A newbie blunders forth - A Sardina-Piedmont PON AAR

isansom said:

Just wanted to chime in with the praise for your shining example of Italian nationalism there!

Quick question - it looks an awful lot like Austria doesn't have much of an army - those rankings are usually by Combat strength from what I've seen, and I can't see any Austria listed there. Of course that could well just be the a game quirk... there's enough of them! Still, seems a terrible shame not to wrestle your rightful land out from under the Austrian thumb!

In any case, enjoy having unlocked your colonization options! I struggled to play Prussia, the waiting drove me a little barmy

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Glad you are enjoying!

As Stuyvesant mentions you do not get to see enemy nations (relations below -25) on the F10 Score and Objective list which is a pity as I would love to know how my army (and morale) stacks up with the Austrian one.

I couldn't agree more that those lands across the Po need to be acquired for the greater good of the Italian people. Unfortuneately there are several things preventing such an action at the moment. The main one being that Austria and Prussia remain firmly allied together with a clutch of South German states. If Austria was isolated I would consider an attack however the AI hordes money and can quickly raise a significant number of new units (see Loki's AAR for his experiences against the Ottomans). I think to have any chance I have to hope at some point Austria gets dragged into a conflict with another great power.

My current plan is still to attack the Ottomans to relieve them of my objective regions and then see where the opportunities lay.

1863 Jul to Dec - A Bloody Nose / Drawing Breath

Diplomacy

In contrast to the large upheavals we have undergone so far this decade the last six months have been relatively quiet with our main focus being on the internal development of our nascent nation.

Eritrea is formally declared a protectorate in November and troops cross the border soon afterwards. There is an uneasy standoff with the Ottomans in Massawa. In this month we also lay formal claim to Abyssinia.



** All the buildings in Djibouti and Massawa remain in Ottoman hands including the harbours. I am not sure of how ownership of these buildings is transferred when a region moves to protectorate or colony status.

Factions within our government have long been agitating that we need to exert our power in the Eastern Mediterranean and to that end our diplomats begin the process of convincing the international community that the Dodecanese Islands are rightfully ours.

** The Dodecanese are added as a new objective in November

On the international front the French remain a stalwart ally and this alliance remains the bulwark of our global strategy. We have built friendly relations with the United States and Great Britain with whom we have commercial agreements. Both of these nations however are steadfastly refusing to give us supply or access rights to territories under their control.

Relations with Austria whilst still hostile are slowly starting to thaw. One of the aims of our diplomatic effort in the coming year will be to continue to improve them.

** Current relations with Austria stand at -31. I will aim to get them over -25 to move the relationship from hostile to neutral before undertaking any adventures against the Ottomans. It should then enable me to view my relative power against theirs in the Score and objective screen.

The other Great Powers are all neutral towards us. The power of special interest to us is Prussia and a concerted effort will be made to acquire cordial relations with them.

Elsewhere we have been courting Greece as a regional ally. They are now considered as friendly towards us. We will seek to exploit this by asking for supply and military access agreements.

The French despite there manpower advantage are still finding it difficult to occupy and pacify Tunisia.



Military

I and II Armies continue to perform policing duties in our most troubled provinces.

Both these armies are reinforced with a Mountain division and a signals regiment

** Each army now has a power rating of over 2500

We have created an amphibious force of 2 Marine Divisions with various support attachments based in Liguria.

In September we complete a fortification in Calabria.

In December our fortification in Rome was updated to a modern industrial era fort. Work continues to increase these defensive works.

Sheewan War May 1859 to ?

The war suddenly ignites unexpectedly again in August when the entire Sheewan army decamps from Assela and kicks the two defending brigades from Negele and besieges the garrison inside our fortress.

Various piecemeal counter attacks from the surrounding areas culminate in a rather shocking defeat in November.



** I rather foolishly committed three uncoordinated forces to the attack misled by the power information on the enemy icon which does not take into account the power ratings of other enemy forces in the region of which there were four. An expensive lesson learned. Luckily (which I didn’t really deserve) all the defeated forces escaped without losing any elements. The battle above is slightly misleading in that most of the Italian force had been defeated in the previous turn and was caught up in the battle whilst trying to retreat out of the province

The theatre has been absent a military governor since General Fanti was recalled to Italy in the previous year. The general staff appoint General Caldini to lead our forces in the area. He arrives in Mogadishu in late November together with a newly raised mountain brigade.

He hurriedly begins assembling a relief column in neighbouring Goba with the aim of relieving our garrison sometime in early 1864.

** When my battered colonial regiments take on replacements the combined force will total in the region of 600 power (including 2 leaders, artillery, supply and a mountain brigade) versus a combined enemy force of roughly 350. Incidentally this will be the largest colonial army I have concentrated so far.

On a positive note one of our native levies has slipped into the last enemy province of Assela without resistance. It will soon be under our control at which point we will start to build fortifications.



We have built the following military units:

• 2 x Signal Units
• 2 x Mountain Divisions
• 1 x Marine Division
• 1 x Transport Squadron

Economy

In the main this period has seen real social progress as Italy starts to knit itself into a single nation.

** Contentment has passed 70% whilst militancy has dropped to 2%. More importantly only 2 provinces are now under 50% contentment which I think is the cut off for the nastier social disorders.

In July we complete Telecommunications projects in Sardinia and Liguria. In this month we also invest our research funds into Steam Ships of the Line.

In August we issue a new Ethiopian campaign medal.

In December we begin building modern sewer systems in Alessandria and Rome.



Organic Stockpile:


Inorganic Stockpile:


Balance of payments December


Our internal market:

• Food 62
• Common Goods 50
• Luxuries 34

We learned how to harness the following technologies:

• Colonial Self Government (+5% internal market for colonial areas)
• Standarised screw (+10% input/outputs mechanical factories)
• Exploration of the African Interior (+20% contentment for upper class/aristocrats)
• Urban Sewer Systems (+2% contentment middle/upper class and aristocrats. Also gives the sewer network decision)
• International Working Mans Association
• Bilateral Trade Treaties (-5 point modification to internal market penetration by foreign powers)
• Mendelian Genetics (+10% population growth rate)
• Steel Rails Implementation (+55% development)
• Universal Male Sufferage
• Control of Yellow Fever and Malaria
• Le Bon Marche - Department Stores (+10% internal consumption)

We started researching the following technologies:

• Precision Micrometer
• Mail order catalogues

We started the following industrial improvements:

• Canned Food Shop - Rome (August)
• Furniture Shop - Bologna (October)
• Gem Mine - Dubai (November)
• Gem Mine - Trucial - Dubai (December)

We completed the following industrial improvements:

• Military Academy - Rome (July)
• Gem Field - Dubai (July)
• Coffee Field - Harer (July)
• Manufactured Goods Shop - Sicily (August)
• Manufactured Goods Shop - Rome (November)

Colonisation

In July our sources report that after extensive diplomatic efforts Zanzibar would also now “welcome” protectorate status. Drawn by our expanding power and influence in the region Italian colonists begin arriving in Mogadishu.

In September our prospectors identify another gem site in Dubai whilst expeditions return from Sanaa and Nakuru. The influx of large numbers of Italian colonists into Mogadishu has led to the formation of exclusive colonial societies. Exploration teams also return from Nairobi this month with tales garnered from the natives of a huge inland lake.



In December to handle the increased level of shipping to our colonial holdings we begin expanding the coaling station at Mogadishu.

We completed the following Colonial buildings:

• Consulate in Djibuti
• Consulate in Massawa
• Mission in Nakuru
• Governors Mansion in Berberra
• Fort and Schools in Kismayu
• School in Baidoa
• Roads and fort in Garissa
• Outpost and road in Negele
• Outpost and Anchorage in Trucial (Dubai)
• Roads in Bonga
• Roads in Wajir
• Missionin Dijbuti
• Anchorage and Fort in Dar Es Salaam
• Roads and schools in Dubai
• Trade post in Garissa

Prestige

In December we finally overhaul Austria to move into 5th place. At the time of passing them the gap to France in 4th place was 3539 points (ie very big!). On the plus side our army rating is higher than 4 out of the 8 nations on the score list.

Narwhal said:

Well, Italians having troubles with submitting African forces - realistic, really

I don't see Austria blundering into attacking you so you can form Italy if you keep good relation (or neutral) with them.

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Less the Italians more their incompetent general ie me:wacko: It was a very stupid mistake on my part to lose that set of battles. Still all good learning experience.

loki100 said:

impressive ... well apart from that defeat, but yep that is an easy mistake to make

I think there is a very specific bug with Massawa, I took it in the war so most of the colonial buildings disappeared but the harbour remained purely Ottoman, the best is to run the script you gave me, that will flip the harbour (& the other buildings to your control)

not so sure about this 'being nice to Austria' thing, seems rather... rather unItalian really

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The game is quite ambiguous in these situations. I am trying to decide whether I have the right to flip these buildings just because I have a protectorate (would the Ottomans be able to maintain a presence in the region in these circumstances) or should I wait until I declare a colony? I don't want to give myself unfair advantages/cheat. Guess I'll open that one to the floor.

As to the Austrians I'm only being nice for strictly underhand purposes honest guv (I want to be able to monitor their army size / morale in the score screen)

Stuyvesant said:

Colonial warfare appears to be something of a slog, whether it's France in Tunis or Italy in Ethiopia (or, for that matter, loki's mad-as-a-hatter Garibaldi in the Middle East). I guess that's fairly accurate, especially at the stage you're at (1860s). It's just that most of the time the problem is more about the terrain and climate than the actual armed opposition, so in that sense you got unlucky this time. Still, the chance to occupy that last province behind their bellicose backs must make up for it.

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Yes the game is very good at replicating problems armies face in difficult terrain. Cohesion really matters if you approach march takes longer than a single turn period (15 days) your cohesion plumets and there is a very good chance you will lose the resulting battle.

And yes it was very satisfying getting into that province although maybe slightly unimportant with Ethiopia about to become a protectorate I think the engine will enforce a peace on the Sheewa

1864 Jan to Jun - A Change of Policy / Military Build Up

Diplomacy

As Italy begins to flex its colonial muscles again and again we are finding ourselves hemmed in by the fading might of the Ottoman Empire. As a consequence our diplomatic focus has moved away from acquiring our territories across the Po to challenging the Ottomans for hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

This has led us to seek a policy of rapprochement with Austria whilst at the same time fortifying our mutual border. It is hoped that this will provide us at least temporarily with some semblance of security on our northern border whilst we redeploy our field armies for use elsewhere.

Our initial diplomatic efforts have all been rebuffed but despite this we promise Austria local support from which we see a further small thawing of relations.

A second plank to this strategy has been to chip away at Ottoman power in the Red Sea. We have declared Djibuti and Eritrea as protectorates and have gained military (if not full political control) over these areas. We will move to declare these regions as formal colonies as soon as the necessary diplomatic spadework has been completed.

Efforts will also be renewed during the coming period to convince Greece to give us movement and supply rights through their territory. We are buying a surplus of Greek goods in the hope that it has some influence upon their government’s decision making.

We will also be attending to the open sore which is the war against the Sheewa. We will begin by adding Ethiopia as a colony during the next 6 months. This should finally enable us to annex the Sheewan state directly into our holdings (and thus end the war). This is important as it will enable us to concentrate our colonial army for action against the Ottomans.

Perhaps as a visible sign of our rising prestige the USA asks us for a state visit however Prussia remains firmly unconvinced by our diplomatic efforts.

Finally gold is found in Siberia


Military

During this period both I and II Army both receive an additional infantry division to boost there strength. After his promotion A F Mamora will now command a newly constituted III Army which will be based in Rome and be tasked with the defence of Italy. This army is only a shell at the moment containing a single infantry brigade and various support elements. Our Marine Corps has also been supplemented with 2 artillery regiments.

The navy receives two new transport squadrons bringing the total number of transport squadrons in home waters up to five.

We begin the process of modernising our forts in the Parma, Romagna, Tuscany triangle. We also build fortress artillery for Parma and Romagna. In May we complete the upgrade to our fortifications in Sicily.

Sheewan War May 1859 to ?

The last 6 months see a series of see-saw battles.

In February General Caldini successfully pushes the Sheewa out of Negele unfortunately not before the enemy has time to torch the fort and mission station. Again the enemy successfully retreats rather than face a superior force.

Our small native detachment is pushed out of Awasa and the enemy swiftly re-establishes control.

In early June our garrison in Bonga is attacked and forced to retreat. General Caldini launches a counter attack from Negele which forces the enemy to retreat.

We will now look to diplomatic means to resolve this conflict.

We have built the following military units:

• 2 x Fortress Artillery
• 2 x Infantry Divisions
• 1 x Transport Squadron
• 2 x Field Artillery Regiments
• Replacements: 3 x Merchant Ship; 1 x Light Warship

Economy

This period is notable for the rapid increase in the size of our internal market which was boosted by several new technological advances. We also for the first time see sales of goods filtering through to our colonial territories.

The goods being sold to our colonials are now also producing taxes for the state. This extra tax income is being used to finance a second line of research. We are funding research into Iron Muzzle Loading Artillery and Iron Ships.

Our industrialisation continues at a good pace with all regions in Italy other than one all now sporting at least one factory.

The influx of new manufactured goods from our factories has helped immeasurably with our expansion however we still need to make very difficult decisions every month on whether to spend resources on economic, military and colonial projects as there is simply not enough to do everything.

The mood of our population continues to improve aided in no small part by our ability to fully supply their domestic demand. Contentment rises to 73% whilst militancy drops to 1% (only Rome is still running a high level of militancy at 10%).

In January we passed a new electoral law allowing universal male suffrage. We also extend the telegraph networks in Liguria and Sardinia. Strikes in France have a severe affect on our overall wood production.

In February we continue the extension of the telecommunications network in Liguria and Sardinia.

In May we pass a Referendum of the Plebicities which is warmly supported by the populace.

Organic Stockpile:


Inorganic Stockpile:


Balance of Trade June:


Our internal market:

• Food 71
• Common Goods 59
• Luxuries 39

We learned how to harness the following technologies:

• Modern Slaughter House (+15% input/output cost to cattle farms)
• Income Tax (+20pts to max income tax)
• New Petroleum Industry (adds oil field structure and increases potential oil stockpile by 100%)
• Joint Stock Companies (+10% modifier to sell goods when in competition)
• Health Spas (+10% consumption for national and colonial markets)
• Steam Ship of the Line (adds commerce steamer to force pool)
• Monetary Unions (+5% consumption for national and colonial markets)
• Thomas Cooke (+10% consumption for national and colonial markets)
• Mechanisation of the Canning Process (+10% input/output cost to cattle farms / canned food factories)
• Glover Tower (+20% input/output cost to nitrate mines)
• Investment Banks (+10% modifier to sell goods when in competition)
• Mastered Bimetallic Cans (+10% input/output cost to cereal / tropical farms)

We started researching the following technologies:

• New Drilling Implementation
• National Banks
• Paper Money
• Ocean Liners

We started the following industrial improvements:

• Tobacco Field - Raleigh (USA) - January
• Iron Extraction - Parma - February
• Tropical Fruit Farm - Mombasa - April
• Ammunition Shop - Abruzzo - May
• Shipbuilding - Napoli - June

We completed the following industrial improvements:

• Coffee Field - Harer - January
• Tea Field - Garissa - January
• Gems Field - Dubai - February
• Furniture Shop - Abruzzo - March
• Furniture Shop - Puglia - March
• Gems Field - Trucial (Dubai) - March
• Canned Food Factory - Lazio - June
• Merchant Fleet

Colonisation

The march to acquiring an empire continues.

Areas ready for protectorate status:

• Zanzibar
• Lome

Protectorates:

• Eritrea
• Abyssinia
• Djibuti

Areas ready for colonial status:

• Ethiopia

Colonies:

• Somalia
• Somaliland
• Dubai

In January we begin the process of adding Dubai as a colony which is completed in June. Abu Dhabi is now formally annexed into the empire and their army incorporated into ours. For the time being we will use these troops to guard this valuable outpost.



In February colonists continue to flock to Mogadishu

In April we formally declare Ethiopia as a protectorate

Various expeditions arrive back from Africa

• Natural History - Qatar / Ghaydah (Arabia)
• Anthropological -Qatar

We completed the following Colonial buildings:

• Coaling station in Kismayu
• School, Governors Residence in Dubai
• Roads in Trucial
• Anchorage, Mission in Assab
• Telegraph, Coaling Station Upgrade in Mogadishu
• Fort in Dubai
• Consulate in Markos
• Mission in Massawa
• Mission in Awsa
• Military Outpost in Djibuti
• Fort in Makuro

Prestige

We manage to maintain our position in 5th place and gradually start to pull away from Austria. In June we pass the 10,000 point mile stone. Our National Morale is 129



Note we have gained control of one of our objectives Addis Abeba

loki100 said:

That war with Sheewu sure is frustrating ... and very realistic. Think you are right to try and shut down the Ethiopian operations before tangling with the Ottomans.

It does seem that with acquisition of the north of Italy blocked, the capacity to raise quite a large army when you control the rest of Italy, that the natural focus is the Ottomans. You are strong but its pointless to think of tangling with Austria-Prussia or France or (shudder) GB on your own

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I have thought long and hard about this and you are completely correct the only realistic course of action is to take down the Ottomans (appologies looks like this AAR will be following yours in the same direction). The game does really well in simulating the conditions of the 19th Century where Great Powers were reluctant to engage (in their own backyards anyway).

Yes I am very frustrated at the progress of this colonial war. As mentioned before native armies seem to have infinite replacements and unless you kill elements it is very difficult to destroy them particularly as they seem to be able to disenge at will (Not complaining all very realistic other than the infinite replacement rate bit). From what I have observed happening before it seems if a native country has it's capital inside an area and you declare a colony you end up annexing the tribal nation which is my sincere hope here!!

loki100 said:

I really don't see the choice to be honest. If PoN was quicker to play it might be worth taking a save and seeing what happens if you attacked Austria but my instinct is you will simply be ground down, so thats more a case of using an empirical test to find out what was already very obvious.

As you say, the game, more than Victoria, captures the mindset of 1815 with the avoidance of war in Europe (& suppression of any new trends such as liberalism, nationalism and socialism). One main way is the limit to only gaining defensive alliances (I wonder if this changes later on?), so almost any war becomes one against many, unless, as are the Ottomans, your target is isolated and weak.

Here the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Italian alliances more or less lock Europe up. No party can risk an attack.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Colonial War model. It is so correct that provinces on the edge of an Empire are incredibly hard to control, I do wish this endless replenishment of rebels was stopped - you should, with the expenditure of time, money and manpower be able to grind them down - but it does take time. I'm just setting things up to conquer Libya which apart from Tripoli is infested with rebels.

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I'm beginning to wonder if anything will end up busting those European alliances from what I have seen of the events it dosn't seem that there is anything hard coded to do it. Could well be the status quo lasts until 1920

Stuyvesant said:

Can't comment on the frustrations of colonial warfare in PON (heck, I barely manage to play RUS - no way am I getting anywhere near PON. Maybe in three or four years), but it all sounds like a fairly plausible model (bar the breeding-like-bunnies replacement rates) and a royal pain in the rear.

Here's hoping your colony declaration trick will, erm, do the trick.

And good luck preparing for the Ottoman war. While you follow somewhat in loki's steps, it appears that is a constraint the alliances put on you, and it should also be very interesting to see how your war conforms and diverges from his experience.

I am mightily impressed with all this exotic-sounding colonial development. Sounds a lot more complex and satisfying than the Vicky model of creating colonies. In fact, it's almost enough to make me want to play this game - but then I remember I don't have any spare time.

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I'm still building my armed forces at the moment I have set myself March 1866 as D-Day (Month) for my Ottoman campaign by which time I should have 3 fully built out armies. Currently run into a bit of trouble colonising the Abyssinians (I think they are scared Garibaldi will end up as governor ) hopefully the next year will allow me to resolve the problem and free up my colonial army for use against the Turk.

Just finished the next 6 months so if free time allows (never a given in our household at the moment) I might even update the AAR!

1864 Jul to Dec - We Love the Greeks / War Plans

Diplomacy

This period sees some very important and frankly unexpected breakthroughs after our diplomatic overtures to Greece. In short succession Greece agrees to a state visit and a commercial agreement which provides a considerable boost to relations between our nations. In return we agree to provide Greece with local support in the event of a diplomatic crisis. Perhaps most importantly Greece agrees to allow us military passage rights through their country. The next 6 months will see us pressure the Greeks to allow us access to their supply depots.

Another victory for our diplomats is the steady reduction of tension with the Austrian Empire which sees them take a neutral (if cautious) stand towards us. In conjunction with this de-escalation of hostilities we withdraw our I Army from the border in the hope of preventing any diplomatic incidents.

We also receive requests from Egypt and Switzerland for state visits.

Military

Balkan Situation:


Our military planners have been wrestling with the problem of how to force territorial concessions from the Ottomans. Clearly with such a large and diverse empire we will need to capture Istanbul to bring them to the negotiating table and to have any hope of obtaining our primary objectives of Tirana and Libya.

To this end our plan calls for an invasion of the Balkans with Istanbul being the final objective. We also intend to use our colonial army to mount secondary invasions in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsular to capture Jerusalem and Medina with the aim of diverting Ottoman resources away from the main thrust and undermining their national morale. Once Istanbul has been captured we will then move to secure Libya before initiating peace talks.

Initially it was envisaged that our main Balkan thrust would be composed of two amphibious invasions. The first of these spearheaded by our newly formed Marine Corps (roughly 1000 power) and covered by the majority of our navy would land at Thessalonica with the aim of capturing the Naval base and supply depot there. Once secured II Army (roughly 3000 power) would then be ferried in and once concentrated would advance along the coast towards Istanbul. Simultaneously a landing by I Army (roughly 3000 power) supported by an independent marine division and covered by several squadrons of the new fangled Ironclads would take place at Tirana. Thereafter this army would move to cover the left flank of II Army moving via Sophia to capture the supply depot.

One of the weaknesses of this plan would be the length of time it would take to fully transport both armies from Italy giving the enemy several weeks to prepare defensive positions and raise fresh troops. With the ability to base troops in Greece we will now be able to fully assemble II Army in Attica before declaring hostilities freeing up all our naval transport to support the landing of I Army at Tirana. Our Marine Corps will still attempt to capture Thessalonica by Coup de Main whilst II Army marches overland to link up with this bridgehead. Once we linkup with the marines and naval transport is available the Marine Corps will then land on the south side of the Dardanelles with the intention of opening the straits to allow a naval blockade of Istanbul and further dilute Ottoman resources away from our main thrust.

A tentative target date for this operation is March 1866 which hopefully gives us the time to resolve the Sheewa conflict, build up our garrisons along the Po and flesh out III Army to provide a reserve force. This date should also allow us the longest possible spell of dry weather.

In preparation for the coming conflict both our land and naval forces receive significant reinforcements

We built the following naval units:

• 3 x Ironclad Squadrons
• 1 x (Sail) Battleship Squadron
• 1 x Scouting Squadron
• 1 x Transport Squadron
• Replacements: 2 x Heavy Warship; 3 x Light Coastal Warship

We built the following land units:

• 2 x Field Artillery Regiments
• 2 x Siege Artillery Regiments
• 6 x Supply units
• 3 x Light Infantry Brigades
• 2 x Cavalry Divisions
• 2 x Light Cavalry Brigades
• 1 x Marine Division
• Replacements: 9 x Field Artillery; 2 x Light Artillery, 4 x Line Infantry

Our typical army OOB (52 Command Points) is as follows:

• 2 x Infantry Corps
• 1 x Mountain Division
• 1 x Infantry Division
• 1 x Cavalry Division
• 5 x Artillery Regiments
• 2 x Siege Artillery
• 1 x Light Cavalry Brigade
• Support: 2 Supply; 1 Balloon; 1 Signals; 1 Pioneer; 1 Engineer; 1 Labourer; 1 Medic

Our marine corps OOB is as follows:

• 2 x Marine Divisions
• 2 x Artillery Regiments
• Support: 2 Supply; 1 Medic; 1 Engineer

The Navy has been split into 2 units.

Adriatic Fleet (Abruzzo):

• 3 x Ironclad Squadrons
• 1 x Scouting Squadron
• 3 x Transport Squadrons

Mediterranean Fleet (Calabria):

• 1 x (Sail) Battleship Squadron
• 2 x Frigate Squadrons
• 2 x Scouting Squadrons
• 3 x Transport Squadrons

This period also sees the completion of several important military projects.

We complete the design and manufacture of a new iron breech loading cannon. All our formations are upgraded from the old bronze muzzle loaders to the new artillery (hence the high number field artillery replacements bought this period). We are funding research into the possibility of breech loaded artillery but it is unlikely that this will pay off in time for the Ottoman conflict

Other innovations include Wigwag signalling; Balloons; Professionalism; Military Staff System; Armed Trains; Herman Hart USMRCC and Railroad Batteries. These innovations range from upgrades to existing units to perhaps most importantly reducing the loss of cohesion an army suffers when on the move.

To support our operations we have built depots in the main embarkation ports of Reggio (Calabria) and Ancona (Abruzzo). Several of our fortifications in the peninsular have begun the process of expansion (Lazio, Napoli and Sicily). With their depots complete I and II armies redeploy to their embarkation ports.

Economy

Again this period saw another increase in the size of our internal market

• Food 80
• Common Goods 68
• Luxuries 44

and an increasing amount of produce being shipped to our colonies.

Industrialisation in this period slows as significant resources are diverted to the military although we do manage to begin construction of our last available shipyard.

Steel production whilst never high has been up until now sufficient to meet our needs. With the high demand caused by our military program steel is becoming a bottleneck in our economy. To rectify that several new steel mills are planned. All the new industry will be placed outside of the old Sardina - Piedmont in an effort to industrialise all the newly acquired territories.

Organic Stockpile:


Inorganic Stockpile:


We started the following industrial improvements:

• Fruit Farm - Calabria - July
• Steel Mill - Calabria - August
• Shipbuilding - Puglia - September
• Fruit Farm - Calabria - October
• Opium Field - Zanzibar - December

We completed the following industrial improvements:

• Tobacco Field - Raleigh (USA) - July
• Iron Extraction - Parma - August
• Furniture Shop - Romagna - August
• Tropical Fruit Farm - Mombasa - October
• Fruit Farm - Calabria - December

We learned how to harness the following technologies:

• Iron Muzzle Loading Artillery (improved artillery units)
• Military Staff System
• Wigwag Signalling
• Professionalism
• Refrigeration (allows chill room)
• Armed Trains (-25% cohesion loss when units moving, -15% hit modifier when units moving)
• Balloons (I already had balloons not sure if this provides an improved balloon unit)
• Herman Hapt USMRCC (-25% cohesion loss when units move)
• Railroad Batteries (-25% cohesion loss when artillery units move, -15% hit modifier when artillery units moving)

We started researching the following technologies:

• Breech Loading Artillery
• Chill Room

In July oil is discovered in Trucial (Dubai)

In August we organise a new referendum of Plebiscites. This contributes to a sizeable increase in contentment over the period to 80%. Militancy remains at 1%

In September we order further expansion to the Telegraph networks in Savoire and Sardinia and sewers are completed in Lazio and Alessandria.

In November in order to meet the extra demand on our treasury from the military we raise Excise Tax from 53 to 70%.

Colonisation

Italy’s colonial empire

Areas ready for formal status:

• Lome

Protectorates:

• Eritrea
• Abyssinia
• Djibuti
• Zanzibar

Areas ready for colonial status:

• Djibuti

Colonies:

• Somalia
• Somaliland
• Dubai

Colonial facts and figures for my SOI:


Extent of East Africa under my military control:

** Notice the 2 light green provinces where the unruly Sheewa continue to frustrate me!

In August the loyalty of the population in Mogadishu passes 50%

In November we formally declare Zanzibar as a protectorate.

By December the Ottoman colonial penetration in Djibuti is completely wiped out (this has the effect of destroying the Ottoman controlled port in the province)

Expeditions:

• Natural History - Qatar / Ghaydah (Arabia)
• Anthroplogical - Qatar / Ghaydah (Arabia)
• National Geographic - Tripolitania

We completed the following Colonial buildings:

• Trucial - Fort
• Markos - Mission, Telegraph
• Berbera - Colonial Society
• Mombasa - School
• Djibuti - School
• Ankobar - School, Mission
• Zanzibar - Anchorage, Port, Consulate
• Gondor - Fort, Roads
• Harer - School

Prestige



We continue to increase the gap to Austria in 6th position and reduce the gap to France in 4th to under 3000 points.

With Austria now visible on the score screen we note with some nervousness that they have the 2nd largest army. Our national morale drops slightly to 128

I think after reading through my post again it might be slightly misleading regarding the naval side of things. The ironclads are the light coastal craft type not ironclad battleship / frigates etc. Whilst not exactly long range they should be ideal to defend the Adriatic landings at least against anything the Ottomans can thow against them (famous last words!). The Battleship unit I bought is the sail/screw type so again not very advanced. Saying that though I have been almost continuously investing in ship research (at least since I could afford to fund extra research) and have been focusing on the Iron Ships tech more or less since it has been available. I think this tech leads to the ocean going ironclad types.

Yes when Greece accepted my military access proposal i did do a little jig around the kitchen As mentioned the plan is for the marines to capture Thessalonica in the first turn or two and hopefully the army from Greece will be moving past it on turn 3 or 4 but then you know what they say about plans.

I saw that post about Austria on the AGEOD forum too and it definately made me sit up and take notice and has definately led me down a more cautious path where they are concerned.

Stuyvesant said:

<Tries to come up with a comment including reference to stereotypical view of Scots as inebriated rabble-rousers. Decides against it, noting the number of Scots on the forums>

I like the plan - it must be very advantageous to have Greece as a staging ground, and I do thrill at the sight of a (future) amphibious assault.

Do you have any idea what the Ottomans have stationed in Thessaloniki? I'm wondering if an amphibious assault might be too ambitious - I think I recall reading that the German player in the 24-nation PBEM lost something like 100,000 Prussians in a failed landing in Japan, so it definitely sounds like a risky move.

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Well at the moment it looks like about 150pwr made up of mostly militia and in Thessalonika 25 pwr made up of a single cavalry element as best as I can tell. I have ships off the Ottoman coast in the Adriatic and Eastern Med as well as an advance guard of a single Light Cavalry Regiment ashore in Atica (Greece) on manouvers with the Greek army honest guv (as well as accidently monitoring the border area)

So looks good at the moment although there is still a year to go so obviously anything can change.

loki100 said:

don't forget the fort will spawn a huge garrison as soon as you arrive in the province, this is one of the things that can be very misleading - you scout out a location think it is weakly defended and then find 8-10,000 soldiers hanging around

I've become very cautious about naval landings in AGEOD games - its all too easy to forget that it is not the Clauswitz 'retreat to the ships' system, here if you have to retreat, you are wiped out. I've managed to do this a few times, best was losing a large part of the British army at New York in the 1812 scenario in WiA ... but I still burnt down Washington (which is really all that scenario is about)

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Thanks I will keep an eye out. Although so far there is no fort at Thessalonica which is what makes it such an attractive landing site