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I'd been feeling terrible for the past two weeks, and earlier last week I was finally diagnosed and had surgery to remove my gallbladder. This hospitalization came right in the middle of a horrifically busy time for my grad seminars, combining to result in GBIT really forgetting about this game. I'm not abandoning you guys by any means; I just need some days to get my real life in order. I actually had the update calculated, but didn't have the free time to focus on this. Sorry for the delay!

I'll give out CP reasonably soon, but I don't have time to go through and calculate it right now. I thought I'd just post the battle results and give you something to chew on. You can go ahead and post RP, and choose whether you want it to apply to last turn or this one. Really bad turn for the natives, it turned out. Special congratulations to Germany for defying the odds, which should take away some of the sting from Congo spawning so little natives this turn.



TURN EIGHT - 1915

peshawarturn1915.png


Military News fresh from the Wire:

Russia vs Kamchatka:

8 Armies vs 5 Native Armies

2 9 Native victory
2 10 Native victory (Russian army destroyed!)
3 1 Russian victory
5 9 Native victory
1 8 Native victory (Russian army destroyed!)
3 6 Native victory
1 1 Draw
4 1 Russian victory
6 4 Russian victory
4 7 Native victory
6 4 Russian victory
4 2 Russian victory

Russia conquers Kamchatka!
Casualties: Two Armies for Russia.


France-Outre-Mer vs Portugal:

3 Armies and 1 Air Wing vs 1 Native Army

3 7 Native victory
8 5 French victory

France-Outre-Mer conquers Portugal!
No casualties.


British Raj vs New Guinea:

5 Armies (Tier II) vs 3 Native Armies

7 1 British victory
6 8 Native victory (British army destroyed!)
5 10 Native victory
9 4 British victory
11 2 British victory

British Raj conquers New Guinea!
Casualties: One Army for British Raj.

German East Africa vs Western Germany:

3 Armies (Tier II) vs 6 Native Armies

3 9 Native victory
5 5 Draw
2 6 Native victory
7 3 German victory
4 2 German victory
8 3 German victory
9 4 German victory
8 4 German victory
10 5 German victory

German East Africa conquers Western Germany!
No casualties.

United Territories vs Great Plains:

9 Armies (Tier II) vs 10 Native Armies

3 7 Native victory
9 1 United Territories victory
5 1 United Territories victory
5 5 Draw
10 9 United Territories victory
9 8 United Territories victory
10 8 United Territories victory
5 1 United Territories victory
9 2 United Territories victory
2 10 Native victory
2 3 Native victory (United Territories army destroyed!)
7 2 United Territories victory
5 5 Draw
8 5 United Territories victory
3 4 Draw
7 9 Native victory
3 6 Native victory
3 4 Native victory
8 4 United Territories victory

United Territories conquers Great Plains!
Casualties: One Army for United Territories.


Byzantium vs Persia:

10 Armies (Tier II) vs 1 Native Army

8 7 Byzantine victory

Byzantium conquers Persia!
No casualties.

Japan vs Sinkiang:

7 Armies vs 4 Native Armies

6 3 J (Japanese Army destroyed!)
3 6 Native victory
2 1 Japanese victory
7 10 Native victory
2 4 Native victory
10 10 Draw
4 4 Draw
5 3 Japanese victory
6 4 Japanese victory

Japan conquers Sinkiang!
Casualties: One Army for Japan.

Greater Falklands vs Brazil:

6 Armies vs 6 Native Armies

6 9 Native victory
7 5 Falklander victory
7 2 Falklander victory
3 4 Native victory (Falklander army destroyed!)
7 9 Native victory
2 9 Native victory
8 6 Falklander victory
2 9 Native victory
3 5 Native victory

Natives repulse invasion!
Casualties: One Army for Greater Falklands.

British Raj vs Congo:

7 Armies (Tier II) vs 1 Native Army

4 5 Native victory
7 9 Native victory
3 1 British victory

British Raj conquers Congo!
No casualties.

France-Outre-Mer vs Central Africa:

4 Armies vs 6 Native Armies

4 4 Draw
3 10 Native victory (French army destroyed!)
7 3 French victory
4 2 French victory
9 10 Native victory
1 1 Draw
4 7 Native victory
1 10 Native victory

Natives repulse invasion!
Casualties: One Army for France-Outre-Mer
 
OOC: :cool: the world is getting interesting!

Russia recognizes any and all of the following claims, and declares sovereignty over the remaining parts of contiguous Russia (RP to follow all this). I shall also be invading the Finland-touching region of RL Russia, FYI.

The map referred to:


(I want New Zealand because...well, I was going to be them in the other IO but it was cancelled, so I might as well have New Zealand here!)

EDIT: Some errors on the map. The Tannerman ship should, of course, be ignored. As for the British/Japanese Indonesia, I believe I may have the regions off a bit. Oh well.
 
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OOC: I must say that I rather enjoyed the fittingly deranged nature of these claims, vile Chernoman! :D

EDIT: Huzzah to the relief of my Congo-related ulcer...and bloody nightmares of six armies disappearing into a black hole. And splendidly, it's finally brought me within range of the Greater Falklands!
 
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Shogunate Diplomatic Note to Russia:

The Japanese Shogun and the Chinese Emperor are delighted that the Russians have withdrawn their ridiculous Claim to the Former Chinese Province of Outer Mongolia and hopes this will remove all tension from the Potentially disastrous clash of Diplomatic Claims and The Japanese Shogun and the Chinese Emperor look forward to times of Improved Relations.
 
OOC: This belongs to the previous turn. Also that sucks GBIT, hope you are feeling better.

IC:

"Cultural Development Department"

In a small darkened room in the back-alleys of Tehran, a group of about a dozen men meet in secret. Most of the men in the room are part of Persia's community of crypto-Jews, nominal converts to Shia Islam who adhere to their forefathers Judaism behind closed doors. Many of them have been living such lives since before the fall, following the persecution of Qajar dynasty Persia. Others have been forced to convert following the rise of the Twelfth House, while a few are men from genuine Shia backgrounds, intellectuals unhappy with the levels of religious fanaticism within the current administration.

Years earlier, when the Byzantine legions first crossed into Georgia these men, along with many others, were 'consulted' by agents of the Hegemony seeking sources of intelligence and means for sowing sedition. The initial invasions faltered, but the intelligence network remained in place, growing over the years. The Byzantine Intelligence Services, formally known as the "Cultural Development Department" of the Byzantine Ministry for the Interior, classifies these men as Idealists, their most valuable of sources. They ask no payment for their efforts, indeed many have at points expended their own personal wealth in their roles, while all risk their lives for the work they undertake.

Once more the Byzantine Legions are on the march, and this time it is no mere diversionary attack but the real thing, a full out attack with the full strength of the Hegemony. It is for that reason that tonight there is a stranger meeting with the cell, a young man in the employ of the Byzantine Intelligence. He is known in Persia only as 'the Owl', perhaps a rather uncharitable reference to his strangely round eyes? His purpose here is twofold; there is the usual gathering of information on troop numbers and dispositions that so delights the army chiefs back home, and there is the distribution of various proclamations designed to sap enemy morale and will to fight. Some allege corruption within the current regime, which may or may not actually be true, while others promise freedom of religion, something the Interior Ministry is determined will be true.

After a while the meeting dissipates, the members off the cell scurrying off to spread their seditious materials, while The Owl hurries off to his next rendezvous.
 
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OOC: Ouch about the Gall bladder. Take it easy and don't stress about the game. Worst case scenario one of us has to do the battle calculations for a turn or two, which should be doable if you just let us know the specifics of how and where you've been doing it.

Also, I support Confederate Greenland, and French ports are open to any effort to make such a bat-crap crazy idea a reality.
 
OOC: I think the Russian Division makes the British Too powerful. They'll be able to have13 regions with this while many other nations hover around 8-9. This could disrupt the Balance of Power enough to make Britain War Eager and be more agressive
 
The Coronation of Emperor Alexios I

For almost a thousand years the Great Palace of Constantinople served as the administrative centre of the Byzantine Empire, until it's destruction by the Latin Empire following the fourth crusade. Soon, the newly reconstructed Palace would once again be home to the Byzantine administration and Emperor. It had taken a great deal of wrangling to get out of having the coronation held in the Orthodox Hagia Sophia, but with repeated insistence Alexios had won out. Many of the Hegemonies Orthodox citizens are rather unorthodox in practice, with Latin to be heard in churches across the Empire, while a considerable number have returned to open Catholic worship. And with the success of the military campaigns to the south the Hegemony now rules over a large number of Muslim subjects. Given the diversity in religious beliefs within the Empire, Alexios is unwilling to be overly associated with a particular religious sect (and especially since he is not a religious man himself).

Instead the coronation has a decidedly military aura. Alexios is in full military dress, while the great hall is filled military officers, the deep mauve of their ceremonial uniforms drowning out the dull colours off the occasional civilian. The assorted priests of the Hegemony have been relegated to the back of the great hall, where they continued to wrangle, this time with each other over who should take precedence, one of the perils of a church with no set hierarchy.

Instead, the coronation ceremony is presided over jointly by the Empress Maria, mother to Alexios, and the Principal Member of Parliament*. In practice though the ceremony is entirely orchestrated by Emperor Alexios, and his soon-to-be-ex regent. As has been rehearsed dozens of times now, the Empress Maria receives the imperial crown from the Principle Member, and turns to place the crown upon her son's head. Emperor Alexios I, from this moment onwards Sovereign of the Imperial Hegemony of Byzantium, stands and turns to face the hall filled with the elite of his people. Proceedings pause as though the Emperor is suddenly frozen in time, while the court photographers produce the images that will show the Byzantine people their Emperor, and then resume, the great hall breaking out in applause which is then taken up by the crowd outside as the Emperor exits onto a balcony to appear before them.




*A member selected by Parliament to act as a representative when dealing with outside bodies. As yet no party structure has solidified within the Parliament, and so there is no Prime Minister role.
 
Into the North

Mere months after his coronation, Emperor Alexios has managed to embroil himself in a fresh military campaign. The long wars in the south and east are now over, and it is time for a return home, even if it is a home that few remember anymore. Alexios stands in his campaign tent on the shores of the Sea of Azov, close to the northern limit of Byzantine territory. Across a narrow stretch of water lies Ukraine and God only knows what. Rumours abound of a land plagued by barbarity, with roaming gangs robbing, murdering and in some tales even eating the unwary. Though looking at the grizzled battle-scarred ancient Cossack standing beside him, Alexios privately wonders how much of a departure this is from the pre-Fall ways of the region. Ivan is a veteran of the Fall, one of the men who led the Empress Maria south during that period, and has been in the personal service of her family, and then Alexios, ever since.

In theory Ivan is supposed to be describing the features of the map that lies on the table before the two men, however he keeps getting sidetracked into tales of people and places that are long since gone. Alexios listens patiently to his old friend's stories, it doesn't really matter anyway, since the geography of the land will not have changed while the population will have changed beyond all recognition. Given this, the plan is rather straightforward (a more positive outlook than 'simple' according to Alexios); Byzantine Legions will sweep up the coast of the Black Sea on both sides, pacifying whatever hostile forces are to be found and establishing a chain of fortifications along the coast and the major waterways which can then be resupplied by whatever ships the Hegemony can scrape together. Which isn't many, but then the savages wont have any at all. From these fortified positions the Hegemony can then set about the work of restoring civilisation to the wastelands. Or at least some kind of productivity if not actual civilisation.

And perhaps the people here can once again become a source for military recruitment, as they had for the Poles, Lithuanians and Russians in the past. Merchants travelling across the Mediterranean tell stories of the French using battalions recruited from the feral populace of France proper, perhaps the same can be done here?

Orders: Invade Ukraine with 7 armies
 
OOC: If I finish the canal this turn, is the +1 range and IP immediately accessible? (France's IP, as well.)
 
Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone. I should be fine for an update NEXT sunday, not this coming one. For the record, I use the official Wizards of the Coast die-roll app, so after poor rolls take comfort that you are in the same boat as countless others who critically failed on their saving throw against Slime Pit traps.

OOC: How exactly do I win a dice roll and still lose an army are these dice being loaded to give additional casualties to me.

It was just a typo. Casualties aren't calculated after an individual opposing roll, I just put the little notes about army destruction to correspond with which casualty roll you failed. In your case your first casualty roll after the battle was a 1, so it should be on the first native victory.

And complaining about one casualty is probably bad form in front of DonCossack. :p

OOC: If I finish the canal this turn, is the +1 range and IP immediately accessible? (France's IP, as well.)

Yes on the range, no on the IP for both of you. It would come into use next turn.
 
OOC: If I finish the canal this turn, is the +1 range and IP immediately accessible? (France's IP, as well.)

OOC: If you need to, you can use French ports this turn to reach Europe. After that the Canal would put you in range on your own.
 
Shogunate Diplomatic Note to Russia:

The Japanese Shogun and the Chinese Emperor are delighted that the Russians have withdrawn their ridiculous Claim to the Former Chinese Province of Outer Mongolia and hopes this will remove all tension from the Potentially disastrous clash of Diplomatic Claims and The Japanese Shogun and the Chinese Emperor look forward to times of Improved Relations.

OOC: I certainly hope so.

OOC: Ouch about the Gall bladder. Take it easy and don't stress about the game. Worst case scenario one of us has to do the battle calculations for a turn or two, which should be doable if you just let us know the specifics of how and where you've been doing it.

Also, I support Confederate Greenland, and French ports are open to any effort to make such a bat-crap crazy idea a reality.

OOC: I was just trying to make a map where each person would gain a close amount of provinces, not make balanced nations; I was more worried about flowing borders than likelihood. And yes, I too support Confederate Greenland!

OOC: If you need to, you can use French ports this turn to reach Europe. After that the Canal would put you in range on your own.

OOC: You realize no amount of appeasement will keep him from turning on you when you reach such a point, right? Helping him grow is not beneficial to you.
 
Yes on the range, no on the IP for both of you. It would come into use next turn.

OOC: Jolly good.

OOC: If you need to, you can use French ports this turn to reach Europe. After that the Canal would put you in range on your own.

Rather appreciated, my good fellow. I shouldn't think there's any pressing reason to hold off, of course; I'm certain you're quite eager to begin accruing your revenues! :D If I do take you up, you have my thanks.

OOC: You realize no amount of appeasement will keep him from turning on you when you reach such a point, right? Helping him grow is not beneficial to you.

I don't imagine I'll ever particularly comprehend this viewpoint. I'm here for the role-play, and having a splendid time fitting into the skin of my namesake for a few moments each day. The British Empire could possess 450 armies and I still would not annex Southern France or the Western Balkans. It's simply not done, old boy. In my dealings regarding the Canal, I have endeavoured to live in a world governed by the principles of gentlemanly fair-play; a world in which role-play continues to flourish. If this world is to fear anything, it's the sort of gaming attitude displayed in full force by Thandros and the notion that the world should or will be nakedly conquered in some detached, RISK-like fashion.

I say, that sounds dreadfully boring.
 
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masthead1912.png

TREATY OF SARAWAK PASSES COMMONS: NEW GUINEA PURCHASED!


Speaking to the Commons as they sat on Friday, the White Rajah forcefully enunciated the cause of his Treaty which has so captured public attention for some weeks' time. Sir Charles Brooke was indeed persuasive, as the government-backed initiative narrowly passed its division of the house; for his trouble, the Rajah of Sarawak's appointment as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George was announced by the Royal Household only the following evening. Reprinted for your convenience follow several of the Treaty of Sarawak's principle initiatives:

  • The Royal Bigsby Trading Company is incorporated by Royal Charter with sole rights to exploit those lands under its domain, and those of native states under its administration.
  • Claim to the island of New Guinea and all Melanesian Islands, including any attendant claim of sovereign states under the Company's protection, is ceded to the Government of Queensland.
  • A sum of 10,000 Pounds Sterling is to be paid by His Majesty's Government to the Royal Bigsby Trading Company.
  • His Majesty's Government assumes responsibility for the defence of the Company's sovereignty and integrity.


whiteraja.png


The Government House of Sir Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak; eschewing Oriental excess, he is in most ways accustomed to a lifestyle more associated with the countryside of Kent than the East Indies.

Conservative leader Arthur James Balfour savaged the measure in addresses both preceding and following the vote, asserting that "This Liberal ministry is now clearly driven by the whip-crack of its moneyed interests," and that the Treaty was an "insidious alliance" of "Sugar planters, shipping magnates, and all those who place the lining of their purse above the honour of our Empire." Opposition backbencher Winston Churchill, Junior Member for Orissa, castigated Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman for what he termed the "thoroughly disgraceful abandonment of British subjects abroad." To cheers in Parliament Square, he addressed an impromptu rally and expressed hope that "...the Prime Minister will cease enriching his friends, and perhaps devote some few minutes to the suppression of the Maori Uprising, the rescue of the Cape Colony, and the hanging of outlaw brigands who reign over Western Australia in all but name!"

The Royal Society has announced that preparations are underway for a scientific expedition to the as-yet uncharted interior of New Guinea, to be launched after military forces have advanced from Australia to proclaim the Treaty's enacting at Port Moresby. The Colonial Office expects "resistance" from local savages, and discourages immediate attempts by nearby captains to recruit labourers.

OOC: For last turn.
 
MASTHEAD1914.png

JIHAD DECLARED! AFGHAN RAIDERS ASSAULT PESHAWAR!


While this publication acknowledges that the hostile and duplicitous nature of the Emir in Kabul was popularly known as the 'worst kept secret in Bombay', a certain Sikh proverb should certainly be invoked in light of recent ongoings in the North-West Frontier:

"The Cobra spits, and the Afghan speaks. Who will grow rich on the difference?"

It carries with it the sting felt by those fleeing the region surrounding Peshawar, which found itself early this week the target of an attack by Masud and Afridi bandits. It marks the first direct breach, and indeed a galling one, of those terms agreed upon the ejection of the Great Horde in 1892 - a brutal campaign which still raises a spectre over all those who lived through the trying days of the Second Mutiny. The Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, fleeing with his ravenous army broken by civilised discipline and the strength of British arms, pledged to recognise the sovereign authority of the Empire over the Afghan highlands and prevent further incursions into India; it was largely recognised as an empty gesture, and by some as an arranged excuse to avoid public outcry for a punitive expedition against Kabul itself. A nation broken, this 'recognition of sovereignty' took the form of silence for many years. Only a decade ago had their merchants even returned to border towns, and in no great numbers.

Then-Prince Victor Albert Duleep Singh, who participated in the final triumph at Sandalbad as a Colonel of The 1st Royal Dragoons, famously declared to The Graphic that "The Pathan tribes will stay quiet until they forget men dead, and captives led away, and camps burning. Then a fakir of their faith will send them mad with lies about their Allah, and they will remember the fat cattle and silver and women of the lowlands. On that day we shall see the hill-man lashkars come yelling down the Khyber once more." The now Maharajah has been vindicated, and Punjab once again finds itself the stage for a terrible contest.


emircropped.png


Emir Habibullah Khan marches at the head of an army negotiating the Khyber route, of an unknown strength. He has reportedly declared a Holy War against the Christians, Sikhs, and Hindoos of the Empire.

Major-General Douglas Haig is mustering a contingent at Srinagar to meet him, and indeed finally carry the fight into Afghanistan itself. Termed the Malakand Field Force, the Prime Minister pledged in yesterday's session of the Commons to "bring about an end, for-ever, of the threat of the Afghan barbarian." Conjecture in Parliament suggested that Dervish fanatics from the so-called 'Twelfth House', commendably destroyed by Byzantine forces, had fled justice in Persia and taken up residence in Afghanistan; these rabble-rousers were known to espouse an exuberantly violent strain of Mohammedanism. The Home Office announced an expansion of the Gurkha Regiments, who have distinguished themselves repeatedly in combat against Afghan mountaineers. Major-General Haig believed they would be "essential" to overcoming the challenge of dislodging heavily fortified settlements, in combination with an artillery complement reportedly larger than any assembled by the nation since Waterloo.

Orders: Invade Afghanistan with Seven Armies.
 
OOC: You realize no amount of appeasement will keep him from turning on you when you reach such a point, right? Helping him grow is not beneficial to you.

OOC: I'd rather have him grow at the expense of cannibals in Europe than have him start getting ambitious elsewhere. France needn't rule the whole world, just the parts worth ruling. :D