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Because Iraq at the 1836 start has no army whatsoever and is flanked by Persia and Egypt; the latter of which has attacked me in every single 1836 game I have ever tried to play. Iraq at the 1861 start has a friendly OE on it's left instead of a hostile Egypt; and starts with a decent-ish army with the capacity to build new units.
I was going to type 'A promising start', and it is in terms of writing and so forth, but for Iraq itself a most daunting start. Surrounded on most sides by larger nations more than capable of polishing her off, the economy struggling and her armed forces far from brilliant (although not dreadful either in comparison to some within the region), this is certainly going to be tough. Good luck and I'm looking forward to following this!
Tariq and the Sword of God: into Arabia, 1861-1865
In August of 1861, HH the Amir held a conference on on of his estates in Mosul to discuss the 'Bedouin Question' with his top aides and generals. It had come to Amir Baqi's attention that most Arabs were trapped in Egypt and the Ottoman Empire; with there being only small Arab minorities in the majority-Bedouin nations of Abu Dhabi, Nejd, etc. The question at hand was whether Bedouins were close enough to Arabs to attempt to 'bring them into the fold'. Whilst the Amir personally approved of such a tactic; he had decided it was necessary to consult the military leaders who would be commanding any prospective operations. Khalid al-Baghdadi, soon-to-be commander of the First Army after it was restructured, opposed the plan due to Iraq's current military weakness and from his noted distaste for Pan-Arabism. Other military advisors agreed with al-Baghdadi and recommended that the army be completely finished restructuring before any attack was launched.
The Amir acquiesced to their recommendations and also agreed to avoid a potentially disastrous war with Persia by not striking at their ally of Nejd; but instead going for those states ringing Nejd so as to be able to encircle and destroy her when the time was right. To this end, some of the Amirs most skilled diplomats were sent to treat with Nejd. The cadet branch of the Hashemites who had ruled Iraq under Ottoman suzerainty had fled to the nation after having been ejected by Baqi during his soldier days; and had influenced their relatives -especially the Sultan, Amal Hafiz- in their anti-Iraqi policies, and so the negotiations were fraught with mutual distrust and tension. However on September 22nd, over a month after the Mosul Conference, the Foreign Minister received a report from Riyadh: Nejd had finally agreed to a military alliance.
Some time after the end of 1861 the First Army was completely modernised with well-trained infantry replacing the irregulars and cavalrymen of earlier times and General al-Baghdadi place in commend; whilst another unit of infantry was undergoing training in Kirkuk. The Amir's plan of dismantling the army and remolding it in his own modern visage was progressing well. During the War of Independence, many of the Arab Freedom Brigades had been Ottoman units in Iraq that joined the popular revolution sparked by the assassination of Prince Taj, son of the Hashemite Emir. Trained and equipped with only the most modern technology as befitting a Great Power such as the Ottomans, only their determination -according to the Amir- had allowed the War to succeed and for his own Brigade to seize Baghdad. However he never forgot the marvelous efficiency and skill of those modern regiments; and was determined to replicate them as best he could.
And so in his wisdom, His Sultanic Majesty soon ordered a general recruitment drive in the capital city, a massive propaganda campaign to promote the lifestyle and glory in becoming a 'Soldier for Arabia'. Although the campaign draw sharp criticism from the substantially-Kurdish northern provinces of the country for it's Arabic pan-nationalist stance and grumbling from those who preferred to look to Iraq's Babylonian past rather than to an Arabian future; it was an undisputed success for the Amir and his policies. Men signed up in droves and nearly 10% of Baghdad's total population either signed up for active duty or for the reserves to replenish depleted units in future wars.
On May 12th, a shot rang out in Nasiriyya. An elderly man bedecked in silks fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and screaming in pain, as Hameed Tawfiq hurled his military-issue musket away from him and ran madly through the crowd. The man was Nadir Sulaiman, personal friend of the Amir and Grand Mufti of Iraq; supreme religious authority for the Sunni majority in Iraq. The incident sparked riots in cities across the Emirate and the deaths of hundreds of Shi'ites. Rebels agitating for the return of the Hashemites and of Ottoman tradition broke out in Baghdad, Mosul, and Kuwait; before being savagely put down by the new First and Second Armies. The Amir soon had the situation under control, but Tawfiq had already fled to Abu Dhabi which was refusing to extradite him. The freeze in relations between the two nations, and the general infeasibility of moving extraction troops through Nejd lead to the Amir being pressed to develop a navy for Iraq.
Under the aegis of Jamshid Shapur, a Persian shipwright who had fled his native land after managing to achieve the dream of every Persian man and sleep with the beautiful daughter of the Shah, the construction of a clipper each was began in the coastal cities of Basra and Kuwait both in an attempt to hedge the Persian hegemony over the Straits of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea. Soon Iraq would be able to move her troops anywhere in the world; setting the stage for conquest on a global scale.
The Iraqi Military, July 1862
1862 had been a year of much excitement; from the alliance with Nejd to the assassination of the Grand Mufti and the military expansions on land and by sea. The newly assembled Upper House for 1863 showed a marked shift from the Conservative faction that supports the Amir's pan-Arabism to the more Ottoman-leaning, reactionary Hashemite faction. The Liberals who advocated looking to the roots of Iraqi history stayed static; as did the small Anarcho-Liberal minority. The 'Soldiers for Arabia' campaign was still bringing in recruits for the Iraqi military whilst the Iraqi navy had just recently sprung into being; with Jamshid having been promoted to the status of 'Shipwright to His Sultanic Majesty' and enjoyed the benefits of status, political asylum, and a hefty government paycheck as two more Clippers were slated for their maiden voyage by the end of the month.
By the last months of 1863, the Amir decided it was time. After convoking another conference at his Mosul estate; Amir Baqi spent sever days in late August discussing recent military developments and the capacity of the Iraqi army for war with the nation of Abu Dhabi. The Mosul Conference of 1861 had settled the ideological question of welcoming Bedouins into the nucleus for a Arabic state in the mind of the Amir, but several more hardline Pan-Arab advisors remained staunchly unconvinced and spoke against it; much to the displeasure of the Amir. Others from the Liberal faction spoke against it in favour of breaking the Alliance with Nejd and going for Nejdi Kaf instead.
Whatever the ideological quibbles however, one fact remained: if the Amir so desired, Iraqi troops would be in Dubai as soon as there was a reason; and they had ample resources to do so. The Iraqi Army had a standing number of 18,000 troops, twice the number of Abu Dhabian troops at their highest reinforced strength of 9,00 men; and the newly-appointed Admiral ibn Khalid gave his utmost assurances to the Amir that the Royal Navy could not only transport the troops to the theatre of battle but could effectively fight off the Abu Dhabian naval forces in addition to blockading the little fellow Emirate from the Persian Gulf and Straits of Hormuz. Strategically speaking Abu Dhabi would be an invaluable resource for Iraq. Besides additional provinces in which to raise troops, the various ports that would be won would be an excellent base for colonial expeditions in Southeast Asia and would also guarantee virtual control over the Arabian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. The fact that a conquered Dhabi would be an excellent base to launch an invasion into the very heart of Nejd.
The matter was sealed. The Foreign Ministry was given orders to start manufacturing a casus belli against the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
A little over a month later, the Foreign Minister was executed on charges of high treason and the entire Foreign Ministry was sacked. And burned. A slip in the paperwork lead to the justification process having been exposed by a Persian newspaper. This lead to significant repercussions concerning Iraq's status and reputation amongst the international community. Already being viewed by many as a warmonger, it would be quite a while until Iraq could safely afford to attempt to conduct a war other than that with Abu Dhabi. The Iraqi government strenuously denied any accusations of fabrication or warmongering; stating that is was instead Abu Dhabi who was the danger. Any nation who would willingly harbour and refuse to extradite a terrorist as Hameed Tawfiq could not, surely, be considered as anything other than a menace to world peace?
This satisfied the international community as a whole; especially after the Amir himself personally released a statement, addressing concerns by the Ottoman Empire, that Iraq wished only wished to extradite Tawfiq, and would then return him to Iraq for a fair trial. Many nations were not placated by this explanation; but by and large it was a dodged bullet. Iraq managed to keep justifying its war to lessen the blow once war was declared, and it avoided the heinous wars of containment that could be visited upon a nation that -in the eyes of the civilised powers of the world- had gone too far.
Almost within a week of the now-infamous "Nashwa Incident" (so named because the fabrication that lead to Iraq being discovered; ie. the fictional sinking of an Iraqi fishing boat named the Nashwa by Abu Dhabian guns) the Bureau of Information accidentally leaked a report from an 'Iraqi official' in Abu Dhabi claiming that a spy from within the government of Abu Dhabi had in turn leaked to him information indicating an impending assault on the Iraqi port of Basra in an attempt to secure the fertile Kuwait region.
The Iraqi public was whipped into a fierce jingoistic frenzy by such outrageous plotting; and especially by further unfortunately leaked reports detailing the princely life being lived by Hameed Tawfiq in Dubai with tales of royal titles bestowed by the Emir and lavish dinners being held to fete the Shi'ite terrorist. With the public baying for Dhabian blood, the job of the Bureau of Information was made much easier. Now coming out strongly in favour of a war with Abu Dhabi in the first place the public wouldn't care to look to hard at any justification for war. Work could progress much, much faster and 1863 slipped quickly into the past.
The Iraqi Military, January 1864
It is dangerous to wake an Amir from his sleep; but some brave nameless soul had the temerity to wake up Adam Baqi, Amir of Iraq from his sleep on the evening of April 11th, 1864. While being furiously strangled by said Amir the servant managed to burble out that Foreign Minister Iskander just reported that the Foreign Ministry had completed the justification of war with Abu Dhabi. Amir Baqi graciously ceased strangling the man and instead handed him over to the professional strangler kept in-house for such purposes as a concession to the Hashemite faction. The parties, drunkenness, and wanton harlotry lasted for several days before it was time to get down to business.
The 2nd and 5th Armies were both stationed in Kuwait at this time, under the commands of Shukri al-Bagdadhi, twin of the esteemed General Khalid al-Baghdadi, and Yusuf al-Basri respectively. Due to a falling out between the two and troubles with getting the troops on their transports Iraq was still not quite ready for war yet; but when she was the Dhabians would know it.
Forwards, men of Iraq! Forwards for Arabia!
On May 10th 1864, war was formally declared upon the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in retribution for harbouring a know terrorist and multitudinous other sins and crimes against the Iraqi people. There was jubilation in the streets of Mosul and Baghdad, and crowds of thousands crowded into Kuwait and Basra to see off the brave 12,000 Iraqis who were about to give their lives for their Amir, their nation, and the Arab people. It was a bold preemptive strike against a crafty and dangerous foe; but the people knew they could pull it off.
Operation Tariq, the military codename for the invasion, swung into action with the advance into the province of Abu Dhabi. The 2nd and 5th Armies had consolidated into the 4th Army, and the entirety of the Operation placed under the direct command of Shukri al-Baghdadi (by express order of the new Chief of Staff in Mosul, Khalid al-Baghdadi) for Phase Qurṭubah. The Abu Dhabian army had entrenched itself in a defensive position within their capital of, oddly enough, Abu Dhabi; no doubt hoping to end the offensive before it began.
Phase Qurṭubah, named after the famous city from the heyday of Islamic Spain, initially involved occupying the outlying provinces of Doha and Bahrain and establish beachheads there in case further reinforcements were needed from Iraq. However, realising that the attrition involved in occupying even those minor provinces would cause the invasion force to suffer from attrition; al-Baghdadi instead ordered that the 4th, led into battle by him personally, would beach at Abu Dhabi and immediately engage the main force.
The Battle of Abu Dhabi was the most important battle of the entire war; with nearly 3,000 Iraqi soldiers perishing in the face of staunch Dhabian resistance within merely the first few days of pitch battle. Ultimately, however, luck and skill was with Iraq. The vastly larger 4th Army quickly overwhelms the Abu Dhabians even in the face of mass casualties and eventually managed to force a retreat into Dubai.
Flight through the Desert, October 1864
Reports of two major victories filtered into the General Staff HQ in Mosul by December; the only two battles of Operation Tariq having been won decisively. The Battle of Abu Dhabi was regarded to be more of a Pyrrhic victory than the great victory that al-Baghdadi himself regarded it; the casualty lists being nearly equal in proportion and severity and wiping out a good third of the invasion force.
Abu Dhabian forces were routed and forced into Dubhai, where the Abu Dhabians were overwhelmed and forced to surrender. Jubilant celebrations breaking out in the streets, Mosul ordered that Phase Ghirnaṭah be undertaken immediately. A base of operations was established in Dubai and occupation forces branched throughout the Emirate and began besieging the provinces of Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Bahrain. Abu Dhabi lay prostate before the Iraqi Dragon. Now all she had to do was finish off the body.
A little spasm...
Victory! Abu Dhabi, now fully beaten and occupied by Iraq forces, capitulates to the Amir in the first days of August. The Amir makes a rare public appearance in the streets of Baghdad; to wild adoration and jubilation from the people. Thousands of new citizens added to the Emirate, an excellent base of naval operations with four ports and allowing Iraq unprecedented access to Southeast Asia and the rest of the world and giving her the opportunity to build into the premier naval power of the Middle East. Times are bright for the Iraqi people; and Arabia sleeps, awaiting liberation by the Sword of God.
The Emirate of Iraq, 1866
Thanks kindly. And it is indeed a challenging start, but I'm hoping that with the new Dhabian acquisitions that I've attained some small security in the fractious and dangerous world of Middle Eastern. Luckily I have some pretty decent generals but I'm pretty sure it's going to take a awhile to recover after this latest excursion. Hopefully I can raise some Bedouin units but it's going to take forever and a day for my pops to recover.
Thanks! I hope it ends up going somewhere good.
Consider me subbed, your highness 
and thanks for letting my vote count.
Abu Dhabi is always nice to have for an unciv as they are the most literate dudes in the middle east.
I don't know if starting in 1861 makes this easier or harder, but how far is your westnization progress at start?
and thanks for letting my vote count.Abu Dhabi is always nice to have for an unciv as they are the most literate dudes in the middle east.
I don't know if starting in 1861 makes this easier or harder, but how far is your westnization progress at start?
That's a good point. We need a Westernized Iraq as soon as possible, both to start Researching what you need to rebuild the Tower of Babel and to make the most of your limited population.
What's the game plan for Westernizing?
P.S. Yemen and Oman still with any bigger countries protection?
What's the game plan for Westernizing?
P.S. Yemen and Oman still with any bigger countries protection?
Welcome to the Babylonian gala! And it would have been quite unfair of me to discount a vote that is only minutes past the deadline. Iraq starts with no Westernisation progress at either the 1836 or 1861 start dates.Consider me subbed, your highness
Abu Dhabi is always nice to have for an unciv as they are the most literate dudes in the middle east.
I don't know if starting in 1861 makes this easier or harder, but how far is your westnization progress at start?
Precisely so. Currently my only course of action beyond conquering other nations to add their literacy to my own is to promote Clergy pops in Baghdad; which is my most populous state. I've already enact Foreign Military Training; and I'm saving my points for something even bigger. Yemen and Oman are actually allied with me in preparation for a strike to seize Nejdi Kaf; but after their usefulness is run out they will become the next target. Little wary about a border with Portugal, though...
I shall! Welcome to my humble AAR!
Well gentleman, I apologise for the delay. The words just aren't flowing. I swear on the River Styx that I will present a completed update tomorrow. Apologies.
Peace in the Desert: the Interwar Period, 1866-1870
On May 18th, 1866; a British archaeological team headed by noted Egyptologist Richard Carver discovered the tomb of the fabled Egyptian boy-king Tutankhamen. It was widely hailed as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the century; and British ambassadors were invited to be feted at a banquet in Mosul. The Amir's Hashemite detractors accused His Majesty of attempting to lure British 'barbarians' into the country; but they were swiftly silenced.
In any case, the gambit for influence failed disastrously; highly damaging the prestige of the Amir and his ever-more-tenuous hold on the growing power of the petty nobility. The British were famous amongst the uncivilised nations of the world for their generosity in visiting local kings and chiefs and showering them with gifts. An alliance with such a power was considered to be the ultimate boon and to be denied even the chance to fete the Englishmen was a major embarrassment. With malicious glee, a Persian newspaper somehow got a hold of 'a diary account' of the British Ambassador to Persia's thoughts on the matter: 'Iraq, even basking in their recent triumph, is an uncivilised hole. No useful Petroleum or other such things and no refinement beyond the barbaric glory of their Ameer.' Iraqi newspapers in turn furiously declaimed the diary account as a forgry and fraud; but the damage was already done. The Amir withdrew to his estates in Mosul and refused to leave.
In July, the Soldiers for Arabia campaign was ended by order of Amir Baqi. In this period of peace it was decided that, especially with a fully trained and up-to-date military, the further training of soldiers was superfluous. Instead it was ordered that the 'Word of Allah' campaign be undertaken; promoting the idea of young people stepping up and going into training as an imam.
The campaign was rather lacklustre due to lacking the energies of the reclusive Amir, however there was a noted increase in students signing up for the local madrasa. The resulting increase in imams, or at the very least those who could read decent Arabic, boosted local literacy in the entire region of Rutbah. The Amir, though taken ill, was able to restore some of his respect by inviting the new intelligentsia to a Western-style symposium at his estate in Mosul; which he rarely left by this point. The symposium went off without a hitch; with the topics at hand ranging from Islamic law to Arabian nationalism and attracting imams from not only Baghdad, but from all over the Arabian peninsula. Iraq was soon regarded as the intellectual powerhouse of the Middle East.
By September the long period of peace was used to make in an instrument of war. When discussing prospective plans for the eventual invasion of Njd, one pervasive fear was that Persia would side with Nejd and invade from the north whilst Iraqi units were busy in the south; and the stunning quantity of troops that could be mustered by the Shahanshah was a constant worry. There needed to be a fortified point of retreat that the forces of the Amir could fall back to if needed.
And so construction on the fort began. Petty nobles from the north, traders and leftover Turkish pashas from Mosul to Arbil attempted to have it built in the north to protect their interests and fend off the always-hovering menace of the Persian Lion; however it was eventually decided that the fort be built in the capital of Baghdad. A central location in the middle of Iraq proper; it would be an excellent fallback position for all armies and would be a point of attack where enemy units were doomed to fail against superior Iraqi infantry combined with the might of the fortress. Money was earmarked for a later string of fortifications up in the north and the matter put to rest.
In mid-December, as 1867 drew to a close, the Amir managed to pull of a major coup that would assure the place of Iraq as the region's military powerhouse in all aspects; not just as a naval power. At exorbitant costs which would hamper the Iraqi economy for years to come the newest acquisition in the Amir's Palace was a group of disgraced Portuguese army officers who agreed to supervise and assist with the training of the Iraqi military. A mad gleam of tactics, strategy, and order of battle soon became evident in the eyes of the Amir and Octávio Toninho soon found himself with a fine government pension and lush estates in Basra while Noé Francisco found himself Governor of Doha, etc.
To the credit of the disgraced drunks who now commanded considerable power and influence in the Emirate of Iraq, the Iraqi Army was indeed modernised under their instruction and reforms. Although the other powers in the region, particularly Persia, were already experimenting with foreign reforms and attempts at westernisation; Iraq could safely assume military supremacy against her immediate enemies: The states of the Arabian Peninsula. Soon Oman would fall, then Yemen, then finally the Nejdi Kaf region would be wrenched from the perfidious hands of the Hashemites. It was only a matter of time.
1868 passed utterly without incident.
Nearly two years after it was commissioned, the grandly-named Bastion for the Defense of the Emirate was completed. With the Portuguese and a very bored British officer in attendance it was one of the grandest events in Iraqi history and was celebrated with a masquerade ball afterwards. Although no units were directed to take up residence and garrison there, it was regarded by all as a valuable point in the event of an attack on Iraq.
From that point on, until 1870, very little of note happened beyond the Prussians nabbing the Danish West Indies; which the Foreign Office found to be inexplicably important.
I'm sorry it was so boring and so long to get posted, I really am. I promise all my faithful readers an exciting new war come the next update; but it is 1:24 AM here and I need rest if I am to conduct a successful war tomorrow.
A-O
A-O
Soon, the Portuguese will send only their greatest men to bow before the mighty Babylonian Empire!
How far along are your neighbors, in terms of westernizing?
How far along are your neighbors, in terms of westernizing?
Indeed they shall! The Portuguese will grovel before the Throne of Marduk.
Persia is Partially Westernised, but everyone else is still ass-backwards.
Lots of excitement in this next update.
Most certainly a highlight of the last two updates!
Very good stuff, gaining Abu Dhabi useful and the period of peace following these gains will have allowed for you to strengthen Iraq generally. This just as well considering your mention of an exciting war in the next update!
I'm going to take a short break for Christmas. Expect the update on Thursday. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
This will not be easy; it might not even be possible... The 1861 starting date offers two very significant disadvantages to "backward" countries: all starting literacy levels and all (or just most?) starting westernization levels are the same as in 1836, even though there's only 3/4's of the game left to play. Iraq would be lucky to westernize before the 20th century (unless my calculations are off), and by then the GPs have such high scores that it's very difficult to break into their exclusive club.
Still, that just makes it more interesting to see someone try it!
Still, that just makes it more interesting to see someone try it!
This will not be easy; it might not even be possible... The 1861 starting date offers two very significant disadvantages to "backward" countries: all starting literacy levels and all (or just most?) starting westernization levels are the same as in 1836, even though there's only 3/4's of the game left to play. Iraq would be lucky to westernize before the 20th century (unless my calculations are off), and by then the GPs have such high scores that it's very difficult to break into their exclusive club.
Still, that just makes it more interesting to see someone try it!
At this point, westernisation probably won't occur until a decade or two into the 20th century at best. I was foolish to go with the 1861 start but I'd thought at the time that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. Although Babylon is probably a dream by now I'll be damned if the sun of 1936 doesn't shine on a civilised Iraqi Empire.
I noticed there was a large percentage of liberals in your upper house at the start. Does that still exit or was it gone a year later? Liberals in the upper house drive down the cost of reform. Also, being in the sphere of a GP with a tech school gives certain reform cost bonuses, so if you expect that to happen you can save up RPs for when the reforms get cheaper (when I was trying out Hyderabad I didn't come across some limit to how many you can store).