Tunis Delenda Est

[Selzro]

I'll detail the nation's strategy in the next post. There are three wars going one, with four enemies. Egypt is the weakest but also the one that has greater promise of surrendering soon. The Netherlands is the strongest on land, so I'll have to either give them the colony they want or let them occupy my provinces until I've dealt with the Portuguese threat and then try to beat them back.

One thing's for sure, becoming a GP was not the panacea I expected...

Congo is always blue, regardless of the country owning it, because it exists as an unciv satellite. I expect there should be an event that transfers it completely to its owner nation (as happened historically with Belgium in the early 20th century), but if it exists, it hasn't kicked yet. The upside is that Italy can't use it to colonize its surrounding regions.

A gigantic cannon that fires sheep filled with gunpowder... Yes! It's a million to one chance but just might work!!

[Selzro]

Chapter XI – Empire Under Siege

The new Sultan took over at a time of crisis. Wars raged on all fronts but that of Tunis itself, which was simply blockaded. In Kenya, the local Tunisian army was counterattacking the Portuguese in Waijir; in Crete, the 3rd Poeni Corps ‘Cartagena’ was guarding Chania while the Portuguese were occupying Iraklion. In the Levant, Egypt was being stubborn while the Dutch landed an army in Beirut.

It seemed like the nations of Europe were saying ‘Tunis Delenda Est’ again, and it was at times like these that monarchs learned the meaning of humility and sacrifice. Although the loss of Crete was deemed unacceptable, it took great pressure from his minister of war to persuade him to not cave in to Dutch demands. So the fight was kept up against all enemies. Tunis was not going to make its debut as a great power by ceding its territories without a proper fight. And fight it did.

In September, the 2nd Poeni Corps ‘Constantine’ attacked the Dutch beachhead in Beirut. The Dutch were clearly much better trained and organized than the Tunisians, but numbers showed and in the end the Dutch were defeated.



As if to offer congratulations on that victory and heap prestige upon glory, news came from Africa that Tunisian explorers had discovered the source of the Nile. The news filled the Tunisian people with patriotism and the desire to fight on.



A couple of weeks later, the Portuguese attacked Chania. The 3rd Poeni Corps had been ordered to cede no further ground to the enemy – it was to be either victory or destruction. And so they fought, outnumbered but well led and well motivated.



In December 1902, the first of the three wars came to its conclusion with the ceding of Palestine and Dumyat by Egypt to Tunis.



Meanwhile, the 1st Poeni Corps ‘Tunis’, after plundering Cairo had marched south along the Nile until it reached Dutch Asmara. Its orders were to deprive the Dutch of their supply posts there and then link up with the Somalian army, in support of the latter’s operations.

Tunis, by that time, was unmistakably a wartime economy, to the extent that the close relations between the military and industry became entrenched in a military-industrial complex.



By then, public debt had reached over 12,000 pounds, over two thirds of which was to the Bank of Tunis. However, peace with Egypt allowed the economy to breathe some more, while the first Portuguese attack on Chania was repelled with great casualties.



With the new year, in Kenya the Battle of Marsabit formed the turning point in the operations against the Portuguese on that front.



The Tunisian forces would proceed to pursue the enemy and liberate the regions they had occupied. But Russia, until then content to add its fleet to Portugal’s blockading squadrons, decided to go in deeper by claiming Valencia and landing a small army there. The Tunisian garrison consisted of a single local brigade, but a plan was hatched to reinforce it with troops from Tunis, involving the cooperation of Catalonia.



Meanwhile, in Asmara, the Dutch army headed back to engage the 2nd Poeni Corps, which was active in that region, and attacked it in March.



While that fight raged, the Tunisian clipper fleet sneaked past the enemy patrols and landed an army in Barcelona, from where it would march down to Valencia.



The Russian forces were engaged in May, as the Portuguese attempted a second assault on Chania, while losing ground in Africa.





Only days later, perhaps sensing weakness, the USA declared war on Russia, to take Russian Idaho, while the 1st Poeni Corps won the Battle of Assab.



The wars were finally looking up, when another one of the old-time enemies of Tunis decided to join in.



This time even Switzerland declared that it had had enough. Sweden, once welcomed as a Class 1 threat, was now a strong naval power with a large army. It wanted the Balearic Islands and it knew it had the clout to take them.

Later that month, a spirited counterattack saw the Portuguese defeated in Iraklion. Their elimination on that island would only be a matter of days.



The addition of Swedish squadrons to the Mediterranean meant that the Tunisian ships had even less freedom of movement, and so the Swedes landed unopposed in the Balearics in September.



A month later, the Netherlands, seeing the futility of the war sued for a white peace. It was gratefully accepted at once.



That took some pressure off the empire, but the Russians saw fit to keep it up elsewhere, by attacking Lebanon. Tunisian troops, rested after their operations against Egypt, made haste to engage the enemy, even though they appeared to be stronger.




That last battle in Askaleh was to be the last act in a pointless war, since the Portuguese had lost in Crete and Kenya and the Russians had lost in Valencia. Early in 1904, a white peace was signed and Tunis found itself at war with just Sweden.



However, Sweden was no push-over. After occupying the Balearic Islands, their expeditionary force was ferried to Valencia, where it proved too much for the Tunisian army stationed there.



Realizing that the war would be won or lost at sea, Muhammad IV ordered a large ship-building program, with many steam transports and commerce raiders constructed in Tunis, Crete and Valencia.

By November, although the commerce raiders were still under construction, the steam transports were tested against the enemy frigates with success, owed partially to a good admiral.



With naval power steadily growing, an army could eventually be ferried to the Balearics, while the Swedish expeditionary force lost time wearing down the Tunisian fortifications south of Valencia.

In May Catalonia entered the Tunisian sphere of influence, the first nation to do so, while the Tunisian army attacked the Swedish positions. The two armies were equal in numbers but the Swedes were better armed and trained and proceeded to wear down the Tunisian attack.

The battle was lost, but fresh troops were brought in and so in September the Swedes were tricked into attacking in the hills of Alicante, where reinforcements were brought in, while more troops maneuvered to surround the battlefield.



That victory cost the Swedes more than 34,000 men, and left the Tunisian brigades free reign to liberate Cartagena and its surrounding provinces. A second Swedish Expeditionary Force appeared in Djibouti, defeating the Tunisian army there, but by then it was too late for Sweden. The growing Tunisian navy had swept the enemy squadrons from the Mediterranean and would not allow any more to sail in. Sweden realized the futility of further operations, and it offered a white peace in December 1905 which Tunis, by then constructing its first four monitors, accepted.



That peace treaty was well timed to see Tunis become a member of the Olympic Organizing Committee, its promise of world peace extended like a crown to the long-suffering Tunisians.



For a few more months Tunis enjoyed untroubled prosperity, and Sultan Muhammad was pleased to be informed that the nation’s industrial score exceeded the 2000 mark. Then, in April, the populace which had sustained and sacrificed so much in the previous years finally exploded in a large anarcho-liberal revolution.

Nowhere was revolutionary fervor more strong than in Valencia, where the people still remembered the Spanish revolutions in the anarcho-liberal cause.



On 11 May 1906 Muhammad IV died, allegedly in a paroxysm of rage at the news of rebel victories in Valencia. He was succeeded by Muhammad V.

[Tanzhang (譚張)]

You know you're playing a Paradox game when...

Sweden, once welcomed as a Class 1 threat, was now a strong naval power with a large army.

Good luck against those rebels in Valencia, poor old Tunisia can't seem to catch a break can it?

[Aliasing]

No I'm sure it will be fi- OH MY GOD IS THAT ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ALL OF EUROPE DECLARING WAR ON YOU!?!?!?

[badger_ken]

wow, awesome job - not only did you persevere when many players would have reloaded or quit, you actually triumphed -


one question about the Congo - I've never seen it turn into an unciv satellite - is this a function of a particular mod you're using (or one that i am )?

[Selzro]

*Bows to the readers*

Congo emerges that way as a result of the Congo Conference, in Vanilla - if you're using a mod that event may have been changed, because many players don't like it.

Tunis' adventures are far from over, dear readers, but this quadruple victory has won it some respect in the eyes of the world and has transferred the initiative to it. Now, proud and resolute, Tunis ca- OH MY GOD ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ALL OF EUROPE ARE DECLARING WAR ON ME!!!!!!

[badger_ken]

Now, proud and resolute, Tunis ca- OH MY GOD ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ALL OF EUROPE ARE DECLARING WAR ON ME!!!!!!

what's your infamy? Are these wars of containment?

[Selzro]

No, I was just joking.

[badger_ken]

No, I was just joking.

I gotta stop reading forums on New Year's eve

[Melrick]

Wow, an amazing and fantastic job in fighting off half of Europe! But just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief on your behalf, damn peasants get uppity! That's huge numbers of rebels in Spain to deal with...

[Aliasing]

Well this seems pleasant so fa-QUICK GET THE EXPLODING SHEEP CANNON WE JUST MIGHT BE ABLE TO BEAT THEM OFF!!!!

[KlavoHunter]

Stuff the sheep with gunpowder and curry spices, that way it'll flash-cook the beast and distract the Europeans with a spicy tang in their mouth that makes them run for the john 20 minutes later!

[Kaltorak]

That looks quite the revolution. I don't blame the Sultan for figuratively exploding to death in anger. Another triumph against the old European foes. I guess these grudges have lasted since way back at the start of the AAR. Nicely done.. The industry is still powering on which is most impressive in the situation you are in. How does that industry compare with some of your GP rivals? Any chance for a ledger shot sorted by industry? Enjoying this as much as ever!

[Selzro]

Interlude – Technology and Industry in the New Century

70 years after our story began, the Tunis of 1906 still bears the marks of its troubled past, and the race down certain technological avenues it undertook to become a colonial nation.



In land technology, its initial frenzied research into small arms has recently been supplemented with some headway into military science, leadership and doctrine, aided by the new research school.



In the naval department, Tunis had traditionally given no importance to research. At the turn of the century some attention was directed to it, leading to steam ships, and during the last wars additional research was conducted in engineering, ship construction and naval leadership. Tunis has found that its future safety lies partially at sea, when up against small to medium sized enemy navies. It will no longer be neglected.



Commerce had been the second most neglected field of research, after naval tech, but that is hoped to change in the future. Most first tier techs were researched before westernization, and only recently has some progress been made in the second tier.



Culture, on the other hand, was the king of research allocation all through the 19th century, although aesthetics and psychology were rather neglected.



Industry, finally, is dominated by the chemistry and electricity branch, which has been the greatest source of prosperity for the Tunisian people. The other branches are slowly catching up, although metallurgy is expected to keep lagging behind for many more years.





Tunis has the 7th highest industrial score in the world, but that is increasing with a faster rate than its competitors. Prestige is not bad, while even militarily Tunis is becoming a force to be reckoned with – especially compared with Russia’s feeble ranking in that department. Spain, after its many wars and revolutions, has lost its secondary power status, while Japan apparently lacks the required prestige to westernize. The Netherlands, knocked out of GP status by Tunis, climbed back up at Prussia’s expense, creating a vacuum of power in Northern Germany which Austria and France will no doubt try to take advantage of. Portugal and Sweden remain secondary powers, circling Tunis like hungry hyenas, while Switzerland and Italy are also secondary powers but more benign, concerning Tunis.



Turning to national comparison, Tunis ranks 6th in number of factories, but that figure belies the actual size of those factories. Russia appears to have half as many factories as the UK but the latter’s industrial score is a hundred times higher. We also see the disparity in literacy continuing in the 20th century, with the Russian Empire struggling at 23% while France has eliminated illiteracy within its borders. Tunis is very close to reaching the 50% mark.



Turning our attention to factory production, we see that by 1906 increased fuel production has made refineries less profitable than they once were. Cement is the highest earning product in Tunis, due to its need for other industries, but telephones are by far the highest earning products per work hour required to produce them. All their factories are merely level 2, yet they’re twice as profitable as cement factories of the same size.

All across the states, factories are constantly being expanded, under the watchful eye of state capitalism. It is projected that if this keeps up, Tunis will soon surpass the UK in fuel production, and possibly also telephone and electrical gear production. Sure, some liberals would prefer to have a greater say in running the economy, but the Sultan always says they couldn’t do it any better, and who can argue with the voice of authority?

[Selzro]

I've also taken the time to distill my experiences in a strategy guide for Tunis at the Vic2 Wiki, which you can see here.

This is the first time that I've contributed to the Wiki, so please tell me if the article is too long/short/unbalanced/badly structured/etc.

[Kaltorak]

A lovely sumation of where Tunis stands amongst the world and a break down of what helps it run. The wiki article is as good as any. I still love the classification of European threats, its a nice touch. Due to the fairly random nature of the challenges that Tunis has to face (i.e I've seen France declare war as early as February of 1836) it is difficult to offer much more then you have in your wiki article. Anyway.. Bravo! I wonder what the rest of the 20th century holds for Tunis. Also... 36M people is very impressive! I guess colonisation has added a much needed boost in that area.

[Selzro]

Thanks! Have you considered writing a nation guide for Abu Dhabi? I can think of no better person, given your recent experience.

And yes, colonization has helped immensely. As literacy and admin efficiency go up in the colonies, I'll be also gradually making them states, although the heart of industry will always beat at my original states - I checked on Crete and about 65% of its population, in both provinces, is craftsmen...

[Selzro]

Chapter XII – Things Come Together

The anarcho-liberal revolution of 1906, although initially successful in Valencia, was eventually suppressed by the Tunisian army, after over half a year of combat operations. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire had declared war on Cyprus, in an attempt to reconquer the island. Tunis exerted a lot of influence on Cyprus and, although there was no formal alliance, relations were friendly and the cabinet and parliament called for an intervention. The sultan gave the order on 17 November 1906, and the first war against the Ottoman Empire began with an invasion of Syria and Libya and the blockading of enemy ports. The Poeni Sacred Band, an army usually stationed in Tunis itself, landed in Cyprus and engaged the Ottoman army there in battle.

The Ottoman Empire was caught off its guard and proved unable to counter Tunisian actions. As a result, it agreed to a return to the status quo on 24 January 1907, ending the war just 68 days after the Tunisian intervention.



The next couple of years brought steady growth to the Tunisian Empire. In February 1908 Russia offered an alliance, which was accepted by the sultan. Europe’s perception of Tunis had clearly changed, and the latter was being accepted as a power to be respected. The Netherlands, on the other hand, suffered their own anarcho-liberal revolution to a much worse extent, and the rebels took over, turning the country into a bourgeois dictatorship in July 1908.

On that same month, Hamburg offered an alliance. North Germany was clearly falling apart and Tunis accepted the offer, to gain a presence in that turbulent region.



In November 1908 Tunisian engineering proved itself to the world with the construction of the Suez Canal. Besides the obvious benefit to the world’s merchant marine, the canal would allow Tunisian ships to more easily move between the homeland and Somaliland.



In 1909 Tunisian athletes competed for the first time in the Olympic Games, during the 4th Olympiad. That summer festival of peace was seen by many as an omen of things to come, but they were all mistaken.

In September, the USA declared war on the Russian Empire, claiming Oregon. Russia called Tunis as an ally, and the latter accepted. The addition of Tunis made the allied forces appear equal to the American ones on paper, but the truth was that there was no way of projecting power from Tunis to North America, where Oregon had already been left to its own devices long before the US took an interest in it.





However, this war opened up another opportunity. With the USA engaged thus with Tunis, the latter could turn on Egypt without much fear of the former intervening. War was declared on 2 November 1909, and Tunisian troops crossed the border in the Nile Delta and elsewhere in Africa.



For the next few months, Tunisian troops busied themselves with occupying Egyptian provinces and beating back their armies, whenever they got in the way. The USA was completely ignored until it decided to make itself heard.



The American landing was initially ignored, since the African armies were busy subduing Egypt. As attrition worked its slow death on the American army and as the Tunisian ironclads engaged the American transports in the Red Sea, bolt action rifles were issued to the army, along with spiffy new uniforms.



In August, the American expeditionary force arrogantly attacked Tunisian positions in the Werder mountains, which were promptly reinforced.



It was the first and perhaps last battle between Tunisians and Americans and the latter suffered a great defeat.



One day after the Battle of Aselia ended, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Tunis, ceding many regions in the Sudan.



Since keeping the war over Oregon going any further seemed pointless, Tunis (as war leader) agreed to the American terms a few days later.



The return to peace saw Tunis still growing rapidly in population, in large part due to immigrants.



Europe was proving a less than ideal place to live, and that was punctuated just a few days later when Austria and France, the two greatest military powers after the UK, went to war with each other over Alsace-Lorraine.



Tunis watched that conflict with great interest, since Austria was allied to the Ottoman Empire. Although the moment seemed ripe for a war with which to take Tripoli (for which a casus belli existed), Tunis and the Ottomans still had a truce, so the Sultan had to wait and hope for the war in Europe to continue unabated.

Meanwhile, in November 1911 Tunisian explorers were the first to make it to the South Pole, bringing much prestige to their nation.



The Netherlands, on the other hand, suffered a communist revolution, which succeeded in establishing a proletarian dictatorship.



Tunisian smugness lasted for barely over a month, when a reactionary rebellion shocked the country.



Still, that was nothing the army couldn’t easily handle, and on 1 May 1912 war was finally declared on the Ottoman Empire. The Austrians answered their allies’ call, but were initially unable to spare much support on land. At sea, their once huge but obsolete navy had been weakened by 2/3rds by the more modern French Navy, and the Tunisian Navy proceeded to help along the process.



By the end of the year, Austria had made peace with France and could spare its armies to the Syrian front but by then Tunisian forces had already occupied all of Ottoman Africa and much of Syria. When the Austrians did attack, they found the Tunisian army well organized and able to inflict defeats on them, while the Tunisian Navy moved in to the Adriatic Sea and proceeded to blockade Austria’s ports. So it was that in January 1913 Austria, exhausted by war, agreed to cede Tripoli to Tunis.



The January Peace ended the war after just 9 months, giving birth to a contiguous Tunisian African Empire.



From Constantine to Mogadishu, Tunisian rail span across a continent. The Dream of a generation had finally come to life, in the seventh year of the reign of the sultan Muhammad V.

[Melrick]

Wow, that's certainly a name I never expected to see splashed across most of Africa!

[Rabid]

You need to annex Egypt, Ethiopia, and the rest of Ottoman Africa to really make the map look good, but an impressive feat nonetheless!