Children of the Sun - a Cuzco MEIOU AAR

[Athalcor]

The world is a bit messy, isn't it? Btw, does Korea own provs in Japan? It looks like the Divine Winds did not a good job this time.

[naggy]

Your people shall ride into battle, singing the Llama Song, crushing all who stand before them...

[Chief Ragusa]

Your people shall ride into battle, singing the Llama Song

I read that as Lama Song- we shall reincarnate

I think the Spaniards will still be very difficult to bring to peace. I note that Mutapa is growing.

[Alan deLane]

Could you post your chosen NIs, please? Doesn't need to be at once, when-ever you deem it appropriate. I'm curious. And I'm curious about your next few candidates too ...

Yours,
AdL

[CatKnight]

This promises to be an epic war. You're right though - you will never get a better chance to take Spain down.

Good luck!

[Malurous]

I first read this as "I hope to see that you've joined the HRE during the next update"

Haha, if this was the goal then it REALLY wouldn't be a one update thing!

Holy Incan Emperor, maybe. I'd love to see him in the HRE, but that would require gamey-ness unparalleled!

You can say that again.

Good stuff. Nice to see that the time draws nigh for war with a European nation, I think you will have South America to yourself rather soon.

Thanks. I doubt that's the case, getting even small gains is hard work right now.

Mop 'em up

I'll do my best.

I've forgotten to mention two more ... "things":

1) Beware of alliance-DOWs. Spain might ally with Portugal (or with another more harmfull country) after you're at war with them.

2) Beware of those nasty one-regiment-raiding parties the AI likes to send. Though they pose no military thread proper, but they may disrupt your economy.

I find getting DoWed quite improbable in this situation.

No worries, the borders will be well defended. Deeper in South America I don't have that many troops so amphibious landings could be problematic to take care of, but it should still be TI for Spain.

The map is splendid!
What happened in Africa?

Isn't it? Mostly indigenous nations consolidating a bit, I think. Some smaller ones left as well, and that one Portuguese province.

My word, how things can change in the space of an update or two. Spain was looking like a major threat before your latest post, but now it's looking like they're overextended and vulnerable.

Cry havoc, and let slip the llamas of war!

Them indeed! I don't know about overextended, seeing that they're strongest in the only part that I can reach, but vulnerable for sure now that I'm closer in tech.

The world is a bit messy, isn't it? Btw, does Korea own provs in Japan? It looks like the Divine Winds did not a good job this time.

I don't know Japan so your guess is as good as mine. They do have the second largest army in the world though...

Your people shall ride into battle, singing the Llama Song, crushing all who stand before them...

You nasty man, now I can't get that out of my head! The same thing happened before in 2009 or so.

I think the Spaniards will still be very difficult to bring to peace.

THIS. I believe that the biggest problem we're going to have with any Europeans in the foreseeable future is bringing them to the peace table.

Could you post your chosen NIs, please? Doesn't need to be at once, when-ever you deem it appropriate. I'm curious. And I'm curious about your next few candidates too ...

Sure. Military Drill (second idea chosen), Merchant Adventures (replacing original first idea Bureaucracy) and Quest for New Trade Routes (third). I've already taken the fourth idea, you'll see it in the update after this one.

By the way, is it possible to switch Merchant Adventures away while having QFTNW? If so, I might slip another military idea in there or something...

This promises to be an epic war. You're right though - you will never get a better chance to take Spain down.

Good luck!

Thanks and welcome! I believe that the time is right, and this war should indeed be big.

I was wondering when you'd pop in and say something, I spied you endorsing this in the bAAR. Thanks for that!

[Malurous]

Chapter Forty-one
1606-1609

There's been quite a bit of conversion progress in the last eleven years, so let's take a look at the Mesoamerican religious situation at the start of this chapter:



I believe that's twelve or thirteen new Inti provinces in that span.

Another overview - the extent of my colonization thus far, as shown by non-core provinces:



1607 starts with production tech 15 (+2 % PE).

While expanding and reorganizing the army, I look around for diplomatic opportunities. Spain's allies are Italian nations, so I decide to counter them by allying Naples in February. This could also lead to Spain-Naples battles in Greece where both have sizable holdings.

Cuahnahuac converts in the end of April, immediately followed by Huaxtepec on May 1st and then Tlapan on the 16th. Hmm, I guess I took the religion screenshot at a bad time, seeing that there were three conversions in the next half a year...

A slider move becomes available in June, and I move Centralized. Military modernization is only one move away.

I infiltrate the Spanish administration in the autumn, and locate their biggest South American presence:



That's 74 regiments standing there for some reason and taking attrition. They're damaged enough to only have 48000 men.

War is finally declared in September. Unfortunately I don't have a CB or means of getting one...



Tuscany, stuck in a war against the powerful Netherlands, dishonors Spain and Sicily doesn't join either, while Naples does follow me to the war (sadly they have a good amount of WE already, but so do the other Italians to some extent). Perfect.



I'm pretty much instantly at -4 warscore due to Spanish blockades.

My first move is to send my conquistador with a small force towards the remaining TI. I want that discovered before the serious fighting begins.

January 1608 sees the first battle as I move two provinces deep into Spanish territory to deal with stray regiments. No problems there.



The small army I sent destroys a few more one or two regiment forces over the next month and a half before it has to retreat from a 16000 man Spanish army.

The huge Spanish army arrives on the scene in March, and we make a stand in Chibchan.



I'm very happy with that result. At least with a stronger general and a small defensive bonus, my troops can deal good enough damage to the Spanish.

During that battle we researched government tech 22 (university) and explored Paragua and Pacaraima, the last unknown Spanish provinces in the region.



What I can't see to the southeast is wasteland.

The armies that I combined for the battle of Chibchan retreated all over the place, but fortunately I can get a large part of them together by the time the Spanish, slowed by their artillery, cross the border to Kareguaje. I also use reinforcements that weren't in the first battle.

While the battle of Kareguaje is being fought, I continue my operations on the other side of the border. The small army that I've used for eliminating stray regiments flees ahead of the secondary enemy army (now reduced to 14 regiments somehow) that it retreated from earlier, and I manage to lure it into Kamemtxa. I have sieges going on in provinces surrounding that one, so I'm able to combine men from those and muster a good number of fresh troops there. My general is considerably better and we get a terrain bonus...



I give chase to that army towards Maracaibo.

Meanwhile, the second battle against the big army doesn't go as well as the first:



Still, I consider the situation good. That army is sitting in my territory, getting attrition, while I move my retreated armies around to surround it. Now I just have to wait for men and morale to replenish.

Tukano grows into a city in July, while I win my first siege, Tunebo, in August.



I get "resist western influences" in October.



No matter, as I don't have the slider positions to modernize yet anyway.

In October I lift a one regiment siege of Quibdo, while Atroari is the next province I colonize.

I then check the ledger:



Thirteen months into the war, I've lost some 8000 troops compared to 50000 for the Spanish. That's decent enough.

I attack Kareguaje again in November. In a stroke of very bad luck, I get the -6 terrain modifier for mountains despite just a nine percent chance for that in the province in question.

No sense to waste men in such improbable and nasty circumstances. I flee as soon as it's allowed.



Unfortunately, Kareguaje falls before I can mount another attack.

To top it off, a mid-size Spanish army from across the border is smart enough to react and is able to beat one of my fleeing armies to their target province. The result isn't pretty.



At least the big army stupidly moves deeper into Inca territory instead of heading home to rest and replenish.

Mitla converts in January 1609, while Cempaloa - the first conquest from Tlacopan - cores the next month.

I've been throwing the secondary Spanish army around in their territory for way over half a year now, and finally the remaining 220 men retreat to the protection of the main enemy army. That does it: I decide that it's time to make sure all those damaged regiments are dealt with while I have the chance, and send a huge army to Kareguaje in March. It goes well.



That's 95 regiments reduced to under 11000 men. I send good numbers to chase. WE isn't nice, but I can't let those regiments refill now that I (attrition, mainly) have worked them that low.

In Europe, Naples has been doing an admirable job against Spain in Greece, but has struggled against the Italian nations. I buy both out of the war, giving 25 ducats to each, to get rid of the needless negative warscore and allow Naples to concentrate on Spain.

In early May, the artillery-free parts of Spanish army are eliminated before most of their troops arrive.



That's fifteen regiments gone.

Later in the month the bigger army suffers some losses but survives. More chasing is needed.

In the meantime I lift smaller sieges in Quibdo and Tunebo (the Spanish province that I've occupied) and retake the weakly garrisoned Kareguaje with an assault.

Additionally, Citlatelpec converts to Inti and Caxcan cores, while trade tech 21 (+2 % TE) is reached.

In July, I relieve Chiquinquira from the annoying mid-size army.



And later in the month, on the 18th, the main Spanish army is finally eliminated in Chibchan.



That's 80 destroyed regiments.

Spain has now lost over 70000 men so far and is down to under 50000. The Incas, meanwhile, have no further losses since the last time I checked - down 8000.

Despite a decent number of Spanish cores in America in general, especially the islands, they're few and far between in mainland South America. Therefore I believe that any threat to my territories is over as I doubt the Spanish will be able to organize another huge army like that. Still, that doesn't mean that I'm anywhere close to getting something out of this war, or even to getting out of it without paying.

[FinnishFish]

Wow update this time not posted in midnight

Anyway keep sure that you kick that iberian ass ^^

[Omen]

A very well fought war. How do the odds of getting backstabbed by Portugal look? Do you plan on rewarding Naples with Spanish land in Greece?

[Chief Ragusa]

Suitably quick destruction of the Spanish armies in South America. Now you need to get your fleet in action. What warscore do you need to get the provinces connecting INca south with mesoamerica Portugal? You may be able to land troops in Spain and thanks to Naples' assistance -great alliance that - the Spanish may have left their homeland unprotected.

[naggy]

A very well fought war. How do the odds of getting backstabbed by Portugal look? Do you plan on rewarding Naples with Spanish land in Greece?

Given the infamy he'll take per province...that seems to be a very bad idea.

South America: Where the Spanish Army goes to die.

[gabor]

Spain should be now pretty war exhausted too. Push a bit harder and you'll get what you want.

[Athalcor]

Hunt down the pale men and eat their hearts to gain the power of Inti!

[PrawnStar]

Question here about strategy on those bady damaged doomstacks - does it make sense to not destroy them but actually let them continue to drain reinforcements by knocking them about a lot without letting them either recover or die?

I remember killing a French 100 regiment doomstack in 'Rebels' and watching the French AI build and reinforce like crazy once the drain from that damaged stack had gone.

[Mr. Sometimes]

Heh, whenever I fight a war I usually end up being "the Spain".

Keep up the killing, Inca shall rule the world!

[Basileus444]

Impressive job so far of beating up the Spanish. It's a far cry from the days when the Incas trembled in terror at the mere sight of a Portuguese frown. But now it is the Inca that march forward, led by their valiant llama cavalry, whose thunderous charge is heralded by a hail of spitballs. Against such an attack, no army can possibly withstand for long.

[Boris ze Spider]

what do you plan on taking from this war?

[Zzzzz...]

Well fought! That damage is impressive

[Grunthex]

Great start to the war!

As to one of your early quotes... "Cuahnahuac converts in the end of April, immediately followed by Huaxtepec on May 1st and then Tlapan on the 16th. Hmm, I guess I took the religion screenshot at a bad time, seeing that there were three conversions in the next half a year..."

Nah, this means you should take more conversion screenshots! Or maybe wait until you're sieging about 10 Spanish provinces, and take a 'siege progress' shot!

[Dewirix]

Are you going to seize any of the new Spanish colonies? Should be a warscore-free way of weakening their grip on South America, although at the expense of awarding you anything to bargain with. Do you think you can get enough warscore together to establish a land-bridge to Portuguese Central America?