfect for resting re-inforcements to India (There is western Africa ports, also the 2 islands off the western coast of Africa, and the small Island east of Madagasscar - don't remember any of their names). Thus they could be fresh if they stop there. The question is, whill the AI rest their ships at these different ports? If not, then they will be very worn down by the time they get there.

[JWW]

Thanks for this continuing AAR. I'm just now trying to learn the game -- okay, I bought it a while back but just came back to it -- and this is invaluable, the best resource I've found.