Libya is pretty useless in-game, and we cannot really justify to increase its economic importance.
Neither is it of strategic value, as hostile landings in Italy proper are naturally more easy to dispatch with real damage to the enemy (disbanding divisions vs. retreating ones, landing divisions vs. normally attacking ones).
I would like to introduce some artificial importance to the place, in order to properly represent its political value as a prestige project.
To that end, losing it should hurt:
Losing all of it should really hurt:
But there should be at least slight upsides from having it:
I also contemplate giving ITA a slight discount on CAV brigades while it holds Libya to account for their Spahi and Savari troops.
The Fourth Shore as a political object warrants an event itself:
so that ITA, like the other colonial nations, need not have cores on its colonies.
While the values involved are typically going to be fairly small, considering that this is not mighty GER or ENG, they should end up sufficiently large to be of consideration to an ITA player.
As presented in the loss event examples above, also a nice opportunity to provide some not-so-well-known history. The Arco dei Fileni for example was destroyed in 1970 and is probably a rather unknown monument.
Neither is it of strategic value, as hostile landings in Italy proper are naturally more easy to dispatch with real damage to the enemy (disbanding divisions vs. retreating ones, landing divisions vs. normally attacking ones).
I would like to introduce some artificial importance to the place, in order to properly represent its political value as a prestige project.
To that end, losing it should hurt:
Loss of one of Bengazi, Tobruk, Tripoli:
Code:
event = {
id =
random = no
persistent = yes
country = ITA
trigger = {
NOT = { control = { province = 919 data = -1 } } # Tobruk
}
name = "Loss of the fortress of Tobruk"
desc = "The small village of Tobruk had seen continuous growth in importance during the italian colonial administration of the Fourth Shore. The eastern end-point for the Via Balbia and one of only three deepwater ports on the libyan shore, it also became the position of a strong fortress against british incursions from Egypt and since the declaration of the 'Quarta Sponda', the Fourth Shore, it was considered integral part of the italian mainland.
Loss of this strategically important position for the war in North Africa also means a great loss of face for the regime.
Historically, the fortress had been captured on january 22nd 1941 with little resistance, yielding about 25.000 italian prisoners. It would then take over a year of siege and three more battles until the german Africakorps managed to recapture it."
style = 0
picture = "military_parade" # placeholder
date = { hour = 12 day = 0 month = january year = 1936 }
offset = 31
deathdate = { hour = 14 day = 29 month = december year = 1954 }
action_a = {
name = "The fortress is lost."
command = { type = dissent value = 2 } # individually minor hit
command = { type = industrial_modifier which = total value = -1 } # some sting to it; demotivated population
command = { type = local_setflag which = lost_Tobruk }
command = { type = trigger which = value = 1 } # Loss of the Fourth Shore
}
}Loss of the whole Fourth Shore:
Code:
event = {
id =
random = no
persistent = yes
country = ITA
# triggered by all of the aforementioned
trigger = {
local_flag = lost_Bengazi
local_flag = lost_Tobruk
local_flag = lost_Tripoli
event = # Quarta Sponda
}
name = "Loss of the Fourth Shore"
desc = "The 'Quarta Sponda', the Fourth Shore, had been declared integral part of the italian mainland in 1940 by Benito Mussolini. At that time, Italy had made large investments into infrastructure, new settlements and prestige constructions along the libyan coast, which are now lost to foreign occupation. Some such are the Via Balbia, a 1822 km long highway connecting Tripoli and Tobruk, the Arco dei Fileni, an 31 metres high travertine arch overspanning said highway at the border between Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, and the Mellaha Lake racing track, venue for the prestigous Gran Premio di Tripoli, the 'Ascot of motor racing circuits'.
Now 400 km of constructed railways, 4000 km of highway and 37 colonial settlements are lost to foreign occupation. 110.000 italian colonists had to be evacuated to european Italy as fugitives."
style = 0
picture = "military_parade" # placeholder
action_a = {
name = "The Fourth Shore is lost."
command = { type = dissent value = 4 } # major defeat; total gain of 10 dissent
command = { type = industrial_modifier which = total value = -2 } # total loss of -5%; demotivated population
# loss of native troops
command = { type = remove_division which = 12036 value = 1078 } # 1st Libyan Division 'Sibelle'
command = { type = remove_division which = value = } # 2nd Libyan Division 'Pescatori'
# costs of the evacuation; values chosen arbitrarily
command = { type = supplies value = -100 }
command = { type = oilpool value = -200 }
}
}2nd Libyan Division
Code:
event = {
id =
random = no
country = ITA
trigger = {
NOT = {
local_flag = lost_Bengazi
local_flag = lost_Tobruk
local_flag = lost_Tripoli
}
# donator of divisional core
division_exists = { type = 12036 id = 1078 } # Divisione Libia (should be renamed to 1a Divisione libica 'Sibelle')
# costs for additional equipment
supplies = 100 # arbitrarily chosen number; cost should be considerably below equivalent of division
# costs for the officer compartment
manpower = 5 # arbitrarily chosen number
}
name = "The second libyan Division"
desc = "" # later
style = 0
picture = "military_parade" # placeholder
date = { hour = 12 day = 1 month = march year = 1940 }
offset = 31
deathdate = { hour = 14 day = 29 month = december year = 1954 }
action_a = {
name = "Form the 2nd libyan Division"
command = { type = supplies value = -50 } # arbitrarily chosen number, absolute of which smaller than in the trigger
command = { type = manpowerpool value = -1 } # arbitrarily chosen number, absolute of which smaller than in the trigger; represents officers only
command = { type = damage_division which = value = where = -99 } # 2a Divisione libica 'Pescatori', 1939 6bn Reserve unbrigaded
command = { type = activate_division which = value = where = 932 when = 0 } # activate in Tripoli (true place of original deployment currently unknown)
# would gain some units from the 1935 OOB of the 1st division, namely the 2nd and 6th libyan battalions
# a total of 8 libyan battalions supposedly existed; did not yet track down the two remaining ones
}
}The Fourth Shore as a political object warrants an event itself:
Code:
event = {
id =
random = no
country = ITA
trigger = {
NOT = {
local_flag = lost_Bengazi
local_flag = lost_Tobruk
local_flag = lost_Tripoli
}
# Allowing for a bit of leeway in regards to controlled provinces: declaration may be seen as a means to mobilise the population
# while hostile incursions are not yet threatening.
# Once any of the strongholds has fallen however, the declaration would be too risky in the face of a subsequent defeat.
}
name = "Quarta Sponda"
desc = "In early 1939 the shoreline of italian Libya was declared an integral part of Italy proper, its fourth shore or 'Quarta Sponda'. Italian colonial efforts had up to this point been concentrated on encouragement and support for ethnically italian settlers, but thereafter programs to facilitate settlement building (resulting in 10 newly founded villages by 1940) and to provide improved medical care and education to the indigenous population tentatively started to move into the focus of the Libyan Colonization Society. Literate arabs were now able to acquire a limited form of italian citizenship, allowing them to join the Partito Nazionale Fascista and form a muslim branch, the Associazione Mussulmana del Littorio."
style = 0
picture = "military_parade" # placeholder
date = { hour = 12 day = 9 month = january year = 1939 } # historical date
offset = 31
deathdate = { hour = 14 day = 29 month = december year = 1954 }
action_a = {
name = "We are richer for our muslim Italians"
command = { type = addcore which = 916 } # Bardia
command = { type = addcore which = 917 } # Forte Capuzzo
command = { type = addcore which = 918 } # Forte Maddalena; disputable
command = { type = addcore which = 919 } # Tobruk
command = { type = addcore which = 920 } # Derna
command = { type = addcore which = 921 } # Mechili
command = { type = addcore which = 922 } # Msus
command = { type = addcore which = 923 } # Barca
command = { type = addcore which = 924 } # Bengazi
command = { type = addcore which = 925 } # Agedabia
command = { type = addcore which = 929 } # Sirte
command = { type = addcore which = 930 } # Homs
command = { type = addcore which = 932 } # Tripoli
command = { type = addcore which = 933 } # Zuara
}
}While the values involved are typically going to be fairly small, considering that this is not mighty GER or ENG, they should end up sufficiently large to be of consideration to an ITA player.
As presented in the loss event examples above, also a nice opportunity to provide some not-so-well-known history. The Arco dei Fileni for example was destroyed in 1970 and is probably a rather unknown monument.
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