This update, I literally checked the ledger to see what the highest population OSM unciv with no friendly GP was, and attacked. I really need soldiers.
Maybe not humbled enough; they're pulling it back together.
Thanks.
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Maybe not humbled enough; they're pulling it back together.
Thanks.
I think another conflict with the USA is actually now all but inevitable. At least you have allies.
From the journal of (at the time) Commanding General Frederick William Wright:
Before the election of 1864, many in the Democratic party called for a different candidate to be nominated, citing concerns with Keith's warmongering. The controversy ended in a smoke-filled room where a group of Democratic elites narrowly decided to keep Wright citing lack of a viable alternative. This would be the greatest mistake made in New England up to this point.
For Vice-President they nominated James Seymour, a member of the class of 1836 who had since earned a reputation as an empty suit in the senate.
The Keith/Seymour ticket won effortlessly.
I have never quite understood the details of the infamous incident between us and Denmark; in March of 1865, I got word to prepare for a war in the North Atlantic, and with the government came up with a plan known as "Operation New English Fury."
Denmark was one of the few civilized countries we outmatched and was protected only by Scandinavia, the only Great Power we could beat in a ground war.
The plan was simple: take Greenland and Iceland and hold onto them like the world depended on it. If that didn't work, make a considered assault on Stockholm or Copenhagen.
With Mexico and the CSA also on our side, it seemed like a sensible enough plan.
On April 2nd, 1865, The War of the Atlantic begun.
The professional army was dispatched to the North Atlantic and an army of citizens was raised to serve as a home guard.
The Department of the Navy developed a new ship class for the war.
After my experience in Zululand and Johore, dealing with cold instead of heat and disease was a welcome relief. With planning and effort, cold can be dealt with.
My colleague in Arkham kept me up to date on the development of the cult.
In August of 1865, the disaster began. We in Greenland weren't informed right away, but at some point the North German Federation intervened in the war on behalf of our enemies.
This required a modification of the plan. We knew the Germans had a weakness in conducting overseas operations; as long as we could hold Greenland and Iceland, we could win without ever entering the dragon's lair in Europe. We could deal with any detachments the Germans got to North America.
Meanwhile, the Confederate navy deterred a Danish raid.
We were left in Greenland as the New English navy moved to intercept the first sighted German force in the North Atlantic.
We started production on another ship type in February of 1866.
By the end of the month, we had completed step one of the plan. Now that we had taken the war goal, all we had to do was hold it until a truce happened.
Of course, nothing is ever that simple. We were rushed home in March to deal with another German spotted off the East Coast.
At about this time, I got more cult news.
We arrived a touch too late to relieve the conscripts, who were dealing with an uprising of the Radicals, a militant group infuriated by Keith's reelection and subsequent warmongering.
The navy went on without us, and pushed the Germans away from shore, but too late to prevent them from landing in Virginia.
Combined with the conscripts, the entire army was sent to prevent the Confederates from falling. Which we did.
Naval technology kept advancing, this time with a new weapon for the bulk of our existing ships.
Meanwhile, a much larger war was happening in Europe.
A portion of the army was sent off to the single Danish Caribbean island.
To help sell this stalemate as a victory, Keith declared taking this island to be another of our war goals.
Our army and navy were slowly expanding, but we knew perfectly well that the Germans were outpacing us by far.
Keith also continued his crusade against socialists.
Mexico, for their part, launched a daring assault on Heligoland, an island right between Denmark and the NGF. This went better than expected but still not well.
Our influence in Latin America continued to expand.
In early 1867 we were sent to capture the Faroe Islands, a Danish territory we had missed in our initial assault. The invasion went smoothly enough but as we were wrapping up the main naval force (or at least we hoped it was the main force) of the NGF made contact with our navy.
The results were expected.
Meanwhile, the war in Europe also ended as expected.
The Danes themselves went around the world to capture our land in Johore. According to the plan, we were to let them have it; the minor loss was not even close to the potential catastrophe we could face going around the world to stop them.
The cult moved ever onwards.
In July, the Navy went on a reconnaissance mission to evaluate a potential amphibious attack of Copenhagen or Stockholm. The news was not good.
Then, the Scandinavian navy went after our own. We would end up winning that day, but at a cost.
Overall, we were making steady progress abroad.
At home, a group known as "The Patriots," mostly centered in New York were still enraged at the New English takeover of territory from the United States. No longer satisfied with snarky headlines, the group took up arms, aiming for a weakened New England.
They were dispatched easily but were a grim portent of things to come.
Then, in December of 1867, it happened. The thing that moved our victory from "probable" to "only by a miracle."
Despite what the press and historians have said since then, I maintain that with a bit of luck, we still could have pulled out a victory. And we certainly thought that at the time; we had a larger army ready at the battlefield than they did.
The battle of Ottawa was interesting, as it was the first time a New English general accepted surrender from an enemy general in the bizarre cultist regalia. General Grant described the man known as Lloigor as resembling a polar bear.
Occupied with Canada, we had to pick our battles elsewhere. Any overseas possessions besides the war goals were given up; we couldn't risk crossing the Atlantic with the Royal Navy on the prowl.
The economy of our allies couldn't handle the new war. The CSA and Mexico defaulted on their sovereign debt in the same week.
Although United Kingdom kept sending detachments and taking territory the army wasn't defending, we kept winning the actual battles. However, I couldn't help but think of them as Pyrrhic victories; a dozen more of these and we would be done.
Keith didn't see it that way; in his mind there was no way this could have any outcome other than a New English victory. He sent half of us north to settle a score.
When New England was first released, Caribou, the most northern part of Maine, was disputed territory between the USA and the UK, de facto held by the British. We in New England had always considered that land a core part of our nation, and Keith declared the return of the territory to be another of our war goals.
Meanwhile, even our enemies were not immune from the spread of the cult.
Another victory, and New England was free of enemy occupation.
The election of 1868 had been delayed due to the chaos of the occupation, but campaigning began in November. The anti-Keith faction was silent this year, as everyone recognized the sensitivity of the national situation.
On November 28th, 1868, the final act of this tragedy began. On the 27th, we were a nation who had managed to hold off the two most powerful nations in the world and could see a path to victory in the distance. On the 28th, we were dead men walking. The United States, inspired by The Patriots, declared war on us to liberate New York. Our "allies" in Mexico and the CSA abandoned us to our fate, each citing a time we had done the same to them.
President Keith rallied around the flag, but at this point he seemed to be the only one.
We won the first few battles.
But it quickly became clear that we were trying to drain the ocean with a bucket.
In May, President Keith affirmed his oath of loyalty to a nation in the jaws of defeat.
The army, ironically, probably had the highest morale of any part of the country at this point. As New English flags fell in favor of Union Jacks and Stars and Stripes across the nation, we still defeated every enemy army we came across.
On July 4th, 1869, the Radicals, tired of "Keith's Disaster" as is was coming to be known, decided to take matters into their own hands. Willing to shoot at us as well as the Americans, the Radicals would prove to be a useful wild card in a war that was already lost.
Our allies quietly sued for peace as we made our last stand.
Nonetheless, we pressed on. What else could we do?
Binghamton would be our last victory.
When we tried to heal our pride after the war, the popular saying was that "No country in the world could be New England; they had to team up!" The Battle of Plattsburgh is the best example of that philosophy in action. On August 12th, 1869, we attacked American troops occupying the city of Plattsburgh with full force. Three days later, the British brought their main force in for a flanking attack, pinning us down. On the 24th, both enemy armies launched a massive assault, massacring our forces. When an artillery barrage directly hit our officers camp, I was left as the highest ranking man on our side and sounded the retreat. It quickly became a rout.
There was nowhere we could run to; the British cut what remained of us off two weeks later. Our only goal was to survive until Keith negotiated a cease-fire.
With winning against Europe off the table, Keith held out hope of avoiding a defeat with the US.
He somehow managed to get the CSA back into the war.
Throughout September, we in the military were gradually realizing what the rest of New England had already figured out: the war was lost. When we were high on an endless string of pointless victories, it hadn't seemed that way but with US forces surrounding us, it was clear how this was going to go. Keith was delusional and was going to bleed the country dry trying to hold off an inevitable tide.
On October 9th. 1869, I did the only thing I could to end the madness: I raised the white flag and surrendered what remained of the New English army.
On the 28th, Keith finally got the message and accepted the USA's demand to return control of New York to the United States.
On the 31st, President George Keith resigned.
James Seymour took the oath of office that same day, taking control of a defeated country on its way out as a Great Power.
Before the election of 1864, many in the Democratic party called for a different candidate to be nominated, citing concerns with Keith's warmongering. The controversy ended in a smoke-filled room where a group of Democratic elites narrowly decided to keep Wright citing lack of a viable alternative. This would be the greatest mistake made in New England up to this point.
For Vice-President they nominated James Seymour, a member of the class of 1836 who had since earned a reputation as an empty suit in the senate.
The Keith/Seymour ticket won effortlessly.
I have never quite understood the details of the infamous incident between us and Denmark; in March of 1865, I got word to prepare for a war in the North Atlantic, and with the government came up with a plan known as "Operation New English Fury."
Denmark was one of the few civilized countries we outmatched and was protected only by Scandinavia, the only Great Power we could beat in a ground war.
The plan was simple: take Greenland and Iceland and hold onto them like the world depended on it. If that didn't work, make a considered assault on Stockholm or Copenhagen.
With Mexico and the CSA also on our side, it seemed like a sensible enough plan.
On April 2nd, 1865, The War of the Atlantic begun.
The professional army was dispatched to the North Atlantic and an army of citizens was raised to serve as a home guard.
The Department of the Navy developed a new ship class for the war.
After my experience in Zululand and Johore, dealing with cold instead of heat and disease was a welcome relief. With planning and effort, cold can be dealt with.
My colleague in Arkham kept me up to date on the development of the cult.
In August of 1865, the disaster began. We in Greenland weren't informed right away, but at some point the North German Federation intervened in the war on behalf of our enemies.
This required a modification of the plan. We knew the Germans had a weakness in conducting overseas operations; as long as we could hold Greenland and Iceland, we could win without ever entering the dragon's lair in Europe. We could deal with any detachments the Germans got to North America.
Meanwhile, the Confederate navy deterred a Danish raid.
We were left in Greenland as the New English navy moved to intercept the first sighted German force in the North Atlantic.
We started production on another ship type in February of 1866.
By the end of the month, we had completed step one of the plan. Now that we had taken the war goal, all we had to do was hold it until a truce happened.
Of course, nothing is ever that simple. We were rushed home in March to deal with another German spotted off the East Coast.
At about this time, I got more cult news.
We arrived a touch too late to relieve the conscripts, who were dealing with an uprising of the Radicals, a militant group infuriated by Keith's reelection and subsequent warmongering.
The navy went on without us, and pushed the Germans away from shore, but too late to prevent them from landing in Virginia.
Combined with the conscripts, the entire army was sent to prevent the Confederates from falling. Which we did.
Naval technology kept advancing, this time with a new weapon for the bulk of our existing ships.
Meanwhile, a much larger war was happening in Europe.
A portion of the army was sent off to the single Danish Caribbean island.
To help sell this stalemate as a victory, Keith declared taking this island to be another of our war goals.
Our army and navy were slowly expanding, but we knew perfectly well that the Germans were outpacing us by far.
Keith also continued his crusade against socialists.
Mexico, for their part, launched a daring assault on Heligoland, an island right between Denmark and the NGF. This went better than expected but still not well.
Our influence in Latin America continued to expand.
In early 1867 we were sent to capture the Faroe Islands, a Danish territory we had missed in our initial assault. The invasion went smoothly enough but as we were wrapping up the main naval force (or at least we hoped it was the main force) of the NGF made contact with our navy.
The results were expected.
Meanwhile, the war in Europe also ended as expected.
The Danes themselves went around the world to capture our land in Johore. According to the plan, we were to let them have it; the minor loss was not even close to the potential catastrophe we could face going around the world to stop them.
The cult moved ever onwards.
In July, the Navy went on a reconnaissance mission to evaluate a potential amphibious attack of Copenhagen or Stockholm. The news was not good.
Then, the Scandinavian navy went after our own. We would end up winning that day, but at a cost.
Overall, we were making steady progress abroad.
At home, a group known as "The Patriots," mostly centered in New York were still enraged at the New English takeover of territory from the United States. No longer satisfied with snarky headlines, the group took up arms, aiming for a weakened New England.
They were dispatched easily but were a grim portent of things to come.
Then, in December of 1867, it happened. The thing that moved our victory from "probable" to "only by a miracle."
Despite what the press and historians have said since then, I maintain that with a bit of luck, we still could have pulled out a victory. And we certainly thought that at the time; we had a larger army ready at the battlefield than they did.
The battle of Ottawa was interesting, as it was the first time a New English general accepted surrender from an enemy general in the bizarre cultist regalia. General Grant described the man known as Lloigor as resembling a polar bear.
Occupied with Canada, we had to pick our battles elsewhere. Any overseas possessions besides the war goals were given up; we couldn't risk crossing the Atlantic with the Royal Navy on the prowl.
The economy of our allies couldn't handle the new war. The CSA and Mexico defaulted on their sovereign debt in the same week.
Although United Kingdom kept sending detachments and taking territory the army wasn't defending, we kept winning the actual battles. However, I couldn't help but think of them as Pyrrhic victories; a dozen more of these and we would be done.
Keith didn't see it that way; in his mind there was no way this could have any outcome other than a New English victory. He sent half of us north to settle a score.
When New England was first released, Caribou, the most northern part of Maine, was disputed territory between the USA and the UK, de facto held by the British. We in New England had always considered that land a core part of our nation, and Keith declared the return of the territory to be another of our war goals.
Meanwhile, even our enemies were not immune from the spread of the cult.
Another victory, and New England was free of enemy occupation.
The election of 1868 had been delayed due to the chaos of the occupation, but campaigning began in November. The anti-Keith faction was silent this year, as everyone recognized the sensitivity of the national situation.
On November 28th, 1868, the final act of this tragedy began. On the 27th, we were a nation who had managed to hold off the two most powerful nations in the world and could see a path to victory in the distance. On the 28th, we were dead men walking. The United States, inspired by The Patriots, declared war on us to liberate New York. Our "allies" in Mexico and the CSA abandoned us to our fate, each citing a time we had done the same to them.
President Keith rallied around the flag, but at this point he seemed to be the only one.
We won the first few battles.
But it quickly became clear that we were trying to drain the ocean with a bucket.
In May, President Keith affirmed his oath of loyalty to a nation in the jaws of defeat.
The army, ironically, probably had the highest morale of any part of the country at this point. As New English flags fell in favor of Union Jacks and Stars and Stripes across the nation, we still defeated every enemy army we came across.
On July 4th, 1869, the Radicals, tired of "Keith's Disaster" as is was coming to be known, decided to take matters into their own hands. Willing to shoot at us as well as the Americans, the Radicals would prove to be a useful wild card in a war that was already lost.
Our allies quietly sued for peace as we made our last stand.
Nonetheless, we pressed on. What else could we do?
Binghamton would be our last victory.
When we tried to heal our pride after the war, the popular saying was that "No country in the world could be New England; they had to team up!" The Battle of Plattsburgh is the best example of that philosophy in action. On August 12th, 1869, we attacked American troops occupying the city of Plattsburgh with full force. Three days later, the British brought their main force in for a flanking attack, pinning us down. On the 24th, both enemy armies launched a massive assault, massacring our forces. When an artillery barrage directly hit our officers camp, I was left as the highest ranking man on our side and sounded the retreat. It quickly became a rout.
There was nowhere we could run to; the British cut what remained of us off two weeks later. Our only goal was to survive until Keith negotiated a cease-fire.
With winning against Europe off the table, Keith held out hope of avoiding a defeat with the US.
He somehow managed to get the CSA back into the war.
Throughout September, we in the military were gradually realizing what the rest of New England had already figured out: the war was lost. When we were high on an endless string of pointless victories, it hadn't seemed that way but with US forces surrounding us, it was clear how this was going to go. Keith was delusional and was going to bleed the country dry trying to hold off an inevitable tide.
On October 9th. 1869, I did the only thing I could to end the madness: I raised the white flag and surrendered what remained of the New English army.
On the 28th, Keith finally got the message and accepted the USA's demand to return control of New York to the United States.
On the 31st, President George Keith resigned.
James Seymour took the oath of office that same day, taking control of a defeated country on its way out as a Great Power.
Attachments
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Ouch. Lesson learned: Never forget to check who is friendly with a country before attacking them. Now that the USA has New York back, I don't really see any way they don't get whatever they want (unless the cult intervenes).
TBH, I wasn't expecting to lose major wars in this run. If things get much worse, I may cheat so that New England can stick around long enough for the cult business to get more interesting.
Also, great bordergore, AI. The US must really hate us; not only did they take back New York, they made us keep New Jersey!
TBH, I wasn't expecting to lose major wars in this run. If things get much worse, I may cheat so that New England can stick around long enough for the cult business to get more interesting.
Also, great bordergore, AI. The US must really hate us; not only did they take back New York, they made us keep New Jersey!
I wish you weren't so right.
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That was a really really tough war. The perspective of our narrator is a great one, the trying to keep things going against all odds at the end.
The period of time following the War of the Atlantic was characterized by a continued flirtation with disaster.
When president Seymour first took office, New England was a nation with no army getting its head around the idea of being a secondary power once again.
He left the bulk of the decision making up to the Democratic congress, who made their primary issue the repayment of the massive national debt New England had taken up during the war.
The city of New York decided that rule by the United States was not what they wanted either, and rose up in arms to demand independence.
For reasons nobody could quite understand, the nationalists immediately crossed the Hudson river and attacked the fortress in Newark.
Facing a decision between "mobilize a conscripted army" and "do nothing," President Seymour decided to do nothing; hoping that as these rebels only wanted territory from the USA, New England had nothing to fear from them.
Threatened by both Radicals and Socialists, the Democratic congress began to pass a broad suite of reforms.
The government was desperate to save any kind of face on the world stage and refused to back down on any issue that would lose New England prestige.
An casus belli against France appeared before us in July. A motion to escalate hostilities was unanimously voted down and condemned by the President within the hour.
However, our nation's attempts to avert war and live quietly were soon shattered; on July 23rd, 1870, The Ottoman Empire declared war on us in an attempt to conquer Tunisia.
Our Confederate allies were eager to help.
The odds were, once again, stacked against us.
President Seymour organized a force that was (at least at first) an army made entirely of conscripts.
Our old rivals, The New York News, saw fit to put that on the front page.
As the hastily-prepared army left for Africa, the Radicals made their move, striking at the dual hearts of New England.
To some extent, the rise of the Radicals did not feel like reality to me until that moment; the way a person thinks of a rebellion is far different when it is beating down their door than when it is just a concept. Hearing their cries and seeing their philosophy in action convinced me that these Radicals were the second most dangerous group in the world, behind only the infamous cult. Even the all-powerful United Kingdom was bound by laws and traditions.
As the fleet in the Atlantic turned around to save us, the Ottomans pushed into Tunisia fairly effortlessly.
Once again, the New English possession in Malaya was left unguarded.
On the first of November, the conscripted army relieved the besieged Miskatonic University, and we were freed to continue monitoring the cult as it swept across the globe.
As more and more countries fell to this ill-understood menace, we took a moment to recapitulate what we knew. A group of people worshiping some number of gods unknown to any other religion, possibly older than all other known objects of worship, was routinely moving into new nations and practicing in secret. Using methods we never quite understood, they would grow their membership (especially in a nation's capital) until they had some critical mass. At that point, they would march to various government buildings and seize control in the night but quickly normalize foreign relations, usually being vague about the event or denying that any transfer of power took place at all.
When questioned, individual members would reveal a broad intent to summon one of these gods, but did not indicate that they had any specific immediate plans. Given the group's presence across the world, we knew that any such plans could be devastating, even discounting the personal appearance of said god.
Back in the war, my esteemed colleague, General Wright forced the Radicals to disband and cleared out the New Yorkers for good measure.
The general delay caused by the revolt allowed the Ottomans to move farther forward.
Still facing an angry populace, the Senate voted to end gerrymandering, one of the tools the Democrats used to maintain perpetual power.
The Netherlands continued their operations on the far end of the world.
In February of 1871, our troops finally arrived in Tunisia, just as Tunis fell to the enemy.
Meanwhile, a new ideology emerged from Bavaria, demanding an end to the current world order. That sentiment seemed very popular among modern ideologies.
In March, the State Department decided to do some rabble-rousing of our own. As we were no longer one of the dominant powers in the world, we could demand that those powers hear our case in our border dispute against the United Kingdom.
Unlike New York, New Jersey seemed to be getting along perfectly well under our leadership.
In the Mediterranean, we found an unexpected advantage against the Ottoman empire: naval superiority. Although they had significantly more ships than us, they lacked the Ironclads, Monitors, and Torpedo Raiders we developed during the War of the Atlantic. Our naval dominance would be unquestioned throughout the war.
Meanwhile, on land General Wright prepared a simple trap, inspired by our victory in the American Civil war.
If the Ottomans attacked either of the armies, the other would flank.
The Ottomans took the bait.
Meanwhile, the Confederates seemed inspired by the heroic tales of the Mexican assault on Heligoland, and decided to make a similar play on Cyprus.
Our army was now free to retake the lost land.
In May of 1871, a scouting team from the army went beyond the southeastern border of Tunisia and made a discovery: with modern weapons and medicine, it would be trivially possible to conquer massive chunks of territory once thought closed off to the civilized world. In parallel to the war, various New English expeditions into the Dark Continent began immediately.
Meanwhile back home, my cult-watching career was beginning to feel somewhat pointless; why watch the cult spread around the world if there is nothing you can do about it?
In August the final front in this war opened up; a Dutch expedition arrived in Maine from Canada.
With our troops in Africa we had no ability to respond.
President Seymour at this point made the decision to keep the troops in Africa to complete their assigned mission. Sounding much like his disgraced predecessor, he argued that Tunisia was the war goal, the state of the war would be evaluated solely on the state of Tunisia, and everything else (even Boston and Arkham) was secondary.
For the entire year of 1871, the Dutch forces slowly worked their way through New English static defenses, as New English troops slowly retook provinces in Africa.
The army started their trip home in late December, 1871.
Meanwhile, Congress continued their reform agenda, fearing what would happen if they did not.
In February, we got encouraging news: The Ottoman Empire defaulted on its sovereign debt.
That same month, the inevitable happened; the infamous cult found its way into the capital of our closest ally.
In March, the advance of the Dutch forces finally reached Arkham. Compared to the Radicals, being under siege by a professional army was both better and worse. Rather than trying to break down every door and improvised wall until they found the weak link, the Dutch forces stayed in approximately the same positions and patiently waited for us to surrender. However, the regular artillery barrages gave the proceedings a grim inevitability that the disorganized rabble lacked.
On the day before we would have surrendered, the New English army finally arrived to save us.
I tried to sit down with Frederick and thank him personally, but he was moving as fast as possible to finish off the retreating Dutch army.
On June 12th, we received an offer of white peace from the Ottomans. Although it was theoretically possible for us to press our advantage, the people of New England were tired of war and the government of New England was in even deeper debt than before the war started. The offer was accepted immediately.
New England had been attacked by a Great Power and held its ground. For many, this was a cause for a celebration, and even a rebuilding of national pride. These celebrations would not last long.
The election of 1872, delayed by war, was scheduled for January.
In this election, the decades old electoral map was finally put to rest. During the Democrat convention, the establishment wing sought to renominate Seymour and continue the policy of refusing aggressive wars, a weak presidency, and a reform congress. The Nationalist wing, feeding on the rage of a New English people fallen from grace and denied a true victory, nominated one Horace Belknap and demanded to roll back reforms and rebuild New English power by any means necessary. The convention went on for weeks with no progress, and ended with Belknap's supporters storming out and nominating him as the candidate for the Nationalist Party.
The Democrats finally had the shakeup they had been dreading, but it had not come from the Federalists, or the Radicals, or the Socialists. It came from within their own coalition.
Of course, the election was not the biggest news story of 1872. While the leading politicians of the day were cloistered in their smoke-filled room, the Radical Revolution began.
Over a hundred thousand people heard the Radical's siren call of "No wars, no taxes, no government" and flocked to the banner.
President Seymour looked at the minuscule professional army in comparison to the massive size of the riots and declared a national emergency, calling all citizens opposed to this coup to fight against it.
He even sent the single Zulu regiment across the Atlantic to defend the capital, knowing that it could very well make the difference.
At this point, we once again took shelter and spent each day praying for rescue from an army that may never arrive.
The senate was even more terrified than we were and seemed to have gone slightly mad during the siege. While hiding in the capitol, they passed a major education reform bill in what may have been a vain attempt to mollify the masses.
Fortunately, our army was not prepared to give up without a fight. This was not the first time they had been outnumbered and attempting to simultaneously defend the entirety of New England. They were ready.
In October, we were relieved once more.
In the end, it took until January to deal with the last of the Radical menace, and end the state of emergency.
The elections went on as scheduled, with Seymour beating Belknap in the narrowest victory ever seen in New England.
But ultimately, the failed revolt and the election were both distractions from what is objectively the most important event in history. In late October of 1872, a faction of cultists in Two Sicilies known as the "Eldritch Pan-Nationalists" seized control of the existing cultist government. This group demanded that all cultist nations unite under one banner to accomplish their goals immediately, and upon taking power offered complete control of the nation to the most powerful cultist nation, the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom eagerly accepted the crown from the gutter.
When president Seymour first took office, New England was a nation with no army getting its head around the idea of being a secondary power once again.
He left the bulk of the decision making up to the Democratic congress, who made their primary issue the repayment of the massive national debt New England had taken up during the war.
The city of New York decided that rule by the United States was not what they wanted either, and rose up in arms to demand independence.
For reasons nobody could quite understand, the nationalists immediately crossed the Hudson river and attacked the fortress in Newark.
Facing a decision between "mobilize a conscripted army" and "do nothing," President Seymour decided to do nothing; hoping that as these rebels only wanted territory from the USA, New England had nothing to fear from them.
Threatened by both Radicals and Socialists, the Democratic congress began to pass a broad suite of reforms.
The government was desperate to save any kind of face on the world stage and refused to back down on any issue that would lose New England prestige.
An casus belli against France appeared before us in July. A motion to escalate hostilities was unanimously voted down and condemned by the President within the hour.
However, our nation's attempts to avert war and live quietly were soon shattered; on July 23rd, 1870, The Ottoman Empire declared war on us in an attempt to conquer Tunisia.
Our Confederate allies were eager to help.
The odds were, once again, stacked against us.
President Seymour organized a force that was (at least at first) an army made entirely of conscripts.
Our old rivals, The New York News, saw fit to put that on the front page.
As the hastily-prepared army left for Africa, the Radicals made their move, striking at the dual hearts of New England.
To some extent, the rise of the Radicals did not feel like reality to me until that moment; the way a person thinks of a rebellion is far different when it is beating down their door than when it is just a concept. Hearing their cries and seeing their philosophy in action convinced me that these Radicals were the second most dangerous group in the world, behind only the infamous cult. Even the all-powerful United Kingdom was bound by laws and traditions.
As the fleet in the Atlantic turned around to save us, the Ottomans pushed into Tunisia fairly effortlessly.
Once again, the New English possession in Malaya was left unguarded.
On the first of November, the conscripted army relieved the besieged Miskatonic University, and we were freed to continue monitoring the cult as it swept across the globe.
As more and more countries fell to this ill-understood menace, we took a moment to recapitulate what we knew. A group of people worshiping some number of gods unknown to any other religion, possibly older than all other known objects of worship, was routinely moving into new nations and practicing in secret. Using methods we never quite understood, they would grow their membership (especially in a nation's capital) until they had some critical mass. At that point, they would march to various government buildings and seize control in the night but quickly normalize foreign relations, usually being vague about the event or denying that any transfer of power took place at all.
When questioned, individual members would reveal a broad intent to summon one of these gods, but did not indicate that they had any specific immediate plans. Given the group's presence across the world, we knew that any such plans could be devastating, even discounting the personal appearance of said god.
Back in the war, my esteemed colleague, General Wright forced the Radicals to disband and cleared out the New Yorkers for good measure.
The general delay caused by the revolt allowed the Ottomans to move farther forward.
Still facing an angry populace, the Senate voted to end gerrymandering, one of the tools the Democrats used to maintain perpetual power.
The Netherlands continued their operations on the far end of the world.
In February of 1871, our troops finally arrived in Tunisia, just as Tunis fell to the enemy.
Meanwhile, a new ideology emerged from Bavaria, demanding an end to the current world order. That sentiment seemed very popular among modern ideologies.
In March, the State Department decided to do some rabble-rousing of our own. As we were no longer one of the dominant powers in the world, we could demand that those powers hear our case in our border dispute against the United Kingdom.
Unlike New York, New Jersey seemed to be getting along perfectly well under our leadership.
In the Mediterranean, we found an unexpected advantage against the Ottoman empire: naval superiority. Although they had significantly more ships than us, they lacked the Ironclads, Monitors, and Torpedo Raiders we developed during the War of the Atlantic. Our naval dominance would be unquestioned throughout the war.
Meanwhile, on land General Wright prepared a simple trap, inspired by our victory in the American Civil war.
If the Ottomans attacked either of the armies, the other would flank.
The Ottomans took the bait.
Meanwhile, the Confederates seemed inspired by the heroic tales of the Mexican assault on Heligoland, and decided to make a similar play on Cyprus.
Our army was now free to retake the lost land.
In May of 1871, a scouting team from the army went beyond the southeastern border of Tunisia and made a discovery: with modern weapons and medicine, it would be trivially possible to conquer massive chunks of territory once thought closed off to the civilized world. In parallel to the war, various New English expeditions into the Dark Continent began immediately.
Meanwhile back home, my cult-watching career was beginning to feel somewhat pointless; why watch the cult spread around the world if there is nothing you can do about it?
In August the final front in this war opened up; a Dutch expedition arrived in Maine from Canada.
With our troops in Africa we had no ability to respond.
President Seymour at this point made the decision to keep the troops in Africa to complete their assigned mission. Sounding much like his disgraced predecessor, he argued that Tunisia was the war goal, the state of the war would be evaluated solely on the state of Tunisia, and everything else (even Boston and Arkham) was secondary.
For the entire year of 1871, the Dutch forces slowly worked their way through New English static defenses, as New English troops slowly retook provinces in Africa.
The army started their trip home in late December, 1871.
Meanwhile, Congress continued their reform agenda, fearing what would happen if they did not.
In February, we got encouraging news: The Ottoman Empire defaulted on its sovereign debt.
That same month, the inevitable happened; the infamous cult found its way into the capital of our closest ally.
In March, the advance of the Dutch forces finally reached Arkham. Compared to the Radicals, being under siege by a professional army was both better and worse. Rather than trying to break down every door and improvised wall until they found the weak link, the Dutch forces stayed in approximately the same positions and patiently waited for us to surrender. However, the regular artillery barrages gave the proceedings a grim inevitability that the disorganized rabble lacked.
On the day before we would have surrendered, the New English army finally arrived to save us.
I tried to sit down with Frederick and thank him personally, but he was moving as fast as possible to finish off the retreating Dutch army.
On June 12th, we received an offer of white peace from the Ottomans. Although it was theoretically possible for us to press our advantage, the people of New England were tired of war and the government of New England was in even deeper debt than before the war started. The offer was accepted immediately.
New England had been attacked by a Great Power and held its ground. For many, this was a cause for a celebration, and even a rebuilding of national pride. These celebrations would not last long.
The election of 1872, delayed by war, was scheduled for January.
In this election, the decades old electoral map was finally put to rest. During the Democrat convention, the establishment wing sought to renominate Seymour and continue the policy of refusing aggressive wars, a weak presidency, and a reform congress. The Nationalist wing, feeding on the rage of a New English people fallen from grace and denied a true victory, nominated one Horace Belknap and demanded to roll back reforms and rebuild New English power by any means necessary. The convention went on for weeks with no progress, and ended with Belknap's supporters storming out and nominating him as the candidate for the Nationalist Party.
The Democrats finally had the shakeup they had been dreading, but it had not come from the Federalists, or the Radicals, or the Socialists. It came from within their own coalition.
Of course, the election was not the biggest news story of 1872. While the leading politicians of the day were cloistered in their smoke-filled room, the Radical Revolution began.
Over a hundred thousand people heard the Radical's siren call of "No wars, no taxes, no government" and flocked to the banner.
President Seymour looked at the minuscule professional army in comparison to the massive size of the riots and declared a national emergency, calling all citizens opposed to this coup to fight against it.
He even sent the single Zulu regiment across the Atlantic to defend the capital, knowing that it could very well make the difference.
At this point, we once again took shelter and spent each day praying for rescue from an army that may never arrive.
The senate was even more terrified than we were and seemed to have gone slightly mad during the siege. While hiding in the capitol, they passed a major education reform bill in what may have been a vain attempt to mollify the masses.
Fortunately, our army was not prepared to give up without a fight. This was not the first time they had been outnumbered and attempting to simultaneously defend the entirety of New England. They were ready.
In October, we were relieved once more.
In the end, it took until January to deal with the last of the Radical menace, and end the state of emergency.
The elections went on as scheduled, with Seymour beating Belknap in the narrowest victory ever seen in New England.
But ultimately, the failed revolt and the election were both distractions from what is objectively the most important event in history. In late October of 1872, a faction of cultists in Two Sicilies known as the "Eldritch Pan-Nationalists" seized control of the existing cultist government. This group demanded that all cultist nations unite under one banner to accomplish their goals immediately, and upon taking power offered complete control of the nation to the most powerful cultist nation, the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom eagerly accepted the crown from the gutter.
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Dammit game, just give me 10 years of peace so I can fix my country back up.
Also, a 56 brigade revolt of Anarcho-liberals may be the scariest thing I've ever seen. I should start pissing off Communists just so that doesn't happen again.
Most importantly. I really like the idea of "Eldritch Pan-Nationalists" from the mod. Giving every country the same culture is dangerous on its own just from existing game mechanics; I don't have to do anything. If you were paying close attention and knew a lot of game mechanics, you may have been able to predict it. I dropped hints that the cultist thing changes primary culture.
Also, a 56 brigade revolt of Anarcho-liberals may be the scariest thing I've ever seen. I should start pissing off Communists just so that doesn't happen again.
Most importantly. I really like the idea of "Eldritch Pan-Nationalists" from the mod. Giving every country the same culture is dangerous on its own just from existing game mechanics; I don't have to do anything. If you were paying close attention and knew a lot of game mechanics, you may have been able to predict it. I dropped hints that the cultist thing changes primary culture.
It's just a flesh wound!
You gotta know when to fold 'em. If you're up warscore but going to lose, quite while they haven't added any more wargoals.
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Just caught up on this. Very unique, I like!
Tough wars there though... Fine line between bold and overambitious in the war against half of Europe there...
Tough wars there though... Fine line between bold and overambitious in the war against half of Europe there...
It sure does.
And now this becomes an actual problem.
A nice and interesting AAR
Thanks
There are a lot of countries.
Sure isn't.
Not as much as you'd think. I watched a few observer megacampaigns, and my takeaway from the EU4 and V2 sections is that the AI has no real understanding of ticking warscore. A well-chosen Place in the Sun wargoal can win a war on its own. Especially during World Wars when wargoals give more ticking warscore than they cost to take in a peace deal.
Over the course of the next few years, New England began to heal its wounds.
The foresight of Napier and recklessness of Keith were beginning to pay off; our conquest of Africa was progressing efficiently.
After the unification of a large fraction of the world under the leaders of the cult, discussion about said cult had moved from confused rumors and whispers in the halls of power to a common topic of conversation and national issue. Almost everyone in New England listened when we announced that another nation in North America had fallen.
Soon, the cult would even engulf its birthplace, a land of vital interest to our nation.
The main national issue, however, remained our crushing national debt.
Many in New England were relieved at an editorial in the New York News detailing how the government of the United States was just as paralyzed by fear of this global empire as we were.
Colonization continued apace.
In February of 1874, a group of Radical holdouts fled to Durban, where they attempted to take up arms in the name of their anarchist ideals.
The army was quickly sent across the sea to dispatch them.
Although the colonies were originally sold to us as a way to expand our global reach, recruit additional soldiers, and build our respect in the halls of power, we eventually discovered their true value.
The government continued to pay down the debt, and also established a national health system.
It wasn't long before New England was once again thrust into the fires of war. The United States again attacked the Confederate States, this time seeking to completely reconquer the smaller country. President Seymour recognized that this would be our last possible chance to prevent the Union from completely reuniting and honored our alliance. On November 3rd, 1876, New England joined the Second American Civil War.
The army was mobilized once again.
Confident in a Union victory, the New York news honored this war with their headline.
Our army immediately moved in to seize control of New York City from an army of conscripts.
While the Democrat government focused on the war, the pacifist United Socialist party gathered a large amount of support from a population tired of constant war. For a few years, I personally had maintained subscription to Forward!, in order to broaden my perspective.
The opposing conscript army retreated to Long Island to regroup. Our pursuit was blocked for almost a week by a single-regiment militia.
However, they could only delay the inevitable.
Meanwhile in Europe, on March 1st, 1875 the remaining German States, fearful of the cultist empire dominating the world, united into a single German Empire as a counterbalance.
In May of 1875, we made contact with a proper American army. We defeated them handily, although nobody in New England could forget the tenacity the Union demonstrated during the first American Civil War.
For the first few years of the war, our national tax revenue continued to exceed our wartime expenses. On July 1st, 1875, the government of New England paid off the last of its sovereign debt.
The next day, we were pleased to see a headline in the New York News (now in a city under our occupation) explaining that the Union lived in fear of us.
Over the next few months, we occupied the rest of the state of New York.
On September 25th, 1875, a group of New Jersey factory workers took up arms and demanded control of their factories, and that New England become the world's first communist state. They were quickly dealt with.
In October of 1875, we invented (for limited deployment) the Gatling Gun, a weapon more powerful than the world had seen up to this point.
That winter, we celebrated a long string of victories against the remaining Union armies.
Which continued into Spring.
By May, we had finished rolling out the new weapons to the troops at the front.
While we experienced an endless string of victories, our Confederate allies were not so lucky. Almost the entirety of the Confederate territory within 100 miles of the border had been occupied by the United States. Fortunately for them, we were continuously pushing the Union armies back.
On June 11th, President Seymour announced the return of New York to New England as a major wargoal.
This gathered wide disapproval both domestically and abroad. Many European powers were outraged at what they considered an unjustified act of conquest, but with skillful diplomacy, the government was able to stop any foreign interventions until the end of the war.
Domestically, this became a much larger issue. With elections on the horizon, Seymour's anti-war rhetoric combined with his warmongering actions were a compromise that satisfied no one. The United Socialists nominated strident pacifist and reformer Nelson Connor, while the Nationalists chose popular demagogue Samuel Wheeler, whose stated policies aligned suspiciously closely with how the country was actually being run. Early polls showed Seymour as a distant third.
For our enemies, however, the bad news kept piling up.
Along with our military victories.
The United Socialists continued to gather support.
A week before the election, President Seymour acknowledged that it would be impossible for him to win and, fearing United Socialist policy on the current war, formally endorsed Samuel Wheeler. In January, after a recount Wheeler was elected President of New England, the first man ever to do so outside the Democratic party.
The Nationalist party supported what I believe to be the ideal government for total war: a state capitalist economic policy combined with unflinching support for jingoism.
Although Seymour gave up his votes to Wheeler for the Presidency, the Democrats and Federalists both remained viable parties in the Senate. To show their defiance of the reactionary agenda proposed by the Nationalists, the Senate immediately passed a bill expanding the national healthcare system. As both a populist and a pragmatist, Wheeler signed the bill into law.
By the end of June, the Union was defeated.
On July 4th, 1877, the United States once again recognized the independence of the Confederate States and relinquished control of New York to New England.
During the occupation, The New York News had declared bankruptcy, and the newly created New York Daily Post quickly filled its spot as the primary source of international news in the former American states. The new paper carried on the tradition of protest by intentionally bad news judgement.
No longer able to hold off the demands of the Europeans, the new Secretary of State worked out a compromise wherein New England would release Durban as an independent nation, but keep control of New York.
With our largest naval base in Africa released, we would have to build a new one in Ulundi.
At the end of 1877, New England felt like an empire once again.
The foresight of Napier and recklessness of Keith were beginning to pay off; our conquest of Africa was progressing efficiently.
After the unification of a large fraction of the world under the leaders of the cult, discussion about said cult had moved from confused rumors and whispers in the halls of power to a common topic of conversation and national issue. Almost everyone in New England listened when we announced that another nation in North America had fallen.
Soon, the cult would even engulf its birthplace, a land of vital interest to our nation.
The main national issue, however, remained our crushing national debt.
Many in New England were relieved at an editorial in the New York News detailing how the government of the United States was just as paralyzed by fear of this global empire as we were.
Colonization continued apace.
In February of 1874, a group of Radical holdouts fled to Durban, where they attempted to take up arms in the name of their anarchist ideals.
The army was quickly sent across the sea to dispatch them.
Although the colonies were originally sold to us as a way to expand our global reach, recruit additional soldiers, and build our respect in the halls of power, we eventually discovered their true value.
The government continued to pay down the debt, and also established a national health system.
It wasn't long before New England was once again thrust into the fires of war. The United States again attacked the Confederate States, this time seeking to completely reconquer the smaller country. President Seymour recognized that this would be our last possible chance to prevent the Union from completely reuniting and honored our alliance. On November 3rd, 1876, New England joined the Second American Civil War.
The army was mobilized once again.
Confident in a Union victory, the New York news honored this war with their headline.
Our army immediately moved in to seize control of New York City from an army of conscripts.
While the Democrat government focused on the war, the pacifist United Socialist party gathered a large amount of support from a population tired of constant war. For a few years, I personally had maintained subscription to Forward!, in order to broaden my perspective.
The opposing conscript army retreated to Long Island to regroup. Our pursuit was blocked for almost a week by a single-regiment militia.
However, they could only delay the inevitable.
Meanwhile in Europe, on March 1st, 1875 the remaining German States, fearful of the cultist empire dominating the world, united into a single German Empire as a counterbalance.
In May of 1875, we made contact with a proper American army. We defeated them handily, although nobody in New England could forget the tenacity the Union demonstrated during the first American Civil War.
For the first few years of the war, our national tax revenue continued to exceed our wartime expenses. On July 1st, 1875, the government of New England paid off the last of its sovereign debt.
The next day, we were pleased to see a headline in the New York News (now in a city under our occupation) explaining that the Union lived in fear of us.
Over the next few months, we occupied the rest of the state of New York.
On September 25th, 1875, a group of New Jersey factory workers took up arms and demanded control of their factories, and that New England become the world's first communist state. They were quickly dealt with.
In October of 1875, we invented (for limited deployment) the Gatling Gun, a weapon more powerful than the world had seen up to this point.
That winter, we celebrated a long string of victories against the remaining Union armies.
Which continued into Spring.
By May, we had finished rolling out the new weapons to the troops at the front.
While we experienced an endless string of victories, our Confederate allies were not so lucky. Almost the entirety of the Confederate territory within 100 miles of the border had been occupied by the United States. Fortunately for them, we were continuously pushing the Union armies back.
On June 11th, President Seymour announced the return of New York to New England as a major wargoal.
This gathered wide disapproval both domestically and abroad. Many European powers were outraged at what they considered an unjustified act of conquest, but with skillful diplomacy, the government was able to stop any foreign interventions until the end of the war.
Domestically, this became a much larger issue. With elections on the horizon, Seymour's anti-war rhetoric combined with his warmongering actions were a compromise that satisfied no one. The United Socialists nominated strident pacifist and reformer Nelson Connor, while the Nationalists chose popular demagogue Samuel Wheeler, whose stated policies aligned suspiciously closely with how the country was actually being run. Early polls showed Seymour as a distant third.
For our enemies, however, the bad news kept piling up.
Along with our military victories.
The United Socialists continued to gather support.
A week before the election, President Seymour acknowledged that it would be impossible for him to win and, fearing United Socialist policy on the current war, formally endorsed Samuel Wheeler. In January, after a recount Wheeler was elected President of New England, the first man ever to do so outside the Democratic party.
The Nationalist party supported what I believe to be the ideal government for total war: a state capitalist economic policy combined with unflinching support for jingoism.
Although Seymour gave up his votes to Wheeler for the Presidency, the Democrats and Federalists both remained viable parties in the Senate. To show their defiance of the reactionary agenda proposed by the Nationalists, the Senate immediately passed a bill expanding the national healthcare system. As both a populist and a pragmatist, Wheeler signed the bill into law.
By the end of June, the Union was defeated.
On July 4th, 1877, the United States once again recognized the independence of the Confederate States and relinquished control of New York to New England.
During the occupation, The New York News had declared bankruptcy, and the newly created New York Daily Post quickly filled its spot as the primary source of international news in the former American states. The new paper carried on the tradition of protest by intentionally bad news judgement.
No longer able to hold off the demands of the Europeans, the new Secretary of State worked out a compromise wherein New England would release Durban as an independent nation, but keep control of New York.
With our largest naval base in Africa released, we would have to build a new one in Ulundi.
At the end of 1877, New England felt like an empire once again.
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Huh, I've never seen the reactionary party elected in a Democracy before. It is really convenient for me, though.
Oh, we're just getting started. And thanks!