Нохчийн Маьршоо/Noxçiyçin Märshoo (Chechen Freedom) - A Chechen AAR

[jebmagruder]

Chechnya and the Russo-Turkish war of 1853 - (part 1)​

The 1853 elections resulted in a very narrow victory for the liberal Levyi Parti, due to the division of the conservative vote between the Pravyi Parti and the Reactionaries.

The crisis between Russia and the Ottomans reached a breaking point. Azerbaijan began the conflict by launching a pre-emptive invasion of Armenia. The Ottomans responded by backing up the Azeris, and Russia declared war on Turkey. The United Kingdom was unwilling to intervene in the conflict due to Azerbaijan's brazen attack, and France was unwilling to invade Russia without British assistance.

Russia, wishing for assistance in attacking Azerbaijan, send funds to the Chechen government, which the Chechens used to form a division of dragoons(I was forced to form this division using the volunteer regiment event, because I didn't have enough manpower to form a full division).

Chechnya had not formed a formal alliance with Russia yet, but began invading Azerbaijan's portion of Dagestan.

Chechnya's army lagged behind Azerbaijans in both size and technology, and the Chechen army began to research new tactics to help the war effort.

Napoleon III may not have wanted to invade Russia, but his enthusiasm for military adventures still got him involved in the war. Napoleon III hoped to overthrow the Shah of Persia, and sent troops to assist the Turks. The Ottoman satellites of Sanussiya and Egypt also sent troops into Persia, but did not help fight Russia.

The war was a stalemate for the first several months, with Russian troops building up for a potential attack into Bulgaria. There was little Russia could do to help Armenia. The Ottomans and Azeris had occupied most of the country's land.

In Spring 1854, the Chechens had made a great tactical blunder that cost them most of their gains. The Chechen commander made a long-shot attempt at knocking Azerbaijan out of the war by going to occupy Baku without securing any territory to retreat towards. This mistake led to the destruction of the entire Chechen army. The Azeris regained all of the occupied territory, and threatened the Chechen capital.

Russia and Chechnya formed a formal alliance at this point, and Russia send an expeditionary force to prevent the country from being occupied.

While Armenia survived, it lost most of its territory.

1 Russian division was not enough, as the Azeris had moved into Chechnya's territory in Dagestan, attacking Kizlyar. If the expeditionary force attacked the invading army, it would leave Grozny empty for the enemy's taking.

Russia formed and sent a second division, the Chechen Corps was formed for the direct intent of being used to assist the Chechens.

Russia decided to launch an offensive against the Ottomans. The intent of this offensive was to force the Ottomans to commit more troops to the west and hopefully relieve pressure on Persia and Chechnya.

The Chechen Corps defeated the Azeris, and for the moment, Chechnya's territory was safe. The course that this war would take was still up in the air.

 

[Enewald]

So the first attack has been survived. But what if the whole azer army attacks... Poor Armenia...

 

[jebmagruder]

Conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War​

Russia's breakthrough allowed a mass offensive into Bulgaria. With their French allies too busy trying to de-throne the Shah of Persia to help out, the Ottomans lacked the numbers or training of their Russian foes. A complete rout in the Balkans was increasingly likely.

In January, the Russian expeditionary forced had resupplied and been reinforced. Azerbaijan sent a division of men to attack Kizylar, but were defeated in April. Within Azerbaijan, the war had become increasingly unpopular, to the point where soldiers were revolting against the government, and threatened to topple it. Chechnya's main foe was fighting a war against foes from all sides, and now internally. Opportunity for gaining territory was imminent. However, the war needed to be won quickly, as the expense of housing two Russian divisions was causing massive debt within the country.

Gunib was captured in August 1855. The Azeris had been driven out of all Persian territory, and Persia threatened to occupy the entire nation. While the Chechens were allied with them, the two countries had strained relations, largely due to religious and political differences.

The Russians had captured most of Bulgaria, and split the Turkish forces in two. The French began to send their troops as expeditionary forces to prop up the Ottomans, but even that couldn't stop the Russian steamroller. Azerbaijan's war exhaustion had also reached an extremely high level.

Soon after Russia declared peace with Azerbaijan, Chechnya followed suit. The demands were fairly large, with the Chechens demanding Gunib and reparations to pay off their war debt.

Demographics of Chechnya had rapidly changed. The majority of citizens were now Daghestanis, and a significant population of Turkic Azerbaijanis had also become incorporated into the country. Thankfully, most of the Daghestanis were soldiers, and Chechnya also had the funds to support an actual standing army.

Persians assault Baku.

The hopes of immigration had been realized, although the main ethnic group that immigrated had not been expected. While Europeans, particularly French, Romanians, and Slovaks, had immigrated in significant amounts, they were quickly assimilated into the Chechen mainstream. The Chinese came in large numbers and were much harder to assimilate. The majority of Chechens had trouble adjusting to this change, as the culture of these immigrants was far removed from the mix of European and Islamic culture of Chechnya.

Because the nations prestige was very low, Idealism was researched to potentially bring it back up. Despite the lack of modernity in the Chechen army, the government did not do any research toward modernizing it, still believing that the economy was more important.

Azerbaijan's post-war borders. Unless the Ottomans continued to prop them up, it would be likely that Persia would gobble up the entire country in the future.

The financial situation in 1857. Thanks to reparations from Azerbaijan, Chechnya was able to pay off some of the debt. Gunib had a large silk industry, which increased the cash flow. Once the debt was payed off and the country had built up a standing army, the future was very open for Chechnya.

So, once I can get a standing army and modernize it a bit, I have a few options for further expansion:

1. Attack Ossetia(possibly in an alliance with Georgia)- good idea due to same culture province of Georgievsk with Sulpur reserves. Also has delicious mineral water, which is sadly not a resource in Victoria but should be.
2. Attack Georgia- advantage is that I could gain a port for possible overseas expansion, disadvantage is that their military might be too strong for me to take on. I'm finding the idea of a Chechen colonial empire to be very cool, however
3. Attack Azerbaijan- would be easy because they couldn't even get any troops past Persia, but that's no fun. I also would have to wait for their war exhaustion to increase so that I could make a peace offer for Derbent.
4. Attack Persia or Russia - horrible idea that doesn't even belong on this list.

 

[unmerged(102667)]

Ossetia or azerbijan are the best options.
You should wait with georgia till you have a decent militairy.

 

[unmerged(81390)]

Ossetia, then you'll get the strength to later on conquer Georgia and a colonial empire!

 

[Enewald]

Yeh, now to west!
The ajeris have been beaten very badly!

 

[unmerged(63189)]

good luck with your AAR, it looks interesting. real challanging minor.

if i may propose: i think you could check some historical info on regional population at the time, and edit it. im sure you would benefit. or at least feel free to add some vital small pops of chechen nationals like aristocrats, clergymen (each community had priests right?) and maybe officers (long shot if there actually were any though im not sure, maybe?). this is by no means cheating, and is OK if you start game with country that isnt correctly covered by game designers (chechnya is probably considered a hypothetical country for that period of time).

about policies and future goals i propose going 100% liberal for fulll citizenship. you probably cant afford to build factories by yourself, so you'll need capitalists in the long run. and try a trick i love to abuse- max your health care just before liberals take over from conservative - you will have your pop boost for free with 0% upkeep. if funds allow it try to max crime fighting for lowered mil and increase in productivity. it MIGHT cover the costs of cf itself, apart from other +'s.

anyone knows if its a good idea to go bankrupt? for the sake of promoting capitalist? never tried, but your financial situation looks dire.

good luck and go Free Chechens!

ps nice pictures, is this some mod?

edit: i see the ideas are too late, youve managed quite impressive in your own

 

[jebmagruder]

I couldn't really find anything on population data, the only POP that's lacking would be a clergymen POP, and I'm doing okay without one. The financial situation is also going to drastically improve soon, because I'm exporting a lot of silk and Azerbaijan has to give me money. I'll be able to actually fund crime fighting now. I'd prefer not to use an exploit like the healthcare one, but the promise of increased POP growth sounds really appealing now.

I'm using the VIP mod, and I got some new icons for units somewhere. I modded Chechnya as a nation myself.

It'll also be a bit of a wait for the next update, because I won't be near my computer with Victoria for the next week or so.

 

[jebmagruder]

Chechen History from 1857 to 1863​

Soon after Chechnya's victory, the campaigning for the 1858 election began. Because of the introduction of voters from Gunib, and the reaction to immigration, the conservatives were very popular with the country's citizens. This was a concern for the government, as it was feared that the conservatives would undermine the country's now high plurality levels, and would drive many minorities to flee the country. Election time ended with a victory for the conservative Pravyi Parti. The plurality decreases and emigration occurred, but the country was able to handle this.

If there was one major lesson learned from the war, it was that the Chechen military needed to catch up to the other major powers. With Persia becoming increasingly belligerent and militaristic, the Chechen military needed to prepare for any future conflict.

The country's economy had improved, and Chechnya paid off it's foreign debts. The country could finally form a proper police force. Within a few years, organized crime and banditry had been largely eradicated.

Meanwhile, Persia and Russia continued to fight their war against the Ottomans. Persia was able to attack into Egypt and gain a large chunk of territory. Persia's gains were mixed from the conflict. They successfully defeated the modern French army and gain territory in Egypt, but they were forced to concede territory to the Ottomans.

The Turkish military was wiped out in the Balkans, even French expeditionary forces failed to prevent a Russian victory. Fighting continued until October 1859, when a peace treaty was signed, and the nation of Bulgaria declared their independence.

The Chechen government decided that it was time to get rid of Ossetia and to intervene to protect the Muslims within the country. The military was built up, and war was declared on Ossetia. Military modernization continued.

The Ossetian militiamen were swept from Vladikavkaz, and the country was quickly annexed.

Chechnya had expanded at an unprecedented rate within 9 years. The prestige gained from the war with Ossetia had boosted Chechnya's standing, and this only seemed to encourage further expansion, with Georgia being the main target. Some within the Chechen government even debated colonizing other parts of the Muslim world in order to modernize them. Chechnya's future from this point was open to many possibilities.

 

[Enewald]

Heh, now start planning how to create a Chechenian Caliphate.
I say go for muslim empire.

 

[unmerged(62478)]

Causcasus messed up dude lol.

 

[unmerged(102667)]

A caucasus muslim empire that has a nice ring to it.
Anyway conquering georgia has come a bit closer now but not just jet.

 

[unmerged(81390)]

That persia is scary!
Conquering Egypt like that!

Since the Russians can't attack OE through the caucasus, they have much greater succes in the Blakans...

 

[jebmagruder]

Empire!​

Ethnic Armenians revolted against their new rulers, but the Chechen army easily squashed the revolt.

Chechnya's thirst for territory had not been quenched, and so war was declared against Georgia. The Chechens did not advance until the Second Division had been raised, as to completely overwhelm the small Georgian cavalry force.

As this happened, the threat of Russian intervention was very real. Russian troops had been massing at the Chechen border, and could easily overwhelm the country. The Russian-Georgian alliance had just expired and the two countries still had very close ties.

Within a few months, the Russians began to move. Not into Chechnya, but they were moved to face yet another war with the Ottomans and the European powers. Georgia's hopes of foreign support were dashed.

For the next few months, Chechen troops moved across Georgia, and completely occupied the country. Chechnya was unable to annex the country outright, and instead decided to grab all of the country's territory except for Sukhumi, along with indemnities and a puppet-state status. The puppet-state status was refused, but the territory losses and indemnities were accepted. With the acquisition of a port, the Chechens got straight to work on a clipper transport. The government had interest in deploying the second division for an overseas campaign.

Perhaps as a reaction to these plans, the second division revolted. The first division put down the revolt, but not without heavy casualties. With manpower levels depleted, more Daghestani troops would be needed

A bloodless two-month war with Azerbaijan gave Chechnya control over all of Daghestan. The province of Derbent had a significant number of soldiers, who would be of good use in the future.

With the clipper transports ready, the Chechen army prepared for a campaign against the bankrupt Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Quickly after war was declared, the country had been swiftly cut in half by the invading forces. The Chechen army advanced into Dubai, where the Emir's army was swollen with tribal forces. The Emir's call for jihad went unheeded, due to the situation. The foreigners attacking them were not Christian or Shiite infidels, but fellow Sunni Muslims. The Chechens lost on 30 men in the assault on Dubai, with the only casualties occurring during the attack on the Emir's palace. After a bloodless expedition to Ad Dawhah, the entire country was under the control of Chechnya, who annexed it.

The original Chechen target for imperialism was Morocco, but Spain managed to take it long before, which almost never happens in VIP

Chechnya's reasons for imperial expansion were much different from other European nations. Chechnya legitimately wished to modernize and democratize these regions, and saw their rule over them as being their only way to survive. The Chechens wanted to show that they could still be devout Muslims while still embracing industrialization and social changes. However, the economic benefits of imperialism were also a good reason, as the resources from these regions could be used for factories and exported for money. Foreign intervention brought Chechnya money, security, and prestige, and these benefits outweighed the cost.

Some dissent toward this policy did exist. The socialist movement, composed mainly in Georgia and consisting of around 20% of the population, opposed all imperialist overtures. Along with the liberals, they wanted to see the country build factories and railroads as opposed to just industrializing agriculture. Despite the existence of the dissent, the majority of the Chechen population voted conservatively and the wars helped keep the Praavyi Parti in power. Some members of the military also wanted the country to spend money to modernize the force as opposed to spending on overseas adventures. The Chechen military was ahead of the Islamic world, but still behind Europe and even Russia. While they could handle tribal forces with ease, the Chechens could not handle a war against any of their neighbors. Their next move awaited.

And so I might spend a few years getting the some factories built, but I do have plans for expanding again, but I'm not sure exactly where yet. Here's the options I've thought of:

Oman - Stole my color on the map and already borders my territory. The only really viable target in the Middle East.

That Ugly Green Country in Saudi Arabia - Don't even recall its name. I'd have to cross over unclaimed territory to grab it, and I don't think there's any real benefit to taking them over.

Turkmenistan - Would be really cool, but I don't know if the game would let me build colonial buildings over there because of the Caspian sea. I also currently lack the technology to colonize provinces with low life ratings.

Southeast Asia - I'm thinking attacking either Brunei or Johor, but I might go for some other country. Has resources I might need later on.

East Asia - Only option is really Korea, and that doesn't work because they're not Muslim, so it doesn't work within the story.

Africa - Northern Africa has been pretty much sealed off, except for maybe Tunisia. I'd like to stay out of sub-Saharan Africa because I don't want to mess with the Scramble for Africa.

Latin America - Makes no sense in the storyline because they're already civilized and also not Muslim.

Europe - Would be fun to take part in the wars of German or Italian unification, but makes no sense in the story. Attacking some small country like Belgium or Denmark for no reason would also be fun, but again, doesn't fit the story. The Europeans also have actual navies.

 

[unmerged(81390)]

Unless Britain guarantees it, Brunei is the best choice, they have both population and resources!

Turkmenistan and Oman would be very nice if you could get though

 

[Enewald]

Chechenian imperialism. Not so often seen.

 

[unmerged(62478)]

IF AI samrt it will dow you lol.

 

[OneiricRose]

Take Oman and then Turkmenistan

 

[Jingles]

A very interesting AAR, definitely an unprecedented country choice. I will be following this.

 

[jebmagruder]

I checked, and Turkmenistan is no go. It gives me the message that I don't have a naval base close enough. I could try to build one in Poti, but by the time I catch up in naval techs to do that, the Russians would have built their own settlements. I might try to buy off their claim buildings instead.