Thank you so much for all the kind comments and for continuing to read my AAR despite the extensive delay between updates. I know this one took a ton of time, but I wanted to get across the huge implications of this massive war. The next chapter is just as momentous, except in the domestic realm. That being said, things have slowed down for me a bit (in terms of personal life stuff) so I am really hoping to avoid taking forever to write that one.
As for Poland, they can't actually hurt Italy directly, but then can take over Austria and Hungary if they want to, which means a big land war against them is on the cards sooner rather than later.
And thats not getting into any colonial conflicts that may arise in the amercias or elsewhere…
Right idea with a land war, but it will take place to the north, rather than to the south, of Poland. That will be featured in the chapter following the next one. And there will be plenty of colonial flare-ups in the years to come.
Excellent stuff, you really capture the scope and scale of a vast conflict. Obviously stormclouds are approaching. Italy did very nicely, perhaps a little too nicely for some. Also very interested by the Nile expedition and what the future holds in the region.
It's hard to pick out individual things in such a huge (and uniformly brilliant) update but I particularly liked the parts about the unsucessful attempt to assist the Christian kingdom in Sudan with their rebel problem. I hope the Alodian's get explored further soon.
There will be much more to come in the upper reaches of the Nile. Alodia will remain a recurring character in the story. However, and not to spoil anything, it won’t be in a paint-the-map/make-them-a-protectorate way.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Christianity's revenge against the Islamic world is sure to deeply unsettle things generations from now.
The looting remains horrid, but sadly perfectly realistic considering the time-period and circumstances.
And thanks for the list of early Italian operatic work, that proved particularly suitable to this alternate reality. As a classical musician, it's always fascinating to find new and interesting works from a period or area I don't know that much about. (Pre-Corelli and Vivaldi)
I am glad it came across as appropriately horrific. I would certainly rather avoid the looting and massacring and just say that the invading army was super nice to the occupied population and handed out food and blankets. But I think that would be cheap. I try to balance the triumphalism and the gains of the wars (or even any policy for that matter) with the costs, in terms of lives or morality, of carrying them out. And as much as I am seeking to craft a more humanitarian and just (in terms of 21st Century sensibilities) world compared to our real history, it would also be a cop out to simply get out of a war of conquest with clean hands, morally speaking. So while I don’t enjoy writing about my armies sacking cities, if I were to omit that part, then the story just becomes a series of “good guys win again!” updates. On the other side, I also try to avoid making any of my foes into comic book villains.
As for the operas, some of those are real, some I made up. I am a fan of Monteverdi, but I must admit I lack in knowledge anything/anyone who came after him for the next century and a half or so. .