Last Tango in 1.3 - An Argentine AAR

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Will Poland Breath Free?

brycef I'm glad they don't cave right off the bat, but it does drag things out. And yes, I think I am fairly well ahead of the Russians, they've suffered a great deal

Dewirix Mandate from the masses? You were fooling yourself. Well, I had a vast fleet which seemed to take forever, with the top ships slowly being repaired and the lower ones appearing untouched, but it wasn't a controlled or even closely monitored experiment. It does seem to work on the armies, though. I'll try to divide an 8-brigade army into two fours and have a similar one stay as 8 and see what happens. Maybe do the same with ships.

morningSIDEr I'm hoping for a bit of calamity, but not all self-inflicted.

Previously on "Last Tango" - the third Russo-Argentine war was going boringly well despite Sauron's involvement.

In mid-October 1919 I reached roughly half of the warscore I need to free Rovne from Russia and create the free and independent nation of Poland. At the end of October I have created a few pockets of Russians, and proved that a brigade which has been reduced to 200 men is still worth something to hold a safe part of a pocket.

Despite the lame war name, it's going very well after only ten weeks. My province captures aren't even worth one point in warscore yet, but as I approach the +25 battle maximum, and take a couple more target provinces to reduce the required warscore, I should be able to wrap this up without facing real danger.



Which is probably just as well, because outside the pockets I am killing farmers and losing real soldiers.



Krakow's army has marched all the way to the Crimea in their attempt to keep Poland from forming. Krakow's leaders are probably afraid they'd lose their phony-balony jobs.



There is occasional danger, since stacks of Russians feed into battle wherever they like. Note that the 200-man brigade has apparently recovered to 700 men. I'll test my reinforcement theory later, but I sure hope we're not seriously rewarded for breaking up armies manually to get them to re-fill quickly [ed - we are, divvy up your dead armies, four brigade to a province, and they recover quickly, leave them 15-20 brigades to a province and they take forever]. Of course, in provinces which don't have 25 brigades ready to recruit, we could disband the brigades and re-recruit, but at least in peacetime, replenishment ought to be pretty quick. Is it tied to the source province, limiting how many men are sent out, or the receiving province, limiting how many men arrive? The former seems more sensible to me, and does not reward/require me to manually split my forces into small armies to get them to fill up. On the other hand, if spreading your armies out let's them re-fill, then that would be good to remember as a weaker power [ed - right-o].



As November ends, one pocket collapses, taking 40,000 Russian conscripts with it. The fact that this frees my armies means more than the elimination of the Russian troops.



I've reached my +25 maximum battle score, and a warscore of 25, but with the peace offer still being worth 21 the UK will not agree to free Poland. By December 8th, the numbers of Russians are beginning to add up.



On the 9th another 75,000 Russians are killed or captured when the battle in Zhitomir ends. The next day, in something of an anti-climax, the war ends



Heh, I probably could have broken that blockade of Buenos Aires if I had noticed it. Nonetheless, Poland is now an actually existing nation, and my goal for the rest of the game is to add as much to Poland as I can.



Hey, sorry that this war went according to plan! It's odd to me that fighting the UK and Russia could be reduced to a formula like this. The key is to fight a bunch of small wars for 20-point goals, not big wars for 60-70. Granted, it's mostly because the Russian regular army is small, and I have so many troops that I can overwhelm the target portion of the country before the conscripts have green backgrounds. I suspect that the UK has lingering war weariness or other war damage. Yes, we've been fighting the same wars, but they've been losing. When I restart I'll take another look at Germany. I can hit a +30 Warscore, and if I don't ask for a peace value 65 state, I should be able to win, and then consider taking on both France and Austria.

There is one other thing I want to mention. With under 15 years left in the game, the BB limit is doing more to limit my fun than to control my warmongering. I have fought the UK repeatedly and successfully, which means that the enforcement mechanism is looking pretty weak. So, while I may help Argentina a little (finishing off Sokoto and Belgium wouldn't take long), and I'll mostly stick to my Mission from God, I will probably break the BB limit before too long, and then ignore it until the game is over.

If freeing Poland is bad, I don't wanna be good.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Second German War

Omen Thanks, more free Poland incoming.

brycef Thanks, and I agree.

fenwayb Bit ... I've managed to avoid it in every game I've played.

Previously on "Last Tango" - Operation Free Poland succeeds!

Now to face Sauron again, and free some more Poland from Germany as I should have done the last time. Instead, I selfishly demanded Hannover for myself and then botched the war with too much fancy DoWing. Argentina rapidly approaches 1000 brigades, though with all this fighting, there are more than a few which have been reduced to mere hundreds of men. I ship some from Korea to the Ottoman Empire area. Diplomatically, France makes some efforts at the OE, which are easily rebuffed, but nobody really wants to take China from me. Combine this with my ease of taking China from Russia's SoI and it seems odd, almost as though the AI expects China to civilize and so figures it's not worth the effort. I dunno.

In February 1920 Modern Divisional Structure is discovered, adding +5 ATT now and 50% morale eventually. My Infamy is around 17, and needing only 3BB per state when I Free People, it's only my truce with the Germans which is holding me back. Well, that and letting my men rest. April 1920 sees Argentina hit a full 1000 brigades, that's 3 million men under arms, more or less. I have never recruited that many. Sure, I've hit 1000 on the possible brigades often enough, but I never really wanted to move all those units around. Given how much fun I'm having here, I really need to look to the last decade or two of the game more as a chance to enjoy whatever empire I've built than as a time to speed up the clock and figure out who I want to play next. November sees the last Fortress +1 discovery.

In August 1921 the truce expires and I check the map for the best province to demand from the NGF. Unfortunately, no German provinces share a border with Poland, which is too far south. Russia divides Germany and Poland. So I am stuck demanding something now, and connecting it up in my next Russian war. I choose Ostprussen, East Prussia, as a suitable province, not far from the current Polish state. It's a four province state, some with annoyingly advanced fortifications, and all of it very far from my troops in Belgium. The nominal warscore needed is on the high side at 49, but the only thing much lower, iirc, was Posen at mid 30s, but impossible to reach in peacetime (or a non-German war) since it would be landlocked.



I hope that 49 now means only 40ish once I take a few target provinces. I have nearly 1 million troops in Belgium, and another 150,000 aboard ship ready to land as the war begins. As you can see from this screenshot, I'm going to have an easier time of it fighting the war, but a harder time making this interesting.



So, Argentina scared Sauron off, there will be no UK in this war! If it means I can pick on anyone I want, this will have interesting implications for the rest of the game. Germany gives me a week to spread out and then mobilizes. Thanks, guys.



The NGF jumped from 18 brigades to 182, but it will be quite some time before the new troops amount to even a theoretical threat to any of my armies. Large Bavarian armies lead me to check, and she's added 46 brigades to my enemies. Still, I have fewer than 250 brigades to fight, no UK interference, and the vast majority of my opponent's armies are raw conscripts. Remember how I said you should always check your commanders? Well, that's always true. However, the reason I'm not that good isn't that I don't "get" the game, or that haven't played much, but because I cannot bring myself to spend a lot of time on details like that. Or, you know, bringing all my armies home when the war ends. Plus, who needs a general when the Colonel has gas?



In the far west there are two annoying factors. German forces are merely driven south, not surrounded, and Germany still has access through France. In mid-September I discover Heavy Armament, a serious upgrade to my artillery. Since I have many artillery in my armies, this should help (well, many if you include tanks)(and aeroplanes?). It also completes the full Army Tech Tree. I begin work on the last + Supply tech, Synthetic Polymers. It'll complete in July 1922, so probably won't help. The next day I win two battles, eliminating 80,000 Germans in two pockets.



Germany is already down to 154 brigades. I see half the Bavarian army in Koblenz, in the west, and move to surround them. Into October most of my wins are along the periphery of the fighting, and so the enemy escapes. The Bavarians moved north from Koblenz to Sieberg, where I wipe out 54,000.



Yes, the large boost in war spending has catapulted me into Rank #2! It won't last. The German Navy apparently chased me to Belgium, but my reinforcements have arrived unharmed and there was no navy battle.



The end of October brings a real surprise, Russia has DoWed the NGF. This is fun, but I worry that they want East Prussia as well, since I've made no effort to occupy my target province up until now. Kill the enemy, then occupy the country, that much I've learned.



No worries, Russia wants the rest of an oddly-named state (I don't even think that's a real word) she presumably shares with the NGF, and look, Sauron found someone the UK can beat! You have to give this much to the AI, knowing that it's much easier to kick a man when he's down. The end of October brings our first province, Bremen, but too many of the battle wins are still around the outside of pocketed Germany. November sees the annihilation of another 54,000 Bavarians, who are now thin on the ground down from 46 brigades to a mere 2. Wiesbaden sees the elmination of 24,000 troops from Bremen. Giessen the next day sees 40,000 Germans less.



On November 7 I spot the UK beating up German ships, and there is much rejoicing. Germany is down to 113 brigades. I took many screenshots of this war, every province capture, many battles, but it's not going to be exciting to run through it as though this was a contested war. Germany without real allies is just a really big Belgium. So I mopped up the Germans and spread out over nearly the whole country, and sped up the game clock. By the end of November, mousing over my unemployment Icon, I realized I had 150,000 out-of-work craftsmen in Santiago because I'd missed upgrading factories for some time. I wish we had an "expand every factory" button. Germany was below 70 brigades by December 1, and I had my +25 Battle score. The White Peace spam started December 5th, when Germany had 33 brigades. The only fly in the ointment was that the Rooskies had beaten me to some provinces in the state I am demanding.



By late January, the war was all over but the waiting. I tried to have aeroplanes in every occupying force.



On the 26th of January I added West Prussia to my wargoals. On the one hand, this puts my total required up to more than Hannover, I need 89 Warscore and at the moment I'm at 36. On the other, I have access to virtually all of Germany, so it's just a matter of waiting for the NGF to give me what I want. February sees a +50% Morale boost invention, but the fighting is done, and I'd already reduced my supply spending to 85%. By this point the only Germans are based in France. They make border raids now and then. I occupy Bavaria a little, and bits of Bremen, but I am not serious about it [this proves to be stupid for reasons having nothing to do with the war]. By mid-March the warscore is up to 40, and the peace offer is down to 75. By May, I'm at 42 of a needed 65, and Germany begins offering me East Prussia only. In June my warscore is up to 49/65. By mid-July I was up to 61/65. My supply limit was boosted 50% by the last tech, still a bit late. On July 25th the NGF sees the light.



Poland acquires two more states, and Argentina searches for a more compelling war to fight.



Here's the rankings Vaya con Queso was looking for. We'll look for the 1000 points which will let us keep Rank #2!

Chapter Thirty: Another European War

History_Buff Soon, soon, and two good ideas.

Avindian Yes, it's 3BB per state instead of 10BB taking it for yourself. It's a good way to hurt an enemy cheaply, in BB, though it costs just as much in Warscore to Free People as to take stuff.

Vaya con Queso Me too, I see Argentina in my Factory screens, but I don't even move NFs. I hope you're right on #2, might need to conquer something for myself, though. The Brazil wars don't seem to accomplish much, though the USA has a state just north of my Atlantic border.

Dewirix Yeah, I figure I can always not include them and I gave up taking notes, I just take a screenshot and move the cursor to a reminder why. Thanks on progress. I wonder if the AI isn't intent on adding MIL score, but has too many dead soldier Pops to allow real recruiting.

Previously on "Last Tango" - we won our second consecutive war according to plan <yawn>

So I look for something a bit more challenging. Also, given that the UK refused to honor an alliance against me last time, only France is really in a position to make Argentine Infamy meaningful, so I want to see if the one undamaged military power will actually fight. But first, a word from the Jacobins.



In January 1923 the Germans gave Russia what she had demanded in their war, the rest of some state I can't spell. In May, Argentina reaches Rank 3 in peacetime. Germany has been putting the moves on Poland diplomatically. Hey, if I have to free bits of Poland from German oppression, shouldn't that count as a truce-inducing-event between those two countries? As it stands, Germany could DoW Poland the minute a state is freed to reconquer it.



For some reason, the Russian-NGF peace deal didn't include the UK, who later WPs out. In September I reach 1100 active Brigades, though some are mere shells. Our next target, Austria has a respectable 168 brigades, and of course has not mobilized. France has 187, and we hope she gets scared off. Between the two countries, that's 350 regular army and probably Russian-sized mobilization.



We have a tiny border with Austria in our target province of East Galicia, which doesn't matter so much now that we have access through Poland, and the Ottoman Empire, but this border is the only reason I originally checked and found that I could free parts of Poland from Austria.



We demand that Austria free people, with an initial peace value of 39, and hope that France, Sweden and Spain all bow out. Okay, we hope France bows out and we are indifferent to the others. On October 22, 1923, we learn that we are in grave danger of fighting our third consecutive fight-by-numbers war when we see that we're at war with just Austria. Unlike Germany's decision to wait a week and then mobilize, Austria's decision to do that works to our disadvantage, since we've bypassed some troops.



On the other hand, war spending puts me back up to Rank #2. Austria, mobilized, and has 536 brigades. Nothing to sneeze at. In mid-November I pocket 30,000 Austrians along the shore of the Adriatic. In the interior, I have several pockets going as well.



Apparently, however, two can play at this game.



On the 17th, I fight my first naval battle off Messina, with 18 Dreadnoughts and 9 Cruisers facing off against 43 medium Austrian ships and 11 transports. I had finally set my notifications to pop-up and pause when naval combat starts. I get tired of seeing messages saying "oh, hey, your navy's dead". A few days later, 50,000 Austrians are killed or captured in Przemsyl, and the very next day, 75,000 are eliminated in Cernauti. A mere two days later 50,000 more are added in Stryi. As November ends, my decision to send all my ships to Austria is somewhat overcome by two factors. One, they have not all arrived, and two, I let the game pick my admiral.



Argentina's navy is now 100% Dreadnoughts, Cruisers and steam transports, by the way. I withdrew shortly after this, three of my cruisers were the only casualties. 110,000 Austrians are pocketed in Zadar, and the battle moves up the coast.



On December 11, 1923 I captured my first province. Austria has a Maginot line of sorts, serious fortifications along some borders, and nothing in many places. At Cape Bon I learned that I should have formed my fleet up in some distant place and then sent them in one group (preferably with a non-pitiful admiral). For Christmas, another 100,000 Austrians are awarded bed and breakfast in Bestercze. All spelling errors are due to the shortage of vowels and the lack of a proper respect for avoiding the disproportionate use of odd consonants. At Cape Bon I'd sent my not-yet-recovered fleets to rescue my stupidly-placed fleets, with predictable results.



Well, the message box has overruled the battle report and says that I won the battle of Cape Bon, so that's alright then. The end of 1923 brings the fall of a couple more provinces, and the start of Austria's WP spam. My warscore is 15 of a needed 37. As with the German war, some pockets have just enough men to hold on. When I win the others I'll have free armies to roll into the remaining battles. It's a bit close though, that left stack of mine turned red when I clicked on it!



Still, facing just Austria, I add West Galicia to my wargoals as the year closes out. In mid-January a pocket of 63,000 Austrians collapses in the southeast, and those troops are send to wrap up some other battles. On February 1 the battle of Cluj is won, and another 105,000 Austrians call it quits. The eastern provinces fall frequently, and in mid-February the bulk of Austria's western forces are captured in Karlovac, another 90,000 gone. March sees a minor upgrade to Argentine artillery, and a few more provinces in our possession. Austria is down to 325 brigades. Shift Work is discovered in late March, adding 5% to RGOs and factories alike. Shouldn't that increase the number of men each level of factory employs? No, then it'd do the same to RGOs, and that would be bad. At the end of March the only serious Austrian force outside of the long-fighting pockets is captured in Brno, another 70,000 troops. What's wrong with this picture?



I had forgotten that just because a province fell didn't mean the troops weren't needed. Oops. I killed 40,000, but 160,000 lived to fight another few months. Through April, provinces fall left and right. The trouble with looking at peace negotiations frequently, though, is sometimes bad news comes up before you even click on them.



Suaron, is that you?

Chapter Thirty-One: At the Gates of Vienna

Vaya con Queso I don't get that either, -0 as opposed to 0. Never noticed it. I suppose 0 makes sense because I haven't been fighting Austria as long as the others, and I did go for good relations before the wars, iirc hoping for military access.

Dewirix You can do a good deal more with 170 than I could the way I'm playing here, pick your terrain and a top general, let them come to you etc, but 1000 mobilized, that could be quite fun. Oh, and congratulations on starting such a fine war!

Previously on "Last Tango" - Argentina's invasion of Austria to free Poland was going so well that we added another wargoal. Then the UK/Sauron allied with Austria. So we'll spend the rest of the war hoping that Austria does not or cannot call the UK as an ally. There's a clock ticking somewhere.

No, the UK isn't going to be able to drive us out of Austria. Sauron will do far worse, he'll drive our warscore into microscopic range for everything but +25 for Battles. We'd be lucky to get East Galicia if the UK enters the war, much less East and West Galicia as we have demanded. Austria is laying prostrate at our feet, but the calculation of how the war is going changes dramatically if the UK enters. We saw that when the UK dropped out and left us with just Austria to fight. We were in range our our goal the instant the UK quit. This would be the opposite

So we're in something of a rush now. We have a warscore of 38 and we need 70. Some of the provinces we demanded, and which we need to reduce our needed score, are heavily fortified. Only a few have been occupied for a long time. Here's an overview of sorts.



Check out the shot below. Nevermind Graz, tell me again why I'm green and he's red? (also, forget that this entire battle is being fought because I moved one of my pocket armies because the province was taken, allowing the Austrians escape needlessly)



But seriously, looked at from afar, I'm cruising to victory in this battle. Looked at from the the battle details, it's obvious that I'm in trouble. It's a little disconcerting to see such a difference between the two. Provinces fall throughout May, and yes, I very nearly moved an army away from that same battle, in the sense that I did move them, then thought "wait, I've seen this before". In June I notice that I am nearing 1200 Brigades recruited. Also, that the battle of Tarnow has been going on for months.



June 10th adds four provinces to the many which have fallen.



Later in June, Austria begins offering East Prussia. By the end of the month I'm over the nominally required warscore, 59/58, but Austria won't give me two states. On July 4th, two more states fall, giving me 61/58, but no deal. The seventh adds two more, and makes me 64/58, but still unacceptable. By mid-July, I own virtually all of what I am claiming, and much much more besides, but still no offer, and there is still the spectre of Austria's ally, the UK, being called into the war.



True, the UK entering the war is probably a small risk, but it would instantly change the war. The end of July puts me up to 66/58, but Austria still refuses to concede. In August, with the same warscore/peace value, Austria finally gives up the ghost. Poland is now a five-state nation, and as soon as I can re-combobulate all my armies, recover some, and fight Russia again, they'll all be connected up. Austria demobilised is down to 48 brigades, more than 100 fewer than her pre-war strength.

One thought about Poland concerns me. I initially freed Poland from Russia. Would Poland have gotten better techs if the first successful Free People war had been against the NGF? Too bad, if so, because these states are pretty valuable, some of them.



I saved the game and wrote all of this before I even returned my armies to friendly territory. It's such a chore to clean up my room these days.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Fourth Russian War

Vaya con Queso That would have been nice, but Infamy mattered too much at the time. The Poles have a small military, not much though. All they really do is add attrition when I keep a big army in their capitol

Dewirix If you can get a couple big enemies to WP, it's not a problem, but getting a +40ish warscore against a big alliance is a huge chore. Yeah, my timing could have been better, but I didn't see Austria adding a big ally like that.

Previously on "Last Tango" - having made a huge mess of my armies, I saved the game when the war ended and left my armies scattered.

It's not so much that ordering my armies back into home territory is a chore, it's re-constituting normal armies from the mass of odd sized and weird composition troops is time consuming. I tend to leave occupation armies of, say, one aeroplane and one infantry. If I have the troops or there is some danger, I add a tank and a cavalry perhaps, or a couple guard brigades. If I scramble to cover extra provinces, these larger groups get broken up. So trying to rebuild two or three dozen armies is not easy. Add to that the fact that some have been badly mauled, and some are in good shape, and I remember a bit why I don't fight as many massive wars as I could in the late game. Wars are enjoyable. It's peace that is more trouble than it's worth. Still, as I prepare for my next fight, I gather all armies to me.

You know, this event sounded like fun, and I did seriously consider it, but then I got busy while my armies repaired and the time expired.



Even reduced to 90%, my stockpile expense is 70,000. I field 1200 of a possible 1350 brigades. In February 1925 I discover Fire Control systems, knocking another ten days off my navy build times. In April I notice that Poland is Rank 15, and a Secondary Power in her own right. I feel the warm glow of parental pride. Our BadBoy is just over 24. This won't be a limit much longer, but I don't want a serious breach until I'm ready. Our main fleet is fairly powerful, these are 100% Cruisers and Dreadnoughts.



I am going to continue building ships and researching navy techs. I don't need commerce and cash that much, I don't need sulfer, precious metals, or 5% more steel, all the Industry tab would give me, and another NF isn't needed, nor is more + to Literacy this late in the game. What I want is to fight one war against a major power where I can move my armies about freely! Oh, have I mentioned how annoying it is that, at the end of a war, you cannot cross borders, even if all the borders are of your until-recently-enemy nations? Here's a few guys I'd forgotten about, having assumed that ordering them home would get them there.



They could cross the NGF if already in it, but they cannot cross the border from one enemy into another. So occupying Bavaria and Bremen at all was a mistake. I guess I need to see that peace is possible and extract the guys to an enemy which borders me, then agree to peace. February 1926 sees Argentina with a BadBoy score over 23, and a serious lack of concern about the World's collective opinion. We decide to allow the Poles to walk from one end of their country to another by adding a corridor through Russia, Mazoweikie. This will cut off a chunk of Russia for later conquest, unless things go well and two states seem like a real possibility.

Hitting 26+ infamy should be a real test of who might come get me once I'm really bad.



The peace value of my goal is a mere 25, and I am calling allies, so if Sauron joins in the fun, he can fight China to his heart's content.



Fielding 1270 of a possible 1400 brigades, Argentina begins yet another war against Russia. Unfortunately, while all my allies join, so do all of Russia's. This will be my first war against Russia, Sauron and Austria. Granted, Austria is no powerhouse, but they have many troops, and they are very close to the action.



Sixteen Argentine transports are immediately jumped outside our capitol by a force of 29/35/0 of Sauron's navy. Ooops. I choose advance naval design as my next tech, and as you can see, I am making progress. It won't help these transports, but someday I will sail safely on the oceans. On a pony.



This satellite view shows how easily the early stages of the war went. The Ottomans took on the Serbs, and fear of my Lost Brigades keep Bavaria and Bremen from entering the war, I'm pretty sure. Meanwhile, many of my men are safely housed in Belgium, waiting for a more powerful Argentine navy, or the next war.



Early battles consist of the Ottoman conscripts brushing aside Serbs, and then facing Austrian conscripts. The war will cover a bit more ground this time.



By the end of March, my battle fleet of 160/99/118 goes looking for trouble. I win minor battles and take my first Russian province before April begins. My armies were not set up for war with Austria, but since many were stationed in Poland, and since I decided to hold several armies back to deal with Russian mobilization, and since that hasn't happened yet, I have the men to beat off the Austrians. April 10th sees the 40,000 Russians in Korea pocketed, and I spread out across the peninsula. I have only a single real army in Korea now. In mid-April I capture Minsk and another province, and kill or capture 32,000 more Russians in Europe. I remember that I forgot to pick my Admiral, and the Battle Fleet checks in at Benin to swap commanders. I pick up Russian provinces every few days, but Austria is putting up a fight in western Poland. Between the disposition of my troops, which was not to invade Austria, and the sheer numbers of enemies, I have not been able to surround the Austrians, yet.



I am pocketing Russians, however, and the process of occupying the unfortified areas of the country is going quite well. Russia has again not mobilized, and precious few forts are inside the immediate border region. I wonder if Russia is feeling a financial pinch from all this fighting?



Later in May I learn that, whatever the AI might lack in some areas, it has an ability to multi-task that I can't match.



I have so many armies that it is ages since the Diplo part of the tab has shown, and I have so many armies which go red once they recover than I like to keep them visible. While I continue to take provinces left and right, some of my target state has already fallen. I am technically losing the war because somebody is getting their butt kicked in battle. I don't want to point fingers though, that wouldn't be polite.