Chapter Thirteen: Is It Me, Or Is It Chile In Here?
brycef Yeah, I think Chile being a Democracy draws in a ton of people, and any state could be a powerhouse if you add literate Pops.
Dewirix Thanks for all the comments. True, I am an oppressor, but nobody should know that yet, I'm more democratic than France. The last chapter looked like it was going to be better than it was, but there ought to be plenty of action coming up.
Previously on "Last Tango" - Chile massed an huge army in an obvious attempt at continued existence.
In April 1883 I check my Infamy - 12.01. Since it costs 20BB to annex, I need to drop 7.01 before I can DoW (I am not taking risks on
this war). That will be more or less six years, March 1889. I need to build a bigger army than Chile, and transport it to South America, since I'll be building it in central Africa. Also, I need to maxx out my Army Tech. The prospect of spending 20BB for a failed attempt to annex, wasting 16 years, is too horrifying to contemplate. In March I discover Steam Turbine, another big RGO booster, and make my switch to Military Techs.
In January 1885 I get another Social Reform opportunity. I won't report all of these here, suffice it to say I get one pretty much every January. I hate the Max Workhours choices. Substantially reduce industrial output? I would not take that road unless I had no other choice. I have bad memories of pension costs from 1.1, so I stick my toe in, but take just one early on. Work safety is fine. Factory upkeep doesn't seem that bad, and the tradeoff of reducing needs for Pops seems like a big win. All of these come with +1% immigrant attraction, which is what I'm after, so every chance at reform will will be accepted. Unemployment insurance is a good choice, I don't want to lose craftsmen. Minimum wage seems like the third worst choice after working hours and pensions, but I'll grab everything before I change working hours.
In February I complete my colonization of Lagos. Now I'll work to cut off the Frenchies and Brits, who are colonizing southern Africa. My plan is the same as I use in any 4x game - grab a perimeter, cut off the interior, and take that at my liesure. My target is the light tan area in mid Africa. As you can see, I'm being beaten in several areas, including the half of Benin I don't already own (by the UK), and bits of Congo (France). If I can link up with Egypt I should be able to seal off a half dozen states, grab what I can outside that area, then finish the inside areas I've blocked from others. Egypt seems very intact this game, let's hope she stays that way.
My Army tech advance continues apace: Army Risk Management (Tactics +100%, March 1885); Military Stats (Cav, December 1885); Deep Defense (Fort +1, December 1886); Muzzle loaded Artillery (I'm late, but with the worldwide liquor shortage I have very few cannon, May 1887); Iron Breach Loaded Artillery (Feb 1888); Saddle orders (morale +50%, invention, Aug 1888); Military Logistics (Cav, Feb 1889);
In January 1886 I note that my population has hit 5.4 million. My true population is 21.5 million, and I am up to 740,000 Platineans! Only 1.25 million to go for another NF! The only result of my Egyptian expedition turns out to be the Curse of the Pharaohs, +1 MIL nationwide. In May 1887 I see that I am up to 880,000 Platineans, a jump of 140,000 in sixteen months. I like being an American Democracy with good health care. My population itself is up to 5.8 million. In March 1888 I get more good news. Rubber in Lagos. Though it doesn't mean much right now, African rubber production will be very nice later in the game.
In May 1888 I colonize Congo. In July the USA offers to be my ally, sure! In December I get a border incident with the Ottoman Empire. Must. Resist. Temptation. Sorry, Chile is the big deal here. No Balkans campaign for me, thanks anyway Benito. A March 1889 look at Chile shows still 150,000 troops. I've jacked up taxes substantially, but I'm still bleeding $1000/day paying full shot for supplies. I start research on Inorganic Chemistry. That could have come earlier. Supply boosts would have been handy fighting with a quarter of a million troops. Ah well. What's a war without a significant miscue to start things off? I declare war, demanding annexation.
I develop a sophisticated plan to conquer Chile: I shout, "Get Her!"
Very scientific. Chile has a large army in every province, and many have a couple continugous provinces. So I don't choose the best place to fight in, I choose the best place to fight from. Lots of my troops (160,000) have easy access to Copiapo, so that's where I go. I'm not sure if it's the Military score boost that comes in wartime, but I'll be back in the ranks of Great Powers soon, it seems. Frankly, I assumed that being a Rank #10 country I'd get there if I annexed the Rank #12 country, but it's nice to see now. My General in Copiapo is good enough to make up for the terrain and Chile's +1 DEF general, so the fight is an even battle. Well, as even as 150,000 vs 26,000 should be when I'm the 150,000.
I send troops to fight in the plains of La Serena, to cut off reinforcements to Copiapo, and frankly because I can. I note that Chile's forts are all level one or two. I assume that Chile is not short of cash, so I hope that means that my tech is now a significant advantage.
Chile has mobilized, so while the La Serena battle looks good even before 66,000 men arrive, Chile has another stack of 125,000 men left to be dealt with.
I win Copiapo, but lose 6000 while inflicting only 8500 casualties. Frontage gets to be a real problem here. It turns out that having 100,000 men watch a battle between 50,000 and 30,000 does not add much. To quote Gollum: "Baahhhh!" Similarly, I win in La Serena, killing 6500 and losing 6100. Hmm. I do have to kill these guys eventually. Copiapo troops flee north, La Serena troops run to join their 125,000 comrades in the south. Most of the army which beat Chile's Copiapo force chase the survivors to Antofagasta.
I win quickly, losing only 2000 men, killing 10,000 and the rest surrender. It looks like the enemy can retreat into my territory once only. Then, unless they can reach friendly, unoccupied territory, they surrender. I should work on remembering that. I send 70,000 men into Valparaiso, Chile's southernmost province, because I can.
As you can see, Chile still has 130,000 men not yet being fought. My northern army heads to Santiago through my territory. I decide that, since Chile only has troops in three provinces, I will fight in all three. As each battle is won, the defeated soldiers ought to surrender, so long as I leave a small force in each of my contiguous provinces, and a battle rages in the other places Chile could have retreated to.
The biggest fight, in Vin Del Mar, goes well at the start.
I did not get men in position around Valparaiso quickly enough, but on May 13 I win, killing 17,000 of the 30,000 enemy for a loss of 3300. Some of the men are dispatched to mop up, some remain to occupy, some fed into the other two battles. Here we see the critical battle in Vin del Mar, and see that with so many armies, I neglected to check my generals, +0 ATT ftl. Still, this one does not appear to be a battle I'll lose. If a better general arrives will he take over, or am I stuck with the first moron to show up? Hopefully the best guy present will lead, but "dibs" has a long and glorious history. If the general in charge of any battle is selected via dibs, then We must respect the dibs.
On May 29, I wipe out the army which fled from Valparaiso, losing 1000 men. It's not until the 2nd of July that I win the battle of Santiago, losing 13000 men, killing 15,000 and capturing 20,000. As you can see, the final battle is taking a long time as well, but it is going my way.
On September 2, 1889 I officially become a Great Power. The Vin del Mar battle still rages. On the 19th I successfully occupy La Serena, and the battle still rages. I finally win Vin del Mar! My losses were greater than the enemy's, 55,000 to 53,000, a result of my not checking generals and fighting several battles at once. I also suspect dibs. On the other hand, Chile's remaining 50,000 men all surrender, meaning that the war is over except for speeding up the clock, and ignoring the WP spam.
Valparaiso falls on October 8, and on the 11th I complete Inorganic Chemistry, granting +25% to supply. Timing is everything. Copiapo falls in October. Santiago and Vin del Mar take longer still, falling in January 1890, and ending the war.
Is Chile in here? Nope, it's just me.