Children of the Sun - a Cuzco MEIOU AAR

[Omen]

Excellent work! I'm really liking the explanations on combat and tactics. Things that I knew from experience, but wasn't sure on details . . .

[Enewald]

Venezuela and Mesoamerica must be purged!
Strike while the enemy is weak!

[Athalcor]

What do the Tactics actually do?

[FlorisDeVijfde]

Hmmm, you defeated the Dutch. You're just like the 2010 Spanish football team
Well, to make up for that you'd better go and defeat the Spanish again!

[Malurous]

That was some harsh casualties, damn those Dutch!

But now it's time to do the same to the Iberians, right?

Indeed... And yes, but preferably without the casualties!

Nice going !

I was quite impressed by the naval offensive in the Mediteranean.

Thanks! Like I've mentioned, it was really fun to play as well.

Dutch was tough nut to crack... but you fulfilled the objectives. I'd say that time is ripe to grab the portuguese colonies

Yeah, I have to say that the Dutch war would have been somewhat of a nightmare if not for my navy. I had suspected that casualties could be a bit ugly, but the situation was worse than I thought: I had expected to still win the battles despite heavy casualties as long as I had the numbers, but that wasn't always the case. So I had to run around with oversized stacks to compensate even when the Dutch presence was pretty light - imagine what it would have been like if the Dutch had managed to land those 20000 men that my navy sent to the bottom of the ocean!

I agree with your assessment regarding Portugal.

Excellent work! I'm really liking the explanations on combat and tactics. Things that I knew from experience, but wasn't sure on details . . .

Thanks! Yeah, while this certainly isn't one of those instructive AARs, I like to add those in there when it really plays a role in the grand scheme of things. That was a pretty minor conflict, but it demonstrated perfectly the reasons that have caused me to maybe be a bit more conservative than some have suggested...

Venezuela and Mesoamerica must be purged!
Strike while the enemy is weak!

That's exactly my thinking!

What do the Tactics actually do?

The higher your Military Tactics is, the less damage your troops take: received damage is divided by (1+Military Tactics level) so the effect can be major.

In this case, in a theoretical battle day where all other things were equal (numbers, leader etc.) the Dutch would have only suffered 75 % of the casualties that the Inca would have. And in the course of a long battle, the Tactics cause even more of a difference than that percentage would suggest because of the accumulating damage to regiments.

The worst, or best if you're on the advanced side, point is between land techs 17 and 18: there, you can change the aforementioned percentage to 67 % (two thirds to be exact, of course). If you're just ahead someone in land tech, you can really make your life easier by DoWing when you reach level 18. Vanilla HTTT, DW, MEIOU, works in all.

Hmmm, you defeated the Dutch. You're just like the 2010 Spanish football team
Well, to make up for that you'd better go and defeat the Spanish again!

Hehe, will do! Considering the way the map is developing - the progress is good on our way to owning all South America - I suppose the Incas would have one heck of a team!

[morningSIDEr]

A good couple of updates. Glad to see you are slowly exerting your power in South America, expelling the rapacious, uncouth European savages and returning the lands to a...well...slightly less rapacious and uncouth Incan Empire. *cough* The battles against the Netherlands appear had won but won they have been and whilst your armed forces may have performed slightly badly your navy really has been impressing.

[Chief Ragusa]

HIgh casualties and the loss of your heir. Not so good. You did win, though. English colonies next and I see the Portuguese have been taking lessons from the English in colony placement.

Your navy performed excellently. It's repaying all that money you put into it.
Savoy is a real HeRoE.

[CatKnight]

Like everyone said: An excellent couple of updates. It's astonishing to see an Incan navy in the Med: I don't think I've ever seen that before.

[MannheimCouncil]

Tough going against those Dutch. I guess they needed land more badly than the Spanish. Looks like it would be time to show the Iberians who's Mesoamerica's natural ruler. I think going over the infamy limit might still be okay as long as you have no possessions in Europe, but I have no experience in transcontinental diplomacy, so I might be wrong.

[Boris ze Spider]

Seizing those British colonies should be easy, and they look splintered.

[FinnishFish]

Those evil Dutch....
Make 'em pay hard >:]

[Malurous]

A good couple of updates. Glad to see you are slowly exerting your power in South America, expelling the rapacious, uncouth European savages and returning the lands to a...well...slightly less rapacious and uncouth Incan Empire. *cough* The battles against the Netherlands appear had won but won they have been and whilst your armed forces may have performed slightly badly your navy really has been impressing.

Thanks! I don't know if I'd agree on the uncouth part - rapacious I can't really argue about. But hey, throwing the Europeans out has to be more righteous than kicking the other tribes around was!

Yeah, it was the navy that really made a difference there. You saw the reinforcement numbers, they would have been a big problem but the navy kept them out.

HIgh casualties and the loss of your heir. Not so good. You did win, though. English colonies next and I see the Portuguese have been taking lessons from the English in colony placement.

I suppose it would have been smart to wait for that land tech level, but all's well that ends well. I've waited around enough in this game that I might as well grind out some conflicts now that are harder than is optimal.

Haha, good catch about the Portuguese colonies. Would still need a couple of gaps to get to English standards however. England should be easy enough to handle as far as the actual warfare goes, it's getting into war that isn't as straightforward.

Your navy performed excellently. It's repaying all that money you put into it.
Savoy is a real HeRoE.

I bet Savoy is really happy I haven't landed any troops there.

You're right - I'm pretty much broke because of the navy, but that will correct over time. And the navy has already shown its worth and should continue to do so...

Like everyone said: An excellent couple of updates. It's astonishing to see an Incan navy in the Med: I don't think I've ever seen that before.

Thanks! Hmm, I can't say that I have either.

Tough going against those Dutch. I guess they needed land more badly than the Spanish. Looks like it would be time to show the Iberians who's Mesoamerica's natural ruler. I think going over the infamy limit might still be okay as long as you have no possessions in Europe, but I have no experience in transcontinental diplomacy, so I might be wrong.

Oh I'm not afraid of the Europeans or BB wars, that isn't why I'm careful with infamy. Before Paradox added the events for being over the limit, I didn't pay much attention to badboy (depending on game of course). But I don't find sitting at -3 stab etc. all that enjoyable in the long haul.

Especially when there's no real reason here. I have the Colonialism CB on Portugal, and for others, Imperialism isn't THAT far off. And as this won't be a WC or any other type of mindless conquest game, and I'm not powergaming at all anyway, I don't think I need to rush the conquest to have enough time to complete my so far undisclosed goals before game end if I play smart.

Seizing those British colonies should be easy, and they look splintered.

Yep, as soon as I get them into war they should be simple to take care of.

Those evil Dutch....
Make 'em pay hard >:]

Eventually I will... But I can't hit them now because I threw them out!

[Malurous]

Chapter Fifty
1642-1644

Assurini grows into a city in April and later starts producing sugar, while Urubu'kaapoor is the first Dutch province to be turned to Quechuan and Inti in June. It, too, soon upgrades into a sugar province.

Later in June, colonizing Aonikenk (which was, again, already visible in last chapter's map) finishes my mission and I get a freebie colonist.



The next mission requires me to build a fine arts academy in Tzintzuntzan. I'm looking forward to being able to cancel that.

Tupinamba is the next Dutch province to flip in September.

I'll probably wait for a while before DoWing anyone as I want to build those colonies up and also have some WE, but I still check my options. England would be the logical target as they're the next down the coast, but their struggles in Europe lead to me having no CB on them. Maybe it's finally time to take care of Portugal...

We reach production tech 25 in December and are able to found craftsman's guilds (I checked and turns out that I misremembered - it would have actually been available at level 24). It's a province decision that costs 100 ducats, takes about two years to build, and the effect is identical to the vanilla workshop. I build a few, but save most of my cash for something more important.

That more important thing, the ability to promote constable to bailiff, becomes available in January 1643 when we get government tech 29. A similar province decision, it is identical to the vanilla constable. The effect will be huge in my rich CoTs (a total of ~200 ducats of census income from just those four provinces!), so some months later - early enough to make sure that they finish before year end two years from now - I start building them in those as well as some other provinces. It's a shame that I'm lacking cash for these great decisions.

Also in January, Spain's problems get more tangible with a pretty big free Granada.



That should definitely hurt Spain's economic base, especially since the losses include a CoT.

Kanamari, another of our South American colonies, cores in February, while Caruaru is culture and religion flipped. Soon after, Tupi starts producing first maize and later sugar.

To make matters worse for the Spanish, Mallorca declares war on them in March. Sadly and surprisingly, nothing comes out of the war and it might have actually helped Spain as Mallorca's armies killed some rebels.

But it does mean that Spain should be utterly incapable of fighting me right now. I decide to risk it and take on Portugal now, current WE be damned.



I'm in luck: the outcome is the best it could have been.



Getting into a war with England is very useful and fortunate as I lack a CB on them, while Spain and Nice both stay out. I wouldn't have taken anything from either, and the Spanish navy would have been a problem. Even more importantly, they might have been alliance leader, so battle score would have counted against an opponent I can't get infamy discounts on. So this is really the optimal situation.

As an aside, I have no idea why I have the Colonial CB on Portugal but not on anyone else.

It's not all roses however - over the starting days of the war, I try infiltrating the Portuguese administration three times at 60 %, but each try fails! I won't get a spy in a long time, so I'll have to do this war blind.

Since that's the case, I send my navy to scout the South American colonies.



England has a total of 12000 men here in two armies, while Portugal only has a few lonely regiments.

Moving ahead down the coast, I draw first blood in April as the navy sinks two Portuguese transports. England tries to use this to their advantage and two of their transports try to slip in from the north with reinforcements. However, I catch and sink them in May before the troops are able to land.

Portugal's Central American forces are mostly very weak, and unfortunately for them, their lone bigger army doesn't perform that well.



All of the region is under siege by June.



Up north, an approaching 18000 man Portuguese army forces one of my siege armies to go home.



My navy meets with England's main fleet in July. Given the apparent size difference of our vessels, it goes very well.



The captured ships are large carracks. Seems like someone hasn't been keeping their navy up to date... Not that I blame them, you could say that they've had a lot on their plate.

That fleet manages to flee into a colonial port, but I do sink a stray transport during my chase attempt, and blockade the port. As soon as I beat the English on land, the ships will have to run right into my fleet.

The Portuguese in the north come over the border, where I've combined my former siege force with a larger army. Portugal makes the curious decision of entering the most pivotal battle so far without a general.



I chase but the resulting battle isn't decisive, and they manage to flee into the TI. I'll take a chance and follow to Tepehuan, where about a third of the enemy army is going.



Spain's problems continue in October - Morocco declares independence in the Canarias.

The battle in the newly lifted TI goes well.



I decide to head east to another TI province - the one where most of the enemy army fled.

Turns out that the English fleet is safe for now as my first attempt to cross the border ends badly.



For once, I'm fighting a proper general. Maybe I would have needed some artillery too for staying power... But the English won't like those casualties, especially since my navy makes sure that they can't get more men in.

Speaking of the navy, I'd prefer to get through the English pretty soon as I could use the navy in the north as well. To this end, I lure most of the English navy out by heading west on the coast of Brazil, but turn back to face them when they're too far out to reach their home port in time.



One large carrack and one San Martin galleon - the latter goes to port for repairs as I want that one to stay intact.

Meanwhile, Tupinamba (the gold province I took from the Dutch) turns into a city.

My TI pushing army gets a small victory over the Portuguese when it reaches its destination in January 1644. Morale is down and men are missing as well, so I head home for now.

After the lost battle against the English, their army moved deeper into their lands to recuperate. I had some additional troops in the north, so by replacing some of the damaged regiments I'm able to get back to action quickly. Therefore, I beat the English to Tapeba and grab the province in February. Showing good Inca potential, the colony instantly upgrades from fish to sugar.



The remaining seventeen English warships are promptly sunk as they attempt to leave the port.

Turns out that the additional sugar province got me over the limit to become a monopolistic sugar producer.



I get government tech 30 in May. This enables a pretty good province decision to improve the town hall, a by itself not that good building. I'll have to take the decisions in my CoTs where I've already built town halls, but it's a lower priority than the bailiffs.

Moving forward from Tapeba, the English army suffers a crushing blow in Xucuru.



Now it's just a matter of seizing the rest of the provinces in this area.

While I'm doing that, an eight ship detachment that I earlier sent around South America arrives on the Pacific side of Central America. This causes the small Portuguese fleet that had been blockading my ports to flee to port. After some repairs, I turn the tables and start blockading the Portuguese ports in the area.

Guachichil, my experimental colony on the northern Portuguese border, starts producing maize in July.

Later in the month, I take the final English colony in South America.



England is offering to sign white peace, but I decline for now. That army of theirs is still around, and I want to milk battle warscore (two battles' worth, as I soon find out) just in case Portugal decides to be as stubborn as Spain was when it comes to signing peace.

Also in July, the Portuguese provinces start falling. Catacamas is the first one, followed by Nawat and Seibal the next month, and Lenca and Kaminaljuyu in September.



Lenca is especially important as any land connection has to go through it.

Still in September, the English South American army is finally eliminated. You know what that means...



Excellent. Portugal is now alone, and I've solved a problem by getting the colonies of a country I had no CB on.

[Athalcor]

That is a bit easier clash with Portugal than Prawnstar had to face.

[Enewald]

Sugar?
Europeans try to stay healthy!
Or vice versa...
Soon Mexico shall produce how much more, when the land gets connected? Enough?

[Chief Ragusa]

Lucky break to England along for the ride. Shame the spies failed, but you know you can defeat Portugal. That's one sorry looking Spain, if their troops weren't in the colonies watching the Incas, be different. Now you have the chance to link up the two halves of your empire taking 4 provinces to connect.

[randakar]

One question - in most of these AARs I see nations getting pretty large. Won't all those added provinces at some point start making research and stability recovery pretty painful?
Right now in my Divine Wind game I have been creating vassals like crazy to keep the efficiëncy high. That has problems too, of course .. especially since I want to switch religions.

[Omen]

Excellent work! Soon you'll be able to link your lands and start on the rest of the Americas. Or the Incas. Or whatever you decide to call your lands.

[Zzzzz...]

About time the two Inca lands will be united!

You have a monopoly on sugar and the bonus is 10%, is that huge?

[morningSIDEr]

My navy meets with England's main fleet in July. Given the apparent size difference of our vessels, it goes very well.

The captured ships are large carracks.

Noting the screenshot should those English ships not be called very, very large carracks instead? I had to laugh at the difference in size between both fleets! A very good war for you, and very obliging for England to step forward for punishment when you had no casus belli to otherwise hook them in. Portugal are no doubt in a great deal of trouble...