Chapter Eighteen: War In Russia
NOTE - Flikr says I've reached the limit for a free account and that only the most recent 200 photos I have uploaded will be "displayed". If this means I cannot see the old ones except here, fine. If it means they stop displaying the images from early chapters, then some might disappear briefly until I make changes. .
Dewirix You're right about the risk, which is why I'm stuck in such a small area in some places. I'm hoping I can pile local troops into a defensive fight if need be. Good points on Korea, too.
Swiss Pauli Thanks, you flatter me! Hope you keep enjoying it. I'm happy to see a good number of hits each night, but I especially appreciate the comments.
KingMaker100 Thank you! Hopefully I can do badly enough to keep it exciting.
Previously on "Last Tango" - the war in Russia starts off going quite well, considering Russia's two million man march. Russia might not have my technology, but as Stalin said, quantity has a quality all its own. In each of the three Argentine salients, Russia equaled or exceeded Argentina's forces when we left off. Russia appears to be massing around Riga. By the way, I live ten miles from a town called Riga. It's where our county has its landfill. Coincidence? Yes.
At the end of January 1908 we take another Riga-area province. My original plan, had this war gone very well, was to demand another Russian state, perhaps one between Russia and Germany. Options, options. However, the Russians have other ideas, and since they are able to attack two of my 30,000-man armies with 100,000 men each, their opinion must be considered.
I can match the Russians in the southern battle, and come close in the northern one, and I did drop 50,000 men off in St. Petersburg, but in all my battles I can only see a quarter of the Russian army. The rest is going to get here eventually, and even if half stays out of sight for another month or more, that doubles their troops. This will get dicey before it gets over. I whistle a few times and call "here General, anyone seen a general?"
Maybe one's on his way. They have to be special ordered. The two battles reach near-parity, and the Russians move a couple 40,000-man armies into the provinces I had occupied. Fortunately, my outnumbered troops in Korea receive reinforcements from Argentina. Note that the World Market has gotten back into balance, and I have been able to recruit Guards to my heart's content. It helps that I built liquor factories from around 1839.
In early February we invent Stormtrooper Training, and we are pleased that their too-accurate-to-be-Sandpeople shooting skills will add that +1 attack bonus to the front immediately. We take three more Korean provinces, two of which are not what we're asking for in the peace deal. The Kimchaek battle remains a roughly even one until mid-February when our men unload. Things start to go our way there, but there's no way to pocket the Russians when bordering China.
The Riga battles go well. In Dorpat I kill 31,000 for a cost of under 7000, and as you can glimpse in the bottom left of this screenshot, the other battle is going well. I keep looking at the map for chances to pocket the enemy, but it takes all I can muster to win the battles in the first place. That's 50,000 Russians not fighting just in this screenshot. Don't worry, that will change soon. The number, I mean. And also the not fighting.
On March 5, 1908 I take three more Korean provinces. My warscore is up to 23, and the peace offer is down to 14, but still the Russians would not take it. We'll see whether and when we get to that point before I decide whether to demand more. I'm not holding my breath. I take three more Riga-area provinces a few days later. Odessa is now a backwater, I'm just holding what I've taken. It's screenshots like this that have me constantly checking the peace negotiations when I take a province.
That's 200,000 Russians in combat, and 170,000 looking for a way in. I'm guessing they'll find a door before long. How many fresh Russians can 250,000 Argentines beat without a break? I have this vision of Helm's Deep, except I have no wall. Score 25, peace offer 14, still unacceptable. And the trouble is that I have reached or will soon reach the +25 limit for battles in my warscore, even with nice results like this +6.4
Or this +4.2
Warscore is now +31 and peace deal still 14, and the Russians still say "Nyet!" Fortunately, I'm around 90% in my occupation of St. Petersburg, and the Russians are not yet contesting that. And then, good news! I found the Russian reinforcements!
Look carefully at the number below, or at the list on the right. Yes, that's 318,000 Russians, added to the nearly 200,000 visible elsewhere in this screenshot. At 500,000 men, this is only 1/4 of Russia's force. And the Russians decide to try their own version of "get her!", sending 400,000 men into one fight. I don't think that the Enemy Plotting Cards I just invented are going to help me here. North of the fight you can see that the last of my Belgian forces has landed (my navies where held up for some time in sea battles, and I didn't think/want to extract them manually).
On April 5 I take St Petersburg, and as you can see the big Korean battle still has not been decided yet.
I Win!
That is to say that, in a spirit of generosity, I chose not to add further war goals. What a guy.