Ethiopian... World Conquest!?

[unmerged(91007)]

Ch1. Or, this is what I am hoping for.​

Now for the settings:
DD Arma
till 1960 (or was that 1962 :wacko
Normal/Normal
Full IC takeover (What, you want me to take over Germany/Russia in 1944, that has absorbed Russia/Germany, with less than 60 IC, not happening).
Full tech team takeover (in 1942 Ethiopia has only 4 tech teams, so i need additional ones for when i kick German/Russian (depends who won in Europe) butts and take their stuff)
I think this is it for the main settings.


December 29th 1935

With mixed success of the so called "Christmas Offensive", Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie was beginning to lose hope.
As he sat in the morning looking trough the window of his cabinet, his eyes followed one of his generals, who left him after delivering a proposition.
"A proposition so bold for a man of his rank" he thought, as his eyes moved from the man in the window to the appeal to League of Nations, that was lying on his table.

It was a bold move, never had an Abyssinian Emperor asked for help from foreign nations and he would not ask if it was for himself, no, it was for his people he had to do this.

The Italian war machine was relentless, they had tanks and planes, something that Ethiopian army could only dream of, his men were being overpowered on every front that they faced Italians on, but as the saying goes "hope dies last".

Yes, hope, it was all that Haile could do now... or was it

 

[yourworstnightm]

Emperor Haile Selassie need to tell his priests to chant their secret words that make the Italian birds of steel fall down from the sky.

 

[unmerged(91007)]

@yourworstnightm - believe me, chanting stuff to make birds of steel fall is nothing compared to what a cornered Emperor can think of
Think of something more real like going to League of Nations directly than just sending an appeal

 

[unmerged(91007)]

Ch1. Or, this is what I am hoping for.​

December 31th 1935

With the last report from the front the hope of pushing the Italians out of Ethiopia is nonexistent.
The timely arrival of Italian reinforcements and materiel in Ethiopian theater of war had definitely tilted the scales to Italian favor.
With the last hope of military victory extinguished the only ray of light Abyssinian Emperor can see, is that of intervention from the "Almighty" League of Nations.
Only the collective cooperation could put an end to Italian aggression.


As dawn nears (yes he was contemplating this all night) he is even more unsure if a written appeal would be enough to persuade the League into helping the Ethiopians with their plight.
"Wouldn't it be best if I myself would try to gather their support by presenting my case in League of Nations directly" he thought.
An hour passed an as more time went by, the more sure he was that his direct presence would only present a stronger case representing Ethiopian people.
With that in mind he quickly wrote a new letter asking for opportunity to address the assembly of the league in a scheduled meeting.

As he finished the letter by putting his personal seal, a knock was heard on his cabinets door.
Haile Selassie: Who is troubling me at this early hour!?
unknown person behind the door: it is I, your worst nightmare!
Haile Selassie: WHAT!
yourworstnightm: I am one of your servants sir, that is just my name. you wanted me to come this morning to take a letter for delivery.
Haile Selassie: oh, I completely forgot, you can enter o

A hideous looking man enters the room, Selassie motions him to the letter on his table.
The man takes the letter, bows to the Emperor, then leaves.
"Whew, and I thought his name was creepy" thinks Haile, as he feels cold sweat on his back.
"Now is perfect time for some recreation to lift my spirits up and forget strange creepy looking servants" he thinks again.
Thinking that he moves from his working desk to a more comfortable chair and glances at the big but orderly pile of newspapers and magazines on his table.
"This should be enough until the evening" he says to himself picking glass with ice cubes and a bottle of whiskey, that were stationed near the pile for comfortable access.

 

[unmerged(89506)]

Looks promising so far. However, I honestly think you should turn off Full IC takeover; it's extremely gamey and kinda ruins it especially while playing as a minor nation. That's just my take on it, though.

 

[Lurken]

Looks promising so far. However, I honestly think you should turn off Full IC takeover; it's extremely gamey and kinda ruins it especially while playing as a minor nation. That's just my take on it, though.

I agree. Full IC is a tad on the cheaty side. So is full tech too, if you go so much, why not assimilate all the leaders aswell? But, I only digress with my opinions.

 

[yourworstnightm]

Yay, I'm in the story!!

 

[yourworstnightm]

@yourworstnightm - believe me, chanting stuff to make birds of steel fall is nothing compared to what a cornered Emperor can think of
Think of something more real like going to League of Nations directly than just sending an appeal

Yeah, but that went well OTL. And at this point several of his vassals have defected to the Italians and the Oromos are revolting (not that that's unusual). Also the Italian propaganda campaing are in full motion with their proclamations that all slaves in Tigre have been freed. Haile Selassie can't depend on the League, he must find some secret startegy or magic gizmo or something if he want to win.

 

[unmerged(91007)]

@Maldorians - Full IC takeover might look gamey when playing any minor nation, that is true.
But Ethiopia is not "just" a minor nation, it is the only nation that does not stand a chance at all, so even pushing back the Italians (not to mention the possible conquest of Europe or (gasp) WC!) might (and will) look and be gamey.
In other words, thought of declaring a war on allies to get only 3 IC from British puppets scares me o

@Lurken - As explained before, this is Ethiopia not SPARTA, so don't expect me to wage war on allies and axis/comintern with a meager 17 IC (that much I would get absorbing everything up to Crimea without full IC takeover) while managing a 5 front war with two most powerful blocks on earth.

@yourworstnightm - Truth be told, I am writing this story on the fly (not using MS word to write the story beforehand).
So as I was thinking of a name for a servant that had to come and pick up the letter, I saw a great naming match in my first posters post (a name that actually added to the story). Please excuse me if it somehow offended you (that was clearly not my intent) with using your name like this without proper warning.

Originally Posted by yourworstnightm
Yeah, but that went well OTL. And at this point several of his vassals have defected to the Italians and the Oromos are revolting (not that that's unusual). Also the Italian propaganda campaing are in full motion with their proclamations that all slaves in Tigre have been freed. Haile Selassie can't depend on the League, he must find some secret startegy or magic gizmo or something if he want to win.

Things indeed look grim for the future of Ethiopia, but do not be troubled for there is only one answer (one word answer to spoil a bit) to all the problems (yes even explaining full IC from conquered states and tech team takeover).
And the Ethiopian Emperor is about to stumble on this forbidden fruit/truth/word (whichever fits better for each reader).


To sum it all up:
war against axis = inevitable
war against allies = unless they are not going to help Ethiopia in their plight when we address them in the League (but there is no way in million years they would refuse to help us, right )

 

[yourworstnightm]

I am not offended. Just glad I can be a part of the story.

 

[unmerged(91007)]

Ch1. Or, this is what I am hoping for.​

December 31th 1935, late morning.

Making himself a whiskey on the rocks (or with the rocks, whichever is the right naming for it) Emperor Haile trows the unused rocks outside (yes he uses real rocks for this concoction).
In the coming hours the sun will reach zenith and will descending to the west, as it always did, bringing new day and new sorrows.
His only hope now lies within the letter he sent.
He knows however that even if he is invited to the League of Nations it will not mean that they are going to help his people.
No, the only way for him to get help is to persuade every representative participating in the League, that decisive action against Italian aggression must be taken.

He takes a sip from his glass and puts it back, trying to divert his thoughts from such grim contemplations .
As his eyes once more stop over the pile on his desk.
Wanting to dram himself from his thoughts he takes a magazine from the top

Halie Selassie: Empire star huh? I want one for my empire too.

Some time passes as he finishes reading this magazine, puts it back, and picks another one (this one seems to be from the start of the year)

Halie Selassie: rawr!

this magazine is soon finished too.
Sun is now over the zenith and is almost lunch time.
To kill some time before that the Emperor manages to take a look at the pile again, only to stumble onto a simple magazine without very much coloring (can it be...?)
It is published by Intranets and some sort of mango foxy company (truly no comments needed).

He opens it and starts reading it without much expectation, little does he notice that lunch time flies past and soon it will be time for dinner.
As he puts it down he contemplates the experience, and in doing so his eyes widen and he has to take a sip from his glass to keep himself calm.
"This is it!" he thinks "this is just the thing we need to turn the tables against our worst enemy without the need to rely on somebody else"

A signal for dinner is given and he lifts himself from the chair, as he exits trough the door it is as he has become a different man without the trace of his previous worries, he goes with a confident smile on his face.

 

[yourworstnightm]

Hmm, I wonder what kind of brilliant plan the emperor just had.

 

[unmerged(91007)]

I wanted to finish the introduction and start on gameplay before previous weekend, however the arrival of an Ewul time devouring game via post on Friday held me from updating.

There is one more update left until gameplay starts and I will post it as soon as I get home from work.
I could update now, but without screenies it would be hard to truly understand what kind of cabinet the Haile has, or more precisely what kind of people he has (and will have) to deal with.

 

[unmerged(91007)]

Ch1. Or, this is what I am hoping for.​

December 31th 1935, late evening.

As Halie finishes dining, his servants help him prepare for the main event of this night.
Haile dons cheetahs fur, that was passed down from his father, and a servant puts on his crown, made of gold and precious stones.

With such attire he is then escorted to the throne room.
"His Royal Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie" the herald proclaims.

Murmurs pass trough the gathered crowd as Emperor passes them and sits on his throne and everyone prepares for the ritual that is about to begin.

Upon sitting comfortably, Haile gives his sign of agreement and invites first person to come forward.

I am going to interrupt the story here to explain, if a little, what is going on.
There will surely be no human sacrificing or anything of the sort, no.
This is a simple tradition (that I thought of to make the readers realize what kind of loonies Emperors cabinet consists of) of the vassals to present gifts to their Lord during the New Year (banal gifts include gold ingots, elephants, diamonds, giraffes, lions, slaves).

Now back to the story.

First to approach His Imperial Majesty is Herouy Wolde Selassie (He is Emperors brother, and he fills the spot for Foreign and armaments ministers in the cabinet)

Herouy Wolde Selassie: Greetings O mighty Lion Of Judah, my brother, I come bearing gifts from far and wide. Please accept them as a token of my appreciation.

Herouy Wolde Selassie: Here I gathered just for you, these Gold ingots (in a very silent voice) "from your mines that belong to me in Ethiopia" and (continues now in normal voice) these Elephants from the heart of Africa (You can hear them in the garden next to the throne room).

Haile Selassie: (in monotonous voice) yes thank you very much, continue to serve me. Well nex-

Herouy Wolde Selassie: Please wait your majesty, that is not all, since I have this from my recent trip to Europe (hands over a small packet to Haile).

Herouy Wolde Selassie: It is said that even the most mighty rulers of the world can lear a great deal from this.

Haile Selassie: (excited) Whoa leave it to my brother to get me something that is hard to come by (unwrapping the packet) having caring relatives like you is really grea... (stares at the contents of the packet he just unwrapped)

Herouy Wolde Selassie: A great gift if I do say so myself

A vein appears on Hailes temple, as he stares at the book his brother gave him as a gift

However Haile manages to contain himself.

Haile Selassie: Thank you, I will treasure it (in unnatural voice).

He dismisses his Brother and the next person approaches him with gifts.
Ras Mulugueta (the chef of staff in the Ethiopian cabinet) seems kind of hesitant, so Haile motions him over with benevolent smile.
He gathers courage and approaches with a greeting.

Ras Mulugueta: I greet you from the bottom of my heart MIghty emperor of Abbysinia and ruler of us all, here I bring you humble gifts as a token of my gratitude.

Ras Mulugueta: I bring you herd of giraffes (as with the elephants the souds of giraffes can be clearly heard) and diamonds mined in the soth mountains of africa...

He seems hesitant for some reason, you can see him doubting just for a short while, but he makes up his mind and adds:
Ras Mulugueta: And while I was in Europe with the cabinet members I also brought you something extra.

Haile Selassie: (he sits motionless and you cant tell if he is pissed or just serious, but the vein on his temple is still there)

Ras Mulugueta: "hands over a beautifully wrapped package" I hope you will appreciate my hard work, That I put in to obtain this gift.

Few seconds pass as Haile unwraps the second gift that gives him mixed feelings.
As last wrapping comes undone haile looks at the gift he was just presented.

Haile Selassie: "Vein on his temple starts pulsating" okay...

Haile Selassie: I thank you for the gift and let me tell you that you will be rewarded for this as you deserve (he doesn't look very benevolent while saying that because of gritting teeth)

Ras Mulugueta: Whimper! "runs off"

Haile Selassie: Let us continue (angrily).

Without much hesitation the Chief of the Army Desta Damtev approaches.

Desta Damtev: H4il 3mper0r, I br1ng gif7s lol!!11

Desta Damtev: I h4v3 th1s h3re t4t 1 bought in 3urope "hands over yet ANOTHER wrapped thing"

Haile Selassie: Let me guess (pissed) inside the wrapping is a book?

Desta Damtev: lol11!! g00d gue55, u r aw5um!! bulls 3y3!

Desta Damtev: th15 b00k h3r3 7eache5 m0s7 aw5um 7actic5 3wah lol!11. Our 4rmie5 R gonn4 be un5toppabl3 w1th 7hes3 tactic5 h3re lollollol!!!!111!

Haile Selassie: Well, even if you are quite eccentric of the cabinet you are probably the only person with some brain in here (looks around in disgust) well lets see what we have here "unwraps the gift"

Haile Selassie: "freezes for a moment the looks at the chief of staff with bloodshot eyes"

Haile Selassie: How the F@#$ is THIS

Going to be of any use.

Haile Selassie: I grant you the honor of going into battle without ammunition, on th front lines, NAKED!

Haile Selassie: Take him away (but don't forget to bring him back for the cabinet meeting this morning)

Desta Damtev: W8, n000!!!11 lololol!!!11...

He is forced out by the guards.

There are only three men left and they don't seem to be really anxious to present the gifts of their choosing.

Haile looks at all three men and his eyes stop on the Chief of the Air force John Robinson. He motions him to approach

John Robinson: (sweating) Hello, Emperor, I had a great gift picked out for you, really great. But now it doesn't seem all that great, no "fidgeting".

Haile Selassie: But there are rules about need to give tribute to the emperor, good gifts or not, they must be given and received so get on with it!

John Robinson: OK, please accept this "hands him over a book, which is not even wrapped" it is the book that describes great tactics and machinery available to each nation with at least some self respec... (pauses, as he understands that he said a tad too much)

Haile Selassie: Wow, great, so this is the machinery that any nation should have

Haile Selassie: "a pulsating vein appears on his other temple as well" It seems you want to Join Our chief of the army, Ok off you go "motions for the guars"

John Robinson: "screams like a little girl and runs off with guards chasing him"

Haile Selassie: Now, Whoi else wants to di- err, present gifts to me (With pulsating veins and bloodshot eyes he looks just as he is about to snap)

The last two remaing are The Chief of The Navy Ras Seyum and Bedjironde Tekle Hawariate (he fills in the roles of Head of Goverment and Chief of Security in ethiopian cabinet)

While Robinson was offering tribute to the emperor, these two were discussing between themselves which one of them should go next.

Bedjironde Tekle Hawariate: Well, I don't really see a problem with that

Ras Seyum: well I do, if I present the Rubber Duckie as a gift as I planned, judging from the look on our emperors face, he will shove it up my a$$ and will throw me into the lake to play with it. so I say you go first.

Bedjironde Tekle Hawariate: Well... "sees the Joh Robinson run away" ok, here goes.

Bedjironde Tekle Hawariate: "While approaching the angry emperor" Great Emperor, Allow me to present my humble gift, which should lift your spirits in this grim evening

Haile Selassie: ...

Bedjironde Tekle Hawariate: "presents him a tightly wrapped packet"

Haile Selassie: "unwrapping" well, what kind of useless gift do you have to present, you who should be almost my equal, the Head of Goverment what kind of gift...

Spoiler

Haile Selassie: "Facial expression instantly changes to a benevolent smile" Oh, well this is not much, but still I cannot refuse even the most humble of gifts.

Bedjironde Tekle Hawariate: "motions for Ras Seyum to approach"

Ras Seyum: Emperor allow me to present to you this here Rubber Duckie "shivering"

Haile Selassie: A Rubber Duckie, just what I always wanted!

Ras Seyum: What!

Haile Selassie: Ok gentlemen, I am quite tired today, so allow me to retire to my chambers to watch this her- ahem, to rest o

Haile leaves the Throne Room tightly clutching his gifts and looking to both sides, as if hiding something.

Ras Seyum: What, How, he wasn't angry for the duckie, I was sure he... What did You give him Tekle?

Bedjironde Tekle Hawariate: It is only for the Emperor himself (and my ReadAARs) to know, let us not dwell on this any longer. Take some rest, we have an early day tomorrow.

The two also leave the Throne Room, with Ras still wondering what could have calmed the Emperor so easily.

 

[unmerged(91007)]

If any of the Moderators would deem it necessary for me to change the content of the spoiler, please let me know (since I think I did a good job covering all that... stuff)

 

[Fenrir 1576]

Wow... that's, erm, unexpected. lol?

 

[yourworstnightm]

Poor Ras Seyoum. By now he's been named hereditary prince of all Tigray, since Gugsa Haile Selassie (son of the rebellious Ras Gugsa) who controlled parts of Tigre defected to the Italians. however Tigre is already under Italian occupation, so Ras Seyoum has nowhere to rule.

 

[unmerged(91007)]

I could not continue this due to RL that ate a lot of my free time and my monitor dying on me making switch to wide screen one (it hurts the eyes to play this game on it).
I will continue this, as I managed to get my hands on a old styled monitor at last, I also don't want this thread to be moved to Darkest Hour forum (which has wide screen support, c'mon Paradox).
So whoever will be following (or not) await the continuation of this epic tale (not revealing any game play spoilers just yet ^^).