Chapter 8: Ukraine's first real war
Note: I say "real" because most of my wars, to this point, have been against uncivilized countries, where the only challenge to my success is, well, my ineptness handling a war-time economy
This is the first minor I've played in Vicky 2 -- very different from an already GP or a soon-to-be GP.
January 23, 1869: A quick look at my factories shows that my Steamer Shipyards are doing well, but not fantastically so; still not time to go Liberal, but as they fill up and do better, I will. Clergy check on Crimea is 3.9%; it's 3.6% for Kiev. Somewhat oddly, Crimea will hit the 4% mark first; I wonder why? Kiev has more people and (I believe) is more literate.
April 11, 1869: We finish Cheap Iron. I choose Idealism for my next technology; this turns out to be a mistake (which I'll get into later on), but for now, know that it increases Research Points by 50% and has three inventions, all of which are only worth 1 prestige at this point.
April 21, 1869: I make an interesting diplomatic discovery. Remember how, at the end of the last update, I was complaining because Spain had attacked Hedjaz, which was an unciv I wanted to annex? Well, it turns out that Hedjaz is friendly with a GP -- the Ottoman Empire, and it intervenes with Spain. This is important for two reasons: 1) it means Spain will likely not get Hedjaz (although it's close, 73 brigades for OE vs. 51 for Spain) and 2) unless a major Great Power wants it, only OE is likely to annex Hedjaz in the near future. Good to know!
April 30, 1869: Austria wants military access; I decline.
July 24, 1869: The election is finished; the ruling party still wins the lion's share of seats, but some issue (probably Pro-Military) ensured that the Conservatives would be heavily supported too.
September 1, 1869: East Galicia, as a home to the Ukrainian fruit growers, has a winery that is doing fantastically well; I expand it.
October 4, 1869: We discover Ironclads! I begin to drool in anticipation; I'm no match for the Royal Navy, but with enough Ironclads, I can make the Black Sea a Ukrainian lake and possibly expand out into the Mediterranean.
October 21, 1869: A quick comparison of Ironclads and Commerce Raiders. Commerce Raiders go 12 KPH, with an attack of 5 and a hull of 8. Ironclads are a little slower -- 8 KPH -- but have 10 attack and 15 hull, almost double the ratings of Commerce Raiders. Strategically, I'm going to reorganize my fleet; I'll have three in the Black Sea and three in the Indian Ocean; one of transports, one of Commerce Raiders, and one of Ironclads. Ironclads will be my muscle; I'll use Commerce Raiders to distract enemy gunners. In the Indian Ocean, I'm mostly dealing with Uncivs, so I'll focus on Ironclads for the Black Sea first. Commerce Raiders are good enough against Wooden Ships.
November 7, 1869: I cut tariffs from 50% to 40%. I also hit the 4% threshold for Clergymen in Crimea, so I change National Focuses.
The grey house circled in red is your "turn colony into a state" button. In order to do this, you need 1% of the population to be Primary Culture Bureaucrats; in this case, Ukrainian Bureaucrats. Hence why I chose the NF I did. Dumyat would be one of my most populous regions when/if it becomes a state; it's an easy decision to make that it should become a state first out of all of my current colonies.
January 1, 1870: We have a new upper house! For once, I'll give you the screenshot (you're welcome
)
A quick check of my factories reveals that, in Crimea at least, my Steamer Shipyards are doing extraordinarily well; only my Winery in East Galicia is more profitable (at 101.71 pounds a day, vs. 99.08 pounds a day for my Shipyard.) I think it's time to let the free market take over!
January 5, 1870: After a few days to let the market stabilize, I go from 40% tariffs to 10% import subsidies. I take a look at Johore, and notice a Siamese army sitting right above mine -- an interesting thought occurs, that Siam could be another excellent place to expand. For now, though, I need to build up currency reserves and modernize the navy before getting into another war.
February 7, 1870: It's the double whammy bonus to productivity for the economy -- not only do I get a boost to factory output, but my national stockpile is much, much smaller.
March 13, 1870: Two wars end, both in White Peace (or Status Quo) -- the Russian war with Japan and the Spanish war with Hedjaz and the Ottoman Empire.
April 6, 1870: Two factories go bankrupt -- the Canned Food factory in East Galicia and the Liquor Distillery in Ukrainian Budjak. This is an excellent time to emphasize something; if you do not have all the provinces for a state (designated by your country's adjective, you must still rely on Craftsmen from the other provinces to operate your factory! In this case, I have one of the four provinces that make up the region of Budjak; Russia has the other three. This means that I'm at an extreme disadvantage as far as having a successful factory in Ukrainian Budjak; my one factory also counts to the
state limit of eight, which means Russia can only build seven factories in this state. Ideally, you'd consider adding the extra provinces through conquest; I'm not an idiot, however, and my alliance with Russia is far more precious than making Ukrainian Budjak economically viable.
July 24, 1870: I've been at peace for a while now. Where should I expand next? I take a look at the world, and discover something interesting; Korea has Iron mines
and a large population. Since Ukraine's current supply of Iron ore is pitiful (two provinces, one Ukrainian and one Egyptian), this could be a worthwhile target!
Korea has 19 brigades; I only have 21, but mine are likely much more advanced. They have three ships, so their navy won't be a problem; no invading Kiev to worry about.
My target region would be Pyongyang; I could add more in a war goal if things go well -- as I expect they will.
September 29, 1870: As usual, however, Russia mucks things up, and drags me into war with China.
October 13, 1870: Two powers are coming after China; Russia and the UK. The UK (and friends) outnumber China nearly 7 to 1; Russia actually has 100 fewer brigades than China, and that's including my small contribution (21 brigades). I wonder why Russia hasn't built a larger army? It's not like they're hurting for soldier POPs.
Since I'm at war now, I manually buy all the Steamer Convoys we need for the navy. It's not cheap, but I've got substantial reserves of cash, and I don't want to take anything for granted.
October 18, 1870: Right before I land invasion forces on Taiwan, I notice the British currently occupy it. I have no choice -- I must declare war on the United Kingdom!
...
...
...
Just kidding. :rofl: Since I can't contribute meaningfully, I go with white peace instead
November 8, 1870: It's time to start the war I
do want; a quick check of the diplomacy screen shows that no powers are currently friendly with Korea -- the USA is cordial, but they aren't actively influencing Korea.
November 23, 1870: All right, Idealism is done! Time for a huge increase in research points. Wait a minute, what's that you say? I go from 12.3 RP/day to 15.12/day? WTF, as the kids say?
Here's something I'd forgotten before researching Idealism. The tech modifier is applied to base research points
before all other modifiers. Thus, instead of gaining 6 points a day, I gain a little less than 3 points a day. Learn from my mistake -- the Idealism track (Philosophy) is better suited for powers which are already literate or if you've hit a roadblock because it's too early to research a particular technology you do want. It's not a total waste of RP -- it is still a reasonable increase -- but it's not very efficient.
I discover Neokantian Idealism almost immediately, for one prestige point.
December 1, 1870: I'd forgotten to choose a new technology.
Fortunately, you bank the RPs until you make a decision; many players use this tactic instead of choosing a new technology, particularly if there's a particular technology they want to research and nothing else seems worthwhile. I do want to caution you, however. Should you decide to switch technologies (a mistake I made in a different earlier game),
you will lose all your RPs! Therefore, if you aren't positive you want a technology, it is much better to delay a decision than to change your mind. In any case, I decide the army is long overdue for an upgrade -- I research Flintlock Rifles, which increases attack by 1 for all units, supply consumption by 20%, and combat width decreases by 2.
December 6, 1870: The UEF lands at Pyongyang, 24 brigades strong! It engages with 21 Korean brigades. Then an unpleasant realization sinks in -- I see another stack of 18 and a third stack of 5. What's the deal? I completely forgot something that the brigade size on the diplomatic screen does not take into account -- Mobilization. It would appear Korea mobilized, so this will not be as easy as I thought. I will need more troops!
December 12, 1870: In my infinite wisdom, I send my transports to pick up some troops from Johore, send them back to Korea, only to realize I forgot to have the troops board the transports. I swear, somebody should fire the Commander-in-Chief.
Oh, wait a minute.
December 24, 1870: I'm getting chewed up kind of badly here. I've still got better ORG, but I can't afford to take the same casualties the Koreans can. I'll give it a few days, either to land more troops or see if their ORG runs out any time soon.
December 31, 1870: I have to retreat; there's better defensive ground a province north (Forest), and I'll make my stand there, until I get more troops.
I did inflict a lot of casualties (thanks, Tactics boost!), but the difference is that Korea has way more troops in theater. I settle in for a long war.
January 1, 1871: Since I'm technically Pacifist (because of the liberals), WE piles up a bit faster than normal. This means that the ruling party will lose support in the Upper House; the Conservatives gain nearly 4% of the house, taking this from the Socialists, Liberals, and Anarcho-Liberals. Fortunately, MIL is 0.00, so no rebellions will be breaking out any time soon.
I also learn Proto-Existenialism, for another point of prestige. Kiev is at 3.77% Clergymen; only .23% to go!
February 3, 1871: To pay for the war, Ukraine enacts a 70% tariff.
April 5, 1871: Austria and Mexico, British allies, sign a white peace with China.
April 6, 1871: A quick check of the tool tip shows that, for RP-boost purposes, I have a little over the 2% cap for Clergy. I've come a long way in terms of literacy -- from 10% to 35.1% in just over 35 years -- but I've got a long way to go.
Readers, I've about maxed out my knowledge of how to pursue Literacy -- support Clergy, Clerks, the educational efficiency techs -- any other advice? Plurality would boost my RPs too, but not Literacy.
April 13, 1871: I secure my first Korean province -- Chonchon. My army will not move from this spot, if I can help, as it's great defensive ground.
May 4, 1871: Correcting my earlier mistake, I land my three brigade Asian Army at Hamhung, which is Mountains -- if I can dig in, I should be able to hold off quite an army.
May 24, 1871: Looks like another local politician can't keep it in his pants.
May 26, 1871: Seeing the apparent weakness of my tiny Army of Asia, I move my army from Chonchon into Hamhung, which will give me 27 close-to-max ORG brigades. This makes the Koreans stop -- we play this cat-and-mouse game for a while.
June 2, 1871: Two inventions from Cheap Iron fire -- Advanced Ore Roasting and Advanced Ore Grinding Process. Both increase Iron Mine production by 10% while actually increasing the Iron Mine size by 1%.
June 9, 1871: Operation Cat and Mouse continues. Ukrainian forces in theater -- 20 regiments (UEF) in Chonchon and 9 regiments (Army of Asia) in Hamhung. Korean forces in theater -- stack of 18 regiments in the NE province of Korea (can't read the name), 6 brigades in Kimchaek, 17 regiments in Pyongyang. The brigades in Kimchaek have decided to attack Chonchon. Perhaps they are suicidal?
June 15, 1871: Korea wants a white peace. It seems the Kimchaek general is no idiot -- the 18 regiments also move up. Still, 20 regiments of (hopefully) superior Ukrainian troops with good defensive ground should be able to handle 23 regiments of Korean troops.
July 12, 1871: Then, they make a daring change to their plan -- they go after Hamhung instead! It looks we will have a decisive battle; 18 regiments have engaged my 9 regiments force there -- I move in the UEF, and Korea seems to be moving in all of theirs. All told, it'll be 31 Ukrainian regiments against 39 Korean regiments. I should win this battle, provided there are no additional Korean forces.
July 21, 1871: The odds just got better -- the 6,000 troops in Kimchaek have decided to pick the "soft" target -- retaking Chonchon -- while the stack from Pyongyang, apparently terrified of Ukrainian troops, moves south down the peninsula. Now I have better troops, better ground,
and a numbers advantage.
August 6, 1871: Victory!
Still, that's not a good casualty ratio -- they had a better general and I got some lousy rolls.
September 24, 1871: Another Korean ambassador asks for White Peace. I decline. I make an important decision here -- I need more troops or this war will just stalemate. I mobilize Ukrainian forces -- it'll be a hit to the economy, but I'm too committed to this war to pull out now.
November 4, 1871: This is not good -- 31,000 Korean troops vs. 13,000 Ukrainian troops. I haven't been able to reinforce yet, since that little 6k stack is still occupying Chonchon, and the AI has efficiently moved troops whenever I decide to try to retake it -- I have to go with the better defensive ground.
November 8, 1871: This is quickly getting out of hand. I lose Chonchon and the battle of Hamhung. Smartly, the AI pursues me north.
November 12, 1871: Bad news -- it's 31k Korean soldiers vs. 8k Ukrainian troops, and they got there first, so they also get a dig-in bonus. I'd better kiss my troops goodbye.
November 21, 1871: It's time to call a Hail Mary.
It's either lose the war for certain, or call in my Big Brother and hope he's feeling generous. Russia, unsurprisingly, is alliance leader -- my war goals are completely at the mercy of the Russian Empire.
November 23, 1871: I bail out of the battle the second I can. The casualty figures are almost even, but they have way more troops than I do.
January 1, 1872: The Liberals, surprisingly, gain 2% of the Upper House; perhaps Ukrainian citizens are banding together to support our army?
February 11, 1872: China signs a peace with Belgium; something tells me the UK isn't too worried.
March 3, 1872: My first army of mobilized Ukrainian peasants lands in Korea, 24,000 strong, at Pyongyang, although the UEF and the Army of Asia have already been destroyed. I do discover Advanced Ore Smelting, which boosts production in my Iron Mines, but if I don't win this war, I couldn't care less about Iron production.
March 11, 1872: The first Russian troops enter the war; they engage an army in Chongijn; it's got 33k Korean troops, vs only 11k Russians, but about 50k more Russians are on the way.
March 12, 1872: More good news on the army front -- we finish Muzzle-Loaded Rifles. I could theoretically build engineers; I've usually found them to be a waste of time. They help you against Forts -- yet all Forts actually do is increase occupation times, which Recon counters, and Engineers don't help with that. It is one of the enigmas of Vicky 2 -- there's an interesting discussion
here. The consensus? Nobody else knows what good engineers are either.
That aside, our next advance will be Breech-Loaded Rifles, and Guards. If you can build them -- more on that later -- Guards are fantastic units. We'll get into why later on as well. There's also the flat bonuses of +1 to attack, -2 to combat width, and the increase to supply consumption cost.
April 7, 1872: Another Lover Exposed event! Perhaps they should stop inviting the press to their orgies?
May 1, 1872: Uh oh. This can't be good.
Now we will enter the phase of the game wherein every great power will try to influence Ukraine and they will all cancel each other out. It's nice to be so popular, but effectively this will deny me some key goods I could certainly use. Russia is also not obligated to protect me in the event of a war.
May 11, 1872: Russia gets what it wanted from China; now they can divert their full attention to my war! What could possibly go wrong now?
May 30, 1872: SON OF A [hundreds upon hundreds of expletives deleted].
I have to tip my cap to the AI. I've got most of my army in Korea at this point; if they want to take some of my land, this is the perfect time. Best of all, Russia dishonors my alliance, so I've got no protectors either. I've got 31 brigades vs. 61 Ottoman brigades, but none of my brigades are in Egypt. The Ottomans want Palestine. I couldn't even make a white peace with Korea if I wanted to -- Russia's alliance leader now.
July 28, 1872: I engage the Ottoman navy in the Black Sea -- 5 Commerce Raiders vs. 4 Frigates and 6 Clipper Transports.
August 24, 1872: An event -- the Safari -- and the continuing of the naval battle.
I've sunk two transports, but some of my ships are being badly damaged. By the way, you've read that right -- naval battles can go on for months in Vicky 2. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think that ORG decreases much slower in naval battles.
August 31, 1872: This is a pleasant surprise!
Since Pyongyang was my war goal, I get the territory, not Russia. I may no longer be allied to Russia -- stupid Ottomans -- but this was a nice parting gift. Now I can concentrate against the Ottomans.
September 2, 1872: The new Ukrainian colony.
September 9, 1872: China wants military access through Ukrainian territory; the last thing I want is to be encircled by the Chinese. I decline. The naval battle is
still going on; to give my enemy more targets, I move up my Steam Clipper fleet.
September 10, 1872: This war is killing me -- I have to take out a loan just to survive.
September 19, 1872: So, what are my chances of winning this war? Let's look at Egypt!
I will boil down my chances to two words: I'm screwed. Even if every single Ukrainian soldier was in Egypt, they'd get mowed down and I'd lose any way. I have no choice but to give in to Ottoman demands before they ask for more.
There were three major results to the Ukrainian-Korean War. 1) I get Pyongyang, 2) I lose Palestine, and 3) I now have no alliances. I actually came out ahead, territory wise -- I get more key raw materials and more people in Korea than I ever had in Palestine. However, Ukraine is alone in the cruel, cruel world -- I start looking for alliances as fast as I can. The only two countries whose cores I have taken are Korea and the Ottomans; Korea does not worry me too much, but I suspect I'll be losing Lebanon in the near future.
September 24, 1872: We demobilize, and the economy goes back to normal.
October 2, 1872: Commies in Ukraine!
They're identical to the Socialists, except Atheist instead of Pluralist. They are equally despised as a Ruling Party. There is a bright spot, though: they will always support Social Reforms, and we'll want to do a few of those in the near future, once we have the support. They want no truck with rolling back any reforms or enacting Political Reforms of any kind.
November 8, 1872: Ukrainian diplomats are sent to the UK and France, hard at work at improving relations. Ukraine needs friends, and fast.
December 2, 1872: The Geneva Convention occurs in Switzerland; Ukraine, as a peace-loving, law-abiding people, signs with no hesitation.
December 5, 1872: Three infantry units form the backbone of a new UEF, and two infantry units become the new Army of Asia. I lost one Commerce Raider when the naval battle with the Ottomans abruptly ended; I did prevent a major invasion force, so I am pleased with that.
December 31, 1872: We check in on Dumyat -- it's only got .11% Ukrainian bureaucrats. This will take a while.
January 1, 1873: A slight shift to the Left in the Ukrainian upper house; the first appearance of Communists, while Liberals and Anarcho-Liberals get a bump. The Socialists lose .24%; these become the first Communists in Ukraine. The Liberal gain is 1.75%. The remnants of the former Army of Kiev (three more or less intact Infantry brigades) become the first Army of Korea.
January 5, 1873: The Ottomans declare war on Egypt. Good, pick on somebody else, you Turk jerks! (See what I did there?) Egypt throws caution to the wind and asks for Military Access to Ukraine; I accept. I'd love to see the Ottomans taken down a peg; something tells me the Egyptians probably won't be the country to do it.
January 10, 1873: We start construction of five Ironclads in the Black Sea; we need firepower in case the Ottomans come a-calling again, which I fully expect will happen the second the truce is up.
January 16, 1873: We are friendly with the UK. Yes, please Sphere us! Please?
January 22, 1873: Ukrainian potato blight.
June 15, 1873: We cut tariffs to 36%; I notice that every single pie is now yellow, meaning they aren't getting full life needs. I wonder what gives?
June 27, 1873: Austria gets a little friendlier, but still won't sign an alliance. Only the UK will even think about it, and they say it's Very Unlikely.
July 20, 1873: We close the update with a new election.
I hope my next war, wherever it is, goes a lot better; I hate giving up land, even marginally useful land like Palestine. I desperately need friends right now; I've got great relations with Russia and the UK, but the Russians say an alliance is Impossible. Ukraine is also a virtual ping-pong ball of influence, so nobody will probably ever add me to their sphere again.
I have two interrelated questions for my faithful audience, connected by the fact that Ukraine is extremely unlikely to ever be a GP.
1) Would there be any objections to my editing the decision to let me build the Suez Canal? It'll never get built otherwise, since nobody will ever add me to their Sphere again. It seems really gamey, which is why I'm somewhat loathe to do it, but it would help me out a lot and give me more flexibility, navy wise.
2) Is there interest in a Tutorial about how GP influence works? It'd be a brief post -- I'll take screenshots of my current Germany game (Prussia-> Kleindeutschland, for those who are curious), or, if you like, a Russian Empire game that's not as advanced.
Let me know your thoughts on both scenarios: I won't play this game again until I finish the next update, so you've got plenty of time.