EPISODE 01 - In which the Turkish army finds glory in Egypt and a long term strategic dilemma emerges
The Turks have a vassal in Wallachia and a permanent Causus Belli against Persia and the Mamaluks while Russia, Spain and Poland hate me in varying degrees.
My strategy is to launch an immediate war against the Mamaluks before they can gain an alliance to protect themselves. We have potential allies in Crimea, the Hedjaz, Cyrenaica and Aden and we shall invite them all into an alliance.
Leader values are Maneauver/Fire/Shock
Army Values are Infantry/Cavalry/Artillery
January 1492 - General Sinope(3/0/1) moves his 2nd Army(10/10/0) south across the border into Syria. The fleet(65 ships) moves out from Constantinople to take General Sinan(4/2/3) and his 1st Army(35/15/2) to the battlefields while General Bakri's (3/0/1)marches his 3rd Army(15/15/0) overland from Smyrna. We hope for a quick victory.
April 1492 - Sinope takes the unfortified province of Lebanon and links up with newly raised reinforcements before swinging his army(15/12/0) east to meet a Mamaluk army marching north through Syria.
May 1492 - Sinope is victorious against the enemy army(3/0/0) and he waits in Syria for General Bakri to arrive.
June 1492 - Bakri and Sinope's combined armies(29/27/0) defeat a Mamaluk relief force(5) and take the Syrian fort from its 5,000 defenders. The enemy offers a White Peace which is summarily rejected. The main Mamaluk army(10/20/1) is moving northwest through Judea so Bakri's army(29/27/0)waits and reorganises his troops.
July 1492 - Bakri completely annihilates the enemy army for the cost of (4/2/0)before marching on Judea. This overwhelming victory is reinforced by news that Sinan's force(35/15/2) is amphibiously landing at the Mamaluk capital of Egypt.
August 1492 - The 5,000 man Egypt garrison is put to the sword as is the relief force(2/0/0) that appears from the south. Bakri has similar success in Judea, Sumaria and Sinai.
September to November 1492 - Bakri storms through the eastern provinces, scattering small(2-3,000) relief forces while Sinan does the same in the west. The single Mamluk ship that escaped the devastation of Alexandria watches forlornly from the Gulf of Tobruk.
December 1492 - The Mamaluks offer Alexandria and Judea and Syria plus 250 to end the war, but our Monarch Beyezid II has a mind to try for complete annexation. The Mamaluks have ten provinces so it will be an enormous victory if we can do it.
February 1493 - Tunisia invites us to a Royal Marriage. We accept, and promted by their example, successfully offer a military alliance to Crimea and the Hedjaz.
March 1493 - The Mamaluks are completely conquered, but our last Diplomat has not returned from the Hedjaz, so we must wait for a mont or two before offering Peace.
March 1493 - The peasants in Nussaybin(7)[one of Turkey's home provinces... north of Syria] revolt and Bakri begins the long march north to pacify the province.
June 1493 - No diplomats yet! The Mamaluks, apparently puzzled by our lack of paperwork offer us . Alexandria and the Delta. We refuse and wait for a Diplomat.
July 1493 - Bakri's force(6/17/0) moves on the rebels(7) and restores peace in Nussaybin.
August 1493 - A Diplomat appears and the Mamaluks agree to be annexed. Next stop, Portugal! General Sinan's 1st Army(14/9/0) will stay in Egypt to maintain order. We note that Persia has an army of 45,000 in the province of Kars(bordering Nussaybin). They are also increasing the fortress there. General Bakri's 3rd Army(6/18/0) will stay in Nussaybin is case the Persian's get restless. We take the opportunity to balance the budget and the Navy is put on half-rations. Investment in Infrastructure is the current strategy and we begin promoting Bailiffs.
October 1493 - The Hedjaz propose a Royal marriage and we accept.
January 1495 - General Ibrahim(3/2/3) appears in Thrace and is seconded to the 3rd Army in Nussaybin. The Persians hate us(-200) and have a permanent Causus Belli against our fair land. They also have a military alliance with Venice so we must move carefully.
October 1495 - Nussaybin(1) revolts and is crushed by the 3rd Army(6/17/0) under the recently arrived General Ibrahim. Our prophets tell us that this province will feature in many bulletins before 1792 arrives.
December 1495 - A random event tells local businessmen to gift 200 to the state. Four new Bailiffs are promoted.
June 1496 - In a carefully orchestrated plan the peasant of Nussaybin(10/3/0) revolt and distract Ibrahim's 3rd Army(6/17/0) while Iraq declares war on us. Ibrahim is equal to the task and suppresses the revolt while General Sinan(4/2/3) leaves General Karim(3/0/1) with the 1st Army(13/9/0) in Egypt and rides hard for the Iraqi border. A Bank loan is arranged and reinforcements(15/2/2) are gathered from the surrounding provinces. The Hedjaz honour their alliance with us but Crimea betrays their promises and stay neutral.
July 1496 - An Iraqi army under their General Sharif (13/5/0) crosses into Syria. and meets Ibrahim moving south from Nussaybin. The Iraqis lose 11/5/0 and retreat. Ibrahim loses 5/1/0 but follows the enemy into their homeland province of Kirkuk.
August 1496 - Kleves declares war on Hessen. (We had thought that the rest of Europe was asleep). Ibrahim's army(1/16/0) chooses not to beseige the enemy fort since cavalry are useless in such battles, but settles down to a seige and to wait for General Sinan and reinforcements.
September 1496 - Sharif skirmishes with Ibrahim in Kirkuk and loses another 1,000 men before retreating to Syria where he is destroyed by the newly arrived General Sinan.
October 1496 - Venice and Persia declares war on us. We send an immediate offer of a Staus Quo peace(no tribute to either side). It is rejected by Venice but acceptedc by Persia. Naval maintenence is increased to 100% and the fleet prepares to sail if the Venetians appear off our coastline.
November 1496 - Nussaybin revolts(10/3) but they are suppressed by the 2 artillery that we had built there. GENERAL NOTE TO ALL NEW PLAYERS: The smallest garrison army can suppress almost any size revolt in the province it currently occupies.
December 1496 - The attritionin Kirkuk is eating away my combined armies(13/15/0) so they are ordered to assault the fort. Venice takes Kosovo. We are out of funds, but the January tax receipts should allow us to garrison Constantinople.
January 1497 - 30,000 Venetian troops move into Constantinople. They moved faster than we expected. We offer Kosovo to Venice in exchange for peace and they accept. A new army(8/3/2) is built in Bulgaria to prepare for the next war in the Balkans. Kirkuk falls to our armies and we move on the Iraqi capital.
February 1497 - The Iraqi capital has a huge garrison(15/0/3)and we decide to offer a peace, asking for just Kirkuk rather than complete annexation. It is rejected. We prepare for a long war by diverting all income to Treasury in order to buy troops. Hessen ends her war by annexing Kleves.
March 1497 - A Venetian fleet(35) sails past Judea and the Persians are building troops on our border. We must destroy Iraq quickly. Reinforcements(0/0/2) are built in Syria.
August 1497 - 15,000 Hedjaz troops join the seige of Iraq. We decide to assault but the assault fails.
September 1497 - The Treaty of Tordesillas is signed.
November 1497 - A second assault succeeds and we take Kirkuk and 45 gold from Iraq (annexation wasn't an option). Ibrahim occupies Kirkuk and Sinan goes to Bulgaria to prepare for the next war with Venice.
The strategic dilemma is that Persia and Venice are allied so Turkey is faced with a two front war. Both of these neighbours have territorial depth so victory over either will be difficult. Perhaps we need to seduce one of them away from the other with gifts, but to do so would seriously disrupt our plans for economic development. The dilemma of War on Two Fronts...
VICTORY POINTS:
Spain 143
Turkey 88
Portugal 65
The Hedjaz 56
Poland 34
Hessen 30
Helvetia 27
(Venice is not mentioned)
The Turks have a vassal in Wallachia and a permanent Causus Belli against Persia and the Mamaluks while Russia, Spain and Poland hate me in varying degrees.
My strategy is to launch an immediate war against the Mamaluks before they can gain an alliance to protect themselves. We have potential allies in Crimea, the Hedjaz, Cyrenaica and Aden and we shall invite them all into an alliance.
Leader values are Maneauver/Fire/Shock
Army Values are Infantry/Cavalry/Artillery
January 1492 - General Sinope(3/0/1) moves his 2nd Army(10/10/0) south across the border into Syria. The fleet(65 ships) moves out from Constantinople to take General Sinan(4/2/3) and his 1st Army(35/15/2) to the battlefields while General Bakri's (3/0/1)marches his 3rd Army(15/15/0) overland from Smyrna. We hope for a quick victory.
April 1492 - Sinope takes the unfortified province of Lebanon and links up with newly raised reinforcements before swinging his army(15/12/0) east to meet a Mamaluk army marching north through Syria.
May 1492 - Sinope is victorious against the enemy army(3/0/0) and he waits in Syria for General Bakri to arrive.
June 1492 - Bakri and Sinope's combined armies(29/27/0) defeat a Mamaluk relief force(5) and take the Syrian fort from its 5,000 defenders. The enemy offers a White Peace which is summarily rejected. The main Mamaluk army(10/20/1) is moving northwest through Judea so Bakri's army(29/27/0)waits and reorganises his troops.
July 1492 - Bakri completely annihilates the enemy army for the cost of (4/2/0)before marching on Judea. This overwhelming victory is reinforced by news that Sinan's force(35/15/2) is amphibiously landing at the Mamaluk capital of Egypt.
August 1492 - The 5,000 man Egypt garrison is put to the sword as is the relief force(2/0/0) that appears from the south. Bakri has similar success in Judea, Sumaria and Sinai.
September to November 1492 - Bakri storms through the eastern provinces, scattering small(2-3,000) relief forces while Sinan does the same in the west. The single Mamluk ship that escaped the devastation of Alexandria watches forlornly from the Gulf of Tobruk.
December 1492 - The Mamaluks offer Alexandria and Judea and Syria plus 250 to end the war, but our Monarch Beyezid II has a mind to try for complete annexation. The Mamaluks have ten provinces so it will be an enormous victory if we can do it.
February 1493 - Tunisia invites us to a Royal Marriage. We accept, and promted by their example, successfully offer a military alliance to Crimea and the Hedjaz.
March 1493 - The Mamaluks are completely conquered, but our last Diplomat has not returned from the Hedjaz, so we must wait for a mont or two before offering Peace.
March 1493 - The peasants in Nussaybin(7)[one of Turkey's home provinces... north of Syria] revolt and Bakri begins the long march north to pacify the province.
June 1493 - No diplomats yet! The Mamaluks, apparently puzzled by our lack of paperwork offer us . Alexandria and the Delta. We refuse and wait for a Diplomat.
July 1493 - Bakri's force(6/17/0) moves on the rebels(7) and restores peace in Nussaybin.
August 1493 - A Diplomat appears and the Mamaluks agree to be annexed. Next stop, Portugal! General Sinan's 1st Army(14/9/0) will stay in Egypt to maintain order. We note that Persia has an army of 45,000 in the province of Kars(bordering Nussaybin). They are also increasing the fortress there. General Bakri's 3rd Army(6/18/0) will stay in Nussaybin is case the Persian's get restless. We take the opportunity to balance the budget and the Navy is put on half-rations. Investment in Infrastructure is the current strategy and we begin promoting Bailiffs.
October 1493 - The Hedjaz propose a Royal marriage and we accept.
January 1495 - General Ibrahim(3/2/3) appears in Thrace and is seconded to the 3rd Army in Nussaybin. The Persians hate us(-200) and have a permanent Causus Belli against our fair land. They also have a military alliance with Venice so we must move carefully.
October 1495 - Nussaybin(1) revolts and is crushed by the 3rd Army(6/17/0) under the recently arrived General Ibrahim. Our prophets tell us that this province will feature in many bulletins before 1792 arrives.
December 1495 - A random event tells local businessmen to gift 200 to the state. Four new Bailiffs are promoted.
June 1496 - In a carefully orchestrated plan the peasant of Nussaybin(10/3/0) revolt and distract Ibrahim's 3rd Army(6/17/0) while Iraq declares war on us. Ibrahim is equal to the task and suppresses the revolt while General Sinan(4/2/3) leaves General Karim(3/0/1) with the 1st Army(13/9/0) in Egypt and rides hard for the Iraqi border. A Bank loan is arranged and reinforcements(15/2/2) are gathered from the surrounding provinces. The Hedjaz honour their alliance with us but Crimea betrays their promises and stay neutral.
July 1496 - An Iraqi army under their General Sharif (13/5/0) crosses into Syria. and meets Ibrahim moving south from Nussaybin. The Iraqis lose 11/5/0 and retreat. Ibrahim loses 5/1/0 but follows the enemy into their homeland province of Kirkuk.
August 1496 - Kleves declares war on Hessen. (We had thought that the rest of Europe was asleep). Ibrahim's army(1/16/0) chooses not to beseige the enemy fort since cavalry are useless in such battles, but settles down to a seige and to wait for General Sinan and reinforcements.
September 1496 - Sharif skirmishes with Ibrahim in Kirkuk and loses another 1,000 men before retreating to Syria where he is destroyed by the newly arrived General Sinan.
October 1496 - Venice and Persia declares war on us. We send an immediate offer of a Staus Quo peace(no tribute to either side). It is rejected by Venice but acceptedc by Persia. Naval maintenence is increased to 100% and the fleet prepares to sail if the Venetians appear off our coastline.
November 1496 - Nussaybin revolts(10/3) but they are suppressed by the 2 artillery that we had built there. GENERAL NOTE TO ALL NEW PLAYERS: The smallest garrison army can suppress almost any size revolt in the province it currently occupies.
December 1496 - The attritionin Kirkuk is eating away my combined armies(13/15/0) so they are ordered to assault the fort. Venice takes Kosovo. We are out of funds, but the January tax receipts should allow us to garrison Constantinople.
January 1497 - 30,000 Venetian troops move into Constantinople. They moved faster than we expected. We offer Kosovo to Venice in exchange for peace and they accept. A new army(8/3/2) is built in Bulgaria to prepare for the next war in the Balkans. Kirkuk falls to our armies and we move on the Iraqi capital.
February 1497 - The Iraqi capital has a huge garrison(15/0/3)and we decide to offer a peace, asking for just Kirkuk rather than complete annexation. It is rejected. We prepare for a long war by diverting all income to Treasury in order to buy troops. Hessen ends her war by annexing Kleves.
March 1497 - A Venetian fleet(35) sails past Judea and the Persians are building troops on our border. We must destroy Iraq quickly. Reinforcements(0/0/2) are built in Syria.
August 1497 - 15,000 Hedjaz troops join the seige of Iraq. We decide to assault but the assault fails.
September 1497 - The Treaty of Tordesillas is signed.
November 1497 - A second assault succeeds and we take Kirkuk and 45 gold from Iraq (annexation wasn't an option). Ibrahim occupies Kirkuk and Sinan goes to Bulgaria to prepare for the next war with Venice.
The strategic dilemma is that Persia and Venice are allied so Turkey is faced with a two front war. Both of these neighbours have territorial depth so victory over either will be difficult. Perhaps we need to seduce one of them away from the other with gifts, but to do so would seriously disrupt our plans for economic development. The dilemma of War on Two Fronts...
VICTORY POINTS:
Spain 143
Turkey 88
Portugal 65
The Hedjaz 56
Poland 34
Hessen 30
Helvetia 27
(Venice is not mentioned)