Nice going, there 
How much of the dutch east indies do you control at this point ?
How much of the dutch east indies do you control at this point ?
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Nice handling of the naval side of the war, reckless but effective - except those 4 unescorted transports sunk with troops, almost certainly another no-no in your strategy guide
You seem pretty confident on your chances in Hedjaz against those 84,000 French... I hope you are right!
You seem pretty confident on your chances in Hedjaz against those 84,000 French... I hope you are right!
Ah the British navy, helping to protect the Siamese navy.
91,000 French trioops and you're expecting 16,000 to hold them off and wear them down, gas attack not withstanding.
You've gone for the 15 war score humiliate against the French, which makes sense, especually as the French and British will likely make peace relatively quickly. The Dutch are almost beaten. Java is an expensive region and will fuel Siamese expansion in the area.
91,000 French trioops and you're expecting 16,000 to hold them off and wear them down, gas attack not withstanding.
You've gone for the 15 war score humiliate against the French, which makes sense, especually as the French and British will likely make peace relatively quickly. The Dutch are almost beaten. Java is an expensive region and will fuel Siamese expansion in the area.
I was about to post an update this morning, and then I realized that I haven't done feedback since immediately before the Dutch War started -- at the decision point. That was 10 days ago -- a while to some, not so long for others -- but it was about 5 updates ago -- a little long.
So I'm going to do feedback now, and I'll post the update in 2-3 hours.
I didn't really see much of an immediate difference. What I suspect is that after I sphered China, my overall income increased gradually, but at a greater gradual rate than before. I haven't charted this out, but it makes sense to me from the way the system works (i.e. giving a marginally better trading situation than before).
Welcome, Fireblaze! Glad to have your confidence! But, as you surmised, I will have a tremendous problem against the -4 mods for gas attack the French have. The Dutch, fortunately, did not have it yet. I should have expected the French would, but I've just gotten used to bulling through people whose tech is higher than mine! Damn the torpedoes -- full speed ahead!
You're right, especially in that their provinces -- Java in particular -- are richer than provinces I could take from other countries.
Ah, well.... I think you did say, elsewhere, that you're more cautious than I am. I kind of like getting myself into situations that are bigger than I expected, and/or can handle! It's not cautious, but it's fun. Thereby, I sometimes completely ignore my advice from the Strategy Guide. Then again, I do always mention in the Guides the importance of sometimes taking risks. I just take them more often than I advise!
The advantage to the UK taking China away from Russia is that I only have the points to do one action -- I could take it away, or I could acquire it, but I can't acquire it without me/someone first taking it from whoever holds it. It's like in EU 3 where you used to have to send one merchant to "compete" and create a hole, but that merchant couldn't take the position then left vacant. So, if you hadn't sent enough merchants to take it, you might have just enabled your rival to take the vacancy. Here, the UK created the vacancy and I filled it.
As for colonization, I generally colonize whether at peace or at war. The National Focus does not have a particular usefulness during wartime, and so my assignment of Focus points doesn't depend on my war/peace status. Where I do have choices is in whether to assign a NF to colonize a higher liferating place now, or do I keep that Focus free (assigned to something else) until I get the tech to go after potentially more valuable territory with lower Liferating?
:rofl: Sorry, old boy! I went and did it anyway. But things change later -- you'll see!
Stuyvesant, I always appreciate your thoughtful commentary! That, alone, is a good sign that you're on my side, and not among the enemy. I think you and I were both expecting the French to arrive in the East Indies before... well, let's just say before the present update. I'm even impressed myself that I have been able to keep their transports bottled up near Arabia for so long.
Thank you, WinsingtonIII, and Welcome! Glad to hear you've been enjoying for so long. Much more to come!
I promise I will be back to oppose the Ottomans at a later date.
There is alot of naval combat going on outside my vision, I suspect. And that may well be why the French didn't send more warships to break through my blockade. But as you've seen in updates since the British have helped me in at least two battles now (at least after this coming update).
I haven't seen 1.2 yet -- I tend not to upgrade while I'm playing a game in an earlier version. I could segregate the versions, and I do that for beta versions, but haven't bothered with this one. Anyone know how 1.2 changes naval combat, or combat values? For that matter, has anyone heard when 1.3 will likely be out?
Welcome, Dark Jessiah! Glad you're enjoying.
Welcome, WelshDude! Glad you like it, though I'm not sure where you got the idea it wouldn't be continuing. Going strong, still, and should be through completion! Hope you come back to see that! I don't know if I can be called a strategy god. Lots more better than I, surely, and I don't always follow my own advice, anyway. I make lots of mistakes, too, but I generally use them as instructional tools to teach others what NOT to do!
You know, your post made me wonder, "Why DID I do that?!" And as it turns out I didn't do that -- sometimes it's hard for me to know when a screenshot is just "informational" for me (i.e. I was just checking things out) and when it is something I actually took action on. I chose the lower Badboy option, later.
Thanks! I hope my every-other-day posting schedule lately keeps you from having to wait too long.
Yeah, I didn't find that guy in my list of generals, but I'll look again!
I was in such a pack of nerds when I was in high school that we went to see the FIVE hour uncut version of Lawrence of Arabia, which just happened to be showing on our graduation night! I love that movie -- one of my favorites, to be sure. I even wrote T.E. Lawrence into my Fire Warms story, and also did an homage to his charge across the desert at Aqaba (two different scenes from Fire Warms).
It was a matter of rotating, resting, reinforcing my troops -- things which the Dutch could not do. Eventually our numbers crossed, and eventually our Organization crossed, so that we were superior in both. That's what won.
Yeah, France is going to be a tough nut. Hmmm...
Thanks! And you've been keeping up with updates, so you probably realize now I didn't actually demand a state -- I went for the cheap "humiliate" option instead. My mistake. More to come!
Thanks! Welcome, Cybvep! I'm happy to be among the great powers too -- I was hoping to get to show off my skills with Spheres of Influence.
Ahh... Well, it would certainly make sense if that were the case, and hopefully that got fixed before release. I just didn't realize. It's easy enough to test, so I'll try next time I'm playing. Thanks!
The rule is that so long as your peace doesn't cause an end to the war, then you can make a separate peace with a minor partner. That's why I had to add the extra wargoal -- one against the Alliance Leader -- so that the war wouldn't end by the peace. What you say is true, though, of satellites.
All these things are risks and possibilities. I'll let you wait to see how it happens. Good analysis, though!
It's on the table...
Thanks! Reckless, yes. You know my risky nature, Aldriq... And that I don't always follow my Strategy Guide advice! You'll see how Hedjaz turns out in the next update (in an hour or so).
Yup. Maybe a little too much to ask, huh? More to come very soon...
I have the update ready, and I'm going to wait probably an hour to post it.
See you then! Thanks again for your readership, and for your kind comments! I appreciate the feedback.
Rensslaer
So I'm going to do feedback now, and I'll post the update in 2-3 hours.
I didn't really see much of an immediate difference. What I suspect is that after I sphered China, my overall income increased gradually, but at a greater gradual rate than before. I haven't charted this out, but it makes sense to me from the way the system works (i.e. giving a marginally better trading situation than before).
Welcome, Fireblaze! Glad to have your confidence! But, as you surmised, I will have a tremendous problem against the -4 mods for gas attack the French have. The Dutch, fortunately, did not have it yet. I should have expected the French would, but I've just gotten used to bulling through people whose tech is higher than mine! Damn the torpedoes -- full speed ahead!
You're right, especially in that their provinces -- Java in particular -- are richer than provinces I could take from other countries.
Ah, well.... I think you did say, elsewhere, that you're more cautious than I am. I kind of like getting myself into situations that are bigger than I expected, and/or can handle!
It's not cautious, but it's fun. Thereby, I sometimes completely ignore my advice from the Strategy Guide. Then again, I do always mention in the Guides the importance of sometimes taking risks. I just take them more often than I advise! The advantage to the UK taking China away from Russia is that I only have the points to do one action -- I could take it away, or I could acquire it, but I can't acquire it without me/someone first taking it from whoever holds it. It's like in EU 3 where you used to have to send one merchant to "compete" and create a hole, but that merchant couldn't take the position then left vacant. So, if you hadn't sent enough merchants to take it, you might have just enabled your rival to take the vacancy. Here, the UK created the vacancy and I filled it.
As for colonization, I generally colonize whether at peace or at war. The National Focus does not have a particular usefulness during wartime, and so my assignment of Focus points doesn't depend on my war/peace status. Where I do have choices is in whether to assign a NF to colonize a higher liferating place now, or do I keep that Focus free (assigned to something else) until I get the tech to go after potentially more valuable territory with lower Liferating?
Yes, this could be a great time to commence a campaign to occupy the Netherlands Indies. Though it will be a campaign full of epic battles, in the end you might manage.
Wait ... what am I saying? Don't attack Holland!
:rofl: Sorry, old boy! I went and did it anyway. But things change later -- you'll see!
No-one can accuse you of being timid...
Your initial moves worked out very well, but that humongous stack in Batavia isn't cooperating. And now it's a race against the clock (or rather, a race to rack up enough war score before French warships and/or troops limit your options). Calling in your allies... I think that's a good move. Assuming that the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese have a way to get troops to the Indies. On the other hand, perhaps the French will go berserk in China and nullify any gains you've made in the Indies that way.
Lots of questions remain. I look forward to their answers.
PS: If the Dutch are using a general whose name matches my forum name, I have serious doubts about their judgment.
Stuyvesant, I always appreciate your thoughtful commentary! That, alone, is a good sign that you're on my side, and not among the enemy. I think you and I were both expecting the French to arrive in the East Indies before... well, let's just say before the present update. I'm even impressed myself that I have been able to keep their transports bottled up near Arabia for so long.Thank you, WinsingtonIII, and Welcome! Glad to hear you've been enjoying for so long. Much more to come!
I promise I will be back to oppose the Ottomans at a later date.
There is alot of naval combat going on outside my vision, I suspect. And that may well be why the French didn't send more warships to break through my blockade. But as you've seen in updates since the British have helped me in at least two battles now (at least after this coming update).
I haven't seen 1.2 yet -- I tend not to upgrade while I'm playing a game in an earlier version. I could segregate the versions, and I do that for beta versions, but haven't bothered with this one. Anyone know how 1.2 changes naval combat, or combat values? For that matter, has anyone heard when 1.3 will likely be out?
Welcome, Dark Jessiah! Glad you're enjoying.
Welcome, WelshDude! Glad you like it, though I'm not sure where you got the idea it wouldn't be continuing. Going strong, still, and should be through completion! Hope you come back to see that! I don't know if I can be called a strategy god.
Lots more better than I, surely, and I don't always follow my own advice, anyway. I make lots of mistakes, too, but I generally use them as instructional tools to teach others what NOT to do! Another wargoal!
Bad boy!
You know, your post made me wonder, "Why DID I do that?!" And as it turns out I didn't do that -- sometimes it's hard for me to know when a screenshot is just "informational" for me (i.e. I was just checking things out) and when it is something I actually took action on. I chose the lower Badboy option, later.
No ! not again... me wantsss to know what happenssss nexssst !
... and congratz on your many victories
Thanks! I hope my every-other-day posting schedule lately keeps you from having to wait too long.
Yeah, I didn't find that guy in my list of generals, but I'll look again!
I was in such a pack of nerds when I was in high school that we went to see the FIVE hour uncut version of Lawrence of Arabia, which just happened to be showing on our graduation night!
I love that movie -- one of my favorites, to be sure. I even wrote T.E. Lawrence into my Fire Warms story, and also did an homage to his charge across the desert at Aqaba (two different scenes from Fire Warms).It was a matter of rotating, resting, reinforcing my troops -- things which the Dutch could not do. Eventually our numbers crossed, and eventually our Organization crossed, so that we were superior in both. That's what won.
Yeah, France is going to be a tough nut. Hmmm...
Thanks! And you've been keeping up with updates, so you probably realize now I didn't actually demand a state -- I went for the cheap "humiliate" option instead. My mistake. More to come!
I've just catched up with this AAR. Great piece of work, Rensslaer! It's so much more interesting than typical conquests of countries which are already considered to be Grand Powers in 1836. I'm waiting for the next updates with great anticipation
Thanks! Welcome, Cybvep! I'm happy to be among the great powers too -- I was hoping to get to show off my skills with Spheres of Influence.
Ahh... Well, it would certainly make sense if that were the case, and hopefully that got fixed before release. I just didn't realize. It's easy enough to test, so I'll try next time I'm playing. Thanks!
The rule is that so long as your peace doesn't cause an end to the war, then you can make a separate peace with a minor partner. That's why I had to add the extra wargoal -- one against the Alliance Leader -- so that the war wouldn't end by the peace. What you say is true, though, of satellites.
All these things are risks and possibilities.
I'll let you wait to see how it happens. Good analysis, though!Try to land in Amsterdam
It's on the table...
Nice handling of the naval side of the war, reckless but effective - except those 4 unescorted transports sunk with troops, almost certainly another no-no in your strategy guide
You seem pretty confident on your chances in Hedjaz against those 84,000 French... I hope you are right!
Thanks! Reckless, yes. You know my risky nature, Aldriq... And that I don't always follow my Strategy Guide advice!
You'll see how Hedjaz turns out in the next update (in an hour or so). Yup. Maybe a little too much to ask, huh? More to come very soon...
I have the update ready, and I'm going to wait probably an hour to post it.
See you then! Thanks again for your readership, and for your kind comments! I appreciate the feedback.
Rensslaer
Nice job defeating the dutchs.
Now you just need beat the frenchs, this will be an easy taks.
Now you just need beat the frenchs, this will be an easy taks.
As 1905 dawned, I won’t say I issued a change in strategy, because we had always intended to rely upon naval power. It’s just that it became more obvious that our survival might hinge upon naval power, whereas at long distances our armies would be of relatively little effect. Absent concerted operation with our navy, anyway.
And so, we chose to research Fire Control Systems, which had the potential to improve our ships’ attack values, through inventions, but primarily because we knew that we would need large numbers of ships to play this naval war of attrition against more advanced enemies.
More ships necessarily meant faster build times. This would help. Ten days didn’t seem like much, compared to the overall build times of these vessels, but this tech was the gateway to other improvements in build time later, which ultimately would work in our favor. This would also be a relatively easy – fast – tech to research, being lower on the tech tree than other options we had.
Meanwhile, in Arabia, things were going south. Our army standing in the gap in the mountains was being savaged. I have no idea how we ended up on the “attack” – that’s frankly impossible, considering what happened. But anyway… The 4 modifier to French attack, plus their overwhelming superiority in Organization, plus their overwhelming (apparently – NOW we find!) superiority in Tactics, was all combining to create a devastating situation for our troops.
At this rate, we had no hope. Quite obviously. What to do?
Immediately, our transport ships, which had already left to go home and pick up new charges, turned around and returned to the debarkation shores to re-embark… when possible.
They were already suffering the ravages of being so far from home without repair or support.
Within the same 24-hour period, two battles ended, one seeming a victory until word of the other came… and brought with it an obvious portent. Preparations had already started to leave the beaches.
But the end of the battle of Jidda – and news of the complete annihilation of the southern army – made everybody sure they would not make it to the ships before an army of incomprehensible power descended upon them.
The French had dangled an offer of “white peace” before us, and it was tempting, now, to take them up on that.
The French descended, in their fury, and again the battle was unevenly matched. Despite the terrain advantage in the mountains of Tabuk, the second battle was the reverse of the first – outnumbered troops at the mercy of the enemy. Nearly 5,000 men were lost in this battle before an opportunity arrived to retreat to the ships, and our army did so as soon as this was possible.
We were leaving Arabia behind. With 16,000 fewer Siamese soldiers to show for it.
At sea, more promise was to be had. Our fleets were tired and tattered, but they were accomplishing their twin mission – to hold the French away from Siam, and to wear their ships down so they would eventually sink. Two French commerce raiders – seemed in imminent danger of destruction and other ships were suffering significant battle damage.
Perhaps more importantly, in the short term, the French fleet had suffered badly in their Organizational losses, and seemed ready to capitulate and turn for home!
A total of 7 French ships were ultimately sunk – some by the hand of the Royal Navy, but certainly with our help – for no losses (in this round of combat) for Siam. Two of those ships were transports – loaded with French troops?
A fleet of ships had thought to sail all the way around the Cape of Good Hope to see if they could attack the French colonial holdings in west Africa. But they began to suffer serious attrition, and their commander thought better of it. Instead, they returned to the island, off Madagascar, of Bourbon. It had a small garrison, but this seemed like the only likely place where victory could be had against French soldiers.
Closer to home, the tedious process of landing upon and capturing all the small islands of the Dutch Empire continued. Siam’s allies had mostly concentrated on Celebes, but they would land elsewhere also. There were just so many islands…. We had finally worked our way to New Guinea, where the Japanese also landed.
By the middle of May, the Dutch had had enough. They agreed to cede the island of Java – their most important colonial possession – to Siam and bring a close to hostilities.
The war with France continued.
The fact that all these ships and troops who had been busy with the Dutch were now free made other options available for them… If we dared.
And so, we chose to research Fire Control Systems, which had the potential to improve our ships’ attack values, through inventions, but primarily because we knew that we would need large numbers of ships to play this naval war of attrition against more advanced enemies.
More ships necessarily meant faster build times. This would help. Ten days didn’t seem like much, compared to the overall build times of these vessels, but this tech was the gateway to other improvements in build time later, which ultimately would work in our favor. This would also be a relatively easy – fast – tech to research, being lower on the tech tree than other options we had.
Meanwhile, in Arabia, things were going south. Our army standing in the gap in the mountains was being savaged. I have no idea how we ended up on the “attack” – that’s frankly impossible, considering what happened. But anyway… The 4 modifier to French attack, plus their overwhelming superiority in Organization, plus their overwhelming (apparently – NOW we find!) superiority in Tactics, was all combining to create a devastating situation for our troops.
At this rate, we had no hope. Quite obviously. What to do?
Immediately, our transport ships, which had already left to go home and pick up new charges, turned around and returned to the debarkation shores to re-embark… when possible.
They were already suffering the ravages of being so far from home without repair or support.
Within the same 24-hour period, two battles ended, one seeming a victory until word of the other came… and brought with it an obvious portent. Preparations had already started to leave the beaches.
But the end of the battle of Jidda – and news of the complete annihilation of the southern army – made everybody sure they would not make it to the ships before an army of incomprehensible power descended upon them.
The French had dangled an offer of “white peace” before us, and it was tempting, now, to take them up on that.
The French descended, in their fury, and again the battle was unevenly matched. Despite the terrain advantage in the mountains of Tabuk, the second battle was the reverse of the first – outnumbered troops at the mercy of the enemy. Nearly 5,000 men were lost in this battle before an opportunity arrived to retreat to the ships, and our army did so as soon as this was possible.
We were leaving Arabia behind. With 16,000 fewer Siamese soldiers to show for it.
At sea, more promise was to be had. Our fleets were tired and tattered, but they were accomplishing their twin mission – to hold the French away from Siam, and to wear their ships down so they would eventually sink. Two French commerce raiders – seemed in imminent danger of destruction and other ships were suffering significant battle damage.
Perhaps more importantly, in the short term, the French fleet had suffered badly in their Organizational losses, and seemed ready to capitulate and turn for home!
A total of 7 French ships were ultimately sunk – some by the hand of the Royal Navy, but certainly with our help – for no losses (in this round of combat) for Siam. Two of those ships were transports – loaded with French troops?
A fleet of ships had thought to sail all the way around the Cape of Good Hope to see if they could attack the French colonial holdings in west Africa. But they began to suffer serious attrition, and their commander thought better of it. Instead, they returned to the island, off Madagascar, of Bourbon. It had a small garrison, but this seemed like the only likely place where victory could be had against French soldiers.
Closer to home, the tedious process of landing upon and capturing all the small islands of the Dutch Empire continued. Siam’s allies had mostly concentrated on Celebes, but they would land elsewhere also. There were just so many islands…. We had finally worked our way to New Guinea, where the Japanese also landed.
By the middle of May, the Dutch had had enough. They agreed to cede the island of Java – their most important colonial possession – to Siam and bring a close to hostilities.
The war with France continued.
The fact that all these ships and troops who had been busy with the Dutch were now free made other options available for them… If we dared.
Excellent peace with the Dutch. That's a fine looking island attached to the Glorious Empire. Now to focus on those French.
In my first year at university, someone had Lawrence of Arabia on, so I watched a few hours of it, and then had to leave for orchestra rehearsal, which was over an hour, maybe two. Then I went back and watched the last hour or so. I'm currently reading Robert Graves' biography of him, which is entertaining.
In my first year at university, someone had Lawrence of Arabia on, so I watched a few hours of it, and then had to leave for orchestra rehearsal, which was over an hour, maybe two. Then I went back and watched the last hour or so. I'm currently reading Robert Graves' biography of him, which is entertaining.
Rensslaer: ...The UK does us a favor in China, taking it away from Russia. .. earning 1 IP every 4 days.
OK, i did not realize that "taking it away from Russia" did not give the SOI to the UK, it only stripped the SOI from Russia ! ! thanks for the info ! !
Rensslaer: ...There are 42,000 troops aboard, bound for French Hedjaz. .. In mid-December, they are landed in two locations. The plan is for one to land against opposition – 16,000 Siamese against 3,000 French entrenched in the mountains. The other army, of 17,000, lands unopposed into the mountains of Jidda.
the lost 9,000 ? ?
Rensslaer: ...Not THAT Aim, anyway. It was just a screenshot of me looking at options.
well, at least you ain't as old as i am - i forget much more than an occasional screenshot ! !
Rensslaer: ...Once the new War Aim is in place, I’m set. We have 37 Warscore against the Dutch alone – better than just 15 against the whole Alliance – and Java only costs 30. They’re still not willing to deal, but they’ll be close soon, as we grab more territory.
OK, so why is not 37 Warscore enough to capture a 30 Warscore province ? ?
Rensslaer: ...By the middle of May, the Dutch had had enough. They agreed to cede the island of Java – their most important colonial possession – to Siam and bring a close to hostilities.
excellent ! !
Rensslaer: ...The war with France continued.
time for a WP ! !
magnificent updates ! !
OK, i did not realize that "taking it away from Russia" did not give the SOI to the UK, it only stripped the SOI from Russia ! ! thanks for the info ! !
Rensslaer: ...There are 42,000 troops aboard, bound for French Hedjaz. .. In mid-December, they are landed in two locations. The plan is for one to land against opposition – 16,000 Siamese against 3,000 French entrenched in the mountains. The other army, of 17,000, lands unopposed into the mountains of Jidda.
the lost 9,000 ? ?
Rensslaer: ...Not THAT Aim, anyway. It was just a screenshot of me looking at options.
well, at least you ain't as old as i am - i forget much more than an occasional screenshot ! !
Rensslaer: ...Once the new War Aim is in place, I’m set. We have 37 Warscore against the Dutch alone – better than just 15 against the whole Alliance – and Java only costs 30. They’re still not willing to deal, but they’ll be close soon, as we grab more territory.
OK, so why is not 37 Warscore enough to capture a 30 Warscore province ? ?
Rensslaer: ...By the middle of May, the Dutch had had enough. They agreed to cede the island of Java – their most important colonial possession – to Siam and bring a close to hostilities.
excellent ! !
Rensslaer: ...The war with France continued.
time for a WP ! !
magnificent updates ! !
Nicely done! I really was completely unaware that you can negotiate a separate peace by adding a war goal to the alliance leader. That's a very useful thing to know, it probably would have helped me out of some tough situations in the past...
Well, your excursion to the sands of Araby was... instructional... Goodness, your troops got pasted!
What does your warscore versus the French look like? How far away are you from humiliating them (well, as far as warscore goes: in land battles you might embarrass them (killing that many Siamese for such low French losses is not cricket, old chap!), but humiliating them seems out of the realm of the possible)? Will you settle for a white peace?
I imagine that you can still go toe-to-toe with the French navy, assuming that they come to the Orient in dribs and drabs (here's hoping the British stay at war with them), but if they ever manage to land a decent-sized army, you're in real trouble.
Let's see how you end this war: on your terms, or theirs?
What does your warscore versus the French look like? How far away are you from humiliating them (well, as far as warscore goes: in land battles you might embarrass them (killing that many Siamese for such low French losses is not cricket, old chap!), but humiliating them seems out of the realm of the possible)? Will you settle for a white peace?
I imagine that you can still go toe-to-toe with the French navy, assuming that they come to the Orient in dribs and drabs (here's hoping the British stay at war with them), but if they ever manage to land a decent-sized army, you're in real trouble.
Let's see how you end this war: on your terms, or theirs?
Henry!!! Is it you, Old Boy? I haven’t seen you in… in an AGE! Reminds me of old times with Lord Greven and Josh. Welcome back, Sir, and Welcome to I Am Siam! An honour to have you!
Rensslaer
_______
The Dutch beaten, they were no longer a significant military force. They no longer ranked among the top 20 countries (in truth, they had not for a while, though they’d been in the top 25), and their military did not include enough brigades or ships to rank among the top 20 there either.
Siam was ranking higher and higher in both respects. The French, though… Good Heaven. Siam’s ships could not compare to theirs, even if we outnumbered them almost 3:1. And 660 brigades??! Granted, they had more territory to defend, and they were spread out, and they were still fighting the British and Prussians, but… They had plenty to go around.
So let’s look at industry in order to take our minds off all that, shall we?
Newly captured Batavia was now Siam’s MOST productive province! Plus, I had her pre-existing industry. I’m not sure – I should know this, but I don’t – what allows the province of Java to immediately become a state despite not having enough Siamese bureaucrats. I’ve seen this elsewhere, later in the game – states that are seemingly the same when captured, but some end up as true states while others remain as colonial states. If someone knows I would appreciate your sharing.
Five of our most profitable provinces were located on the island of Java. Same with four of our most profitable factories! Granted, some of them hadn’t even started to produce yet, and they were STILL among our most profitable factories – such is the lot of an industrializing country.
With the war with the Netherlands complete, the war with France remained. Because of battles won – primarily, presumably, naval battles, though I know not which ones (or perhaps residual effect from having beaten Dutch armies while part of the Alliance??? – I have to admit I don’t know!) – I still have 7% Warscore. But I would require more than twice that to get the French to admit to the Humiliation I’d pledged to serve upon them.
Hmm…
Blockades were out of the question. My fleet was suffering enough after constant battles, and having operated for months at ranges somewhat beyond my allowed naval range (which means, of course, a gradual wearing down of my ships by attrition).
My ships were suffering the ravages of long weeks at sea, away from support. I was losing a few already, which had been damaged by combat enough that they were near lost before the storms hit. But these were generally my weakest ships anyway – the old sailing vessels that had protected me early on, and fought my first wars. They still served – were still too valuable to me to scrap – but they were not a great loss.
Our naval battles which persisted became magnets for fleets that had either won their combats, or happened to be freed from blockade duties in the Dutch Indies.
But naval battles alone would not win the war. More had to be done – offensive thinking was necessary, if I were to win at all. There was always the option of making White Peace, but that was embarrassing, corrosive to Prestige, and I wasn’t quite at the point of admitting defeat yet. More had yet to be tried.
And so I tried it!
I had sent one of my fleets fleeing from battle and around the Cape of Good Hope into the South Atlantic. The intent was to scope out the French colonies along the Gold and Ivory Coasts of Africa. Wait a moment as he travels there, and let’s look at something else meanwhile…
I’ve landed on the island of Bourbon, just off Madagascar. This is the only French possession in the whole Indian Ocean, except for their Indian enclave at Pondicherry.
While my troops hadn’t fared so well against massed French troops in Arabia, I was betting that we might do better against just one brigade in an isolated location. I off-loaded two separate armies, in stages, hoping that if one’s Organization fell too low, I could retrieve them and allow the other to fight on.
On first glance, I’m doing okay, despite the French use of poison gas. A casualty ratio of 21:6 (7:2) gives me even odds of beating him before he beats me. My preponderance should, hopefully, magnify as his troops die off. Combat generally gets worse as you are increasingly outnumbered.
Now, an important thing to note about this battle… Look at the battlefield distribution on the battlefield grid. One brigade per box, only one brigade on the French side, and that one brigade can only fire at one of my units. On the other hand, I know at least one of my cavalry brigades has the Reconnaissance value to fire upon the French brigade, in addition to the unit paired across from it. One or two of my other units may be able to reach, too, depending on their Recon values (which I’m not looking up right now).
Indeed, once I reached the Gold Coast, I find that it is NOT, in fact, undefended – that, in fact, it has a substantial garrison there, which has defeated the British defenders (assuming they existed) and conquered their colony. I go in search of other more vulnerable territories higher up on the coast.
The two naval screenshots incorporated into this shot include a before and after of one of our combats. In the leftmost screen, you see that we and the British are really beating up on the French commerce raiders, which once numbered 8 but are now 6. In the battle resolution on the right, you can see that we sank all 8 ships! Sure, the British did much of the work, but we started wearing them down.
On June 29, we actually SUCCEEDED in destroying the enemy garrison on Bourbon! I believe it was due to a wickedly lopsided die roll during one round of combat which gave us the advantage long enough to cripple them so they couldn’t effectively fight back. I begin to occupy the land – but this is not my first siege upon a French property!
Just days earlier, I’d landed my troops upon the coast of French Guinea, in West Africa. My troops immediately spread out to try to siege more provinces, and to dig into defensive positions, before any Frenchmen could arrive. We’d scouted furtively, and seen no French troops out this way.
Alas….
THERE they are!
They were just hiding behind a bush (province) and weren’t visible from the sea. Me against 33,000 Frenchmen? My odds…. Grr… Plus my ships, necessary to get these guys home, are already starting to sink due to the atrocious Attrition rates.It’s time to throw in the towel, swallow our pride, and accept a moderately humbling -10 Prestige in return for getting out of a war we can’t realistically win. It’s not that the French cannot be beaten, or even that we cannot, necessarily, beat them. It’s that the French have no real vulnerable territories for me to strike. A White Peace is the only answer.
You should make it your priority to humble the French as soon as possible. They're just too powerful.
I would focus on expanding your country in Asia. The next "natural" step would be the conquest of Philippines. However, Spain seems to be a formidable enemy...
Nice work on taking Java for the dutch (sorry, i'm one update late ).
Given the gap still remaining in research between you and the french, you should possibly have waited for them to come to you, having an advanced port for your fleet in the controlled Bourbon (ok, you didn't control it yet, but it wouldn't take too long). Perhaps, you got like me a bit too greedy, given you seem to hold your own against La Royale (nickname even now of the french navy)... at least better than against land gas attacks.
(Wow, am i giving adince on how to beat my homeland ? :wacko:)
).Given the gap still remaining in research between you and the french, you should possibly have waited for them to come to you, having an advanced port for your fleet in the controlled Bourbon (ok, you didn't control it yet, but it wouldn't take too long). Perhaps, you got like me a bit too greedy, given you seem to hold your own against La Royale (nickname even now of the french navy)... at least better than against land gas attacks.
(Wow, am i giving adince on how to beat my homeland ? :wacko:
)
(Wow, am i giving adince on how to beat my homeland ? :wacko:
Well, FlorisdeViejvde was cheering me on against the Dutch! Thanks, Gigau!
re: gigau's advice: I'd be very leery of playing defense against a European power with Gas Attack as long as you can't protect yourself. (More so with 1.2)
Any time you are facing an enemy with a significant numerical and technological land and naval advantage in V2, waiting for them to attack can severely limit your ability to contain them if you lose. The AI likes to keep feeding in troops, which is OK when you're slaughtering them, not so OK if they manage to gain a foothold and seal off a significant part of your country. It would not be impossible that if events turn badly, you might end up with 100 French divisions tromping around - and of course, as a great power, if you become too weak, angry neighbors (Netherlands in 5 years) will take advantage.
Any time you are facing an enemy with a significant numerical and technological land and naval advantage in V2, waiting for them to attack can severely limit your ability to contain them if you lose. The AI likes to keep feeding in troops, which is OK when you're slaughtering them, not so OK if they manage to gain a foothold and seal off a significant part of your country. It would not be impossible that if events turn badly, you might end up with 100 French divisions tromping around - and of course, as a great power, if you become too weak, angry neighbors (Netherlands in 5 years) will take advantage.