Acatl's words (And that of the Worm's) continues to echo into the present day. Farewell to Horst though, we hardly knew ya.
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And Georg will be very important to this arc.
It’ll at least be different in tone from what we’ve seen since the 1980s.
And they will continue to echo for a while.
Life doesn’t always go as we expect it to.
Why does everything in the Reich have a golden age followed by everything coming apart?
It wouldn’t be much fun if we were in a constant golden age with nothing to do, wouldn’t it?
Dear @zenphoenix
I have been reading The Hohenzollern Empire - A Roman Reich Megacampaign on and off over the course of your writing it and have made some comments on the latest part of the Megacampaign but I have been reading it page by page since around Christmas. So far I have read the CK2 and EU4 parts of the Megacampaign and am currently on “Chapter 199: The Sino-Vietnamese War” of the Victoria 2 part. I have greatly enjoyed everything that I have read so far. I especially enjoyed the “Origins of Modernity: A (Long-ish) History of China” and how you combined the actual Chinese history of OTL with the Chinese history in TTL. I believe you said at one point that you have no plans to make a part two (which is okay In not pressuring you to make one) so I was wondering if I could take all of the parts that talk about China after that update and sort of make a couple more parts that picks up in the 1800’s and covers all the way up to Stellaris and post it when you start on the Stellaris part of the Megacampaign or do you have something similar planed when you get to the Stellaris portion?
I have been reading The Hohenzollern Empire - A Roman Reich Megacampaign on and off over the course of your writing it and have made some comments on the latest part of the Megacampaign but I have been reading it page by page since around Christmas. So far I have read the CK2 and EU4 parts of the Megacampaign and am currently on “Chapter 199: The Sino-Vietnamese War” of the Victoria 2 part. I have greatly enjoyed everything that I have read so far. I especially enjoyed the “Origins of Modernity: A (Long-ish) History of China” and how you combined the actual Chinese history of OTL with the Chinese history in TTL. I believe you said at one point that you have no plans to make a part two (which is okay In not pressuring you to make one) so I was wondering if I could take all of the parts that talk about China after that update and sort of make a couple more parts that picks up in the 1800’s and covers all the way up to Stellaris and post it when you start on the Stellaris part of the Megacampaign or do you have something similar planed when you get to the Stellaris portion?
I have something planned for all of humanity as a whole, but you’re free to work on something for China specifically.
I’m not feeling well right now, so today’s update will be postponed. Sorry about that.
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The Battle of Pima
Pima, Fusang - October 9, 2016, 700 hours
Boris got out of his armored car and entered Gebhard and Ollin’s tent, where they had set up several radios and a map of Pima.
“Hello, General Bradziunas,” Gebhard said.
“Nice to meet you, General Remmele,” Boris said, “And you too, General Ollin.”
He shook hands with both men.
“Well, the prodigy finally arrives,” Ollin said.
“There’s only one prodigy in this room, and it’s not me,” Boris said.
“Anyways, to business?” Gebhard said. “Pima’s oil refineries are crucial to fueling the MSC’s vehicles and armor.”
“It’s an important waystation between northern Mexico and the Fusang coast,” Ollin said, “Take it back, and we’ll cut off the terrorists in Fusang and deprive them of their fuel.”
“Understood,” Boris said, “Now, I assume this is your plan? Hitting the refineries directly?”
He looked at the map, on which Gebhard and Ollin had marked troop locations.
“Yes,” Gebhard said.
Boris swept the map off the table and replaced it with a clean map.
“You’ll need a new plan,” he said, “They’ve expected that. When I was flying in, I saw the refineries were crawling with ocelomeh. They’ve got artillery, land mines, snipers. They’re expecting you.”
“So what are you expecting?” Gebhard said.
“The bulk of their forces are at the refineries, but the command center is elsewhere,” Boris said, “Precisely here.”
He pointed at the university.
“They’ve holed up inside,” Boris said, “I triangulated most of their radio signals as originating from there. We attack the university and take out their leadership. Meanwhile, the Fusang divisions will take care of the refineries.”
“I still think we should hit the refineries first,” Gebhard said, “When the Fusangren arrive, we should be able to clear them out rather quickly.”
“We don’t have time to wait for the Fusangren,” Boris said, “Half their country’s being overrun by MSC. We have to cut their territory in half and deny them the oil. We do that, they crumble in months and retreat from Fusang.”
“I’m with Bradziunas,” Ollin said, “It’s worth a shot.”
October 16, 2016, 1500 hours
Pima burned. Pillars of smoke rose from across downtown. Gunfire rang out in the streets, accompanied by the occasional airstrike or mortar blast. Boris stood on one of the watchtowers on the old town’s wall, now repurposed as his own command center. In the distance, he saw flashes of light and small explosions ripple across the university campus as coalition forces stormed it.
“I’m impressed,” Ollin said.
“Don’t say that,” Boris said, “Much of the city is still in enemy hands.”
It was true. Boris had first sent out a vanguard force to feint an attack on the refinery, as the ocelomeh had expected. While the ocelomeh engaged the vanguard, their allies in the university and city center sent out reinforcements to help. That was precisely Boris’ plan, as sending those reinforcements had weakened the defenses of the university. Next, Boris made use of his helicopter transports to drop troops to the north of the target. He and the rest of his forces would then assault from the south while the others would attack from the north. He put some tanks to the east to cut off their last route of escape and to punch through any remaining resistance. Worked like a charm. The university was about to fall any moment now, and the ocelomeh had no choice but to flee west, to the refinery, where the Fusangren should arrive to finish them off.
“Still, you sped things up a lot,” Gebhard said, “We would’ve been here for weeks if you didn’t join us. What I wouldn’t give for another one of you…”
“I’m flattered,” Boris said.
“We’re almost done with the university,” Ollin said, “Great job.”
“With any luck, we can move on the refineries as early as tomorrow,” Boris said, “Call up the Fusangren and tell them to start hitting them.”
“Uh, about that,” Gebhard said.
“What?” Boris said.
“They never showed,” Gebhard said, “The Fusang army was stalled to the northwest.”
“They’re not going to make it here, are they?” Ollin said.
“No,” Gebhard said, “We’re on our own.”
“Change of plans,” Boris said, “We have to hit them as soon as possible. We need to move out right now.”
At that moment, a loud explosion rippled across the city, shaking the ancient watchtower. All three men looked to their right and watched as one of the refineries exploded, engulfing several blocks in red-hot flames. Another refinery exploded, followed by another, and then another, until all of the refineries were up in flames, dozens of pillars of smoke billowing up around them.
“Oh God,” Gebhard said.
“Not again,” Ollin said.
“The madmen,” Boris said, “How much oil is that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ollin said, “We have to put it out.”
“They’ll get away,” Gebhard said.
“They’ll get away anyways,” Ollin said, “The city will burn if we pursue them.”
They stopped talking for a moment and listened to the sounds of the city. The gunfire and artillery blasts had died down. They had been replaced by screams and the steady simmering of the flames as they spread into downtown. In the distance, behind the smoke, Boris could see lines of pickup trucks filled with black-clad ocelomeh escaping into the desert.
“Let them go,” Boris said, “We’ll get them another day.”
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Feeling a little better right now so I decided to post this. I’ll definitely be resting up afterward.
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Seems the battle for Eimerica is truly hitting chaotic levels. The Fusangren getting stalled? Seems the Coalition are in for a tougher fight ahead of them.
The Eimericas are truly hanging in the balance for the MCS against the Colation. Will the Eimericas fall or shall it stand and defeat this threat?
@CaptainAlvious the images for your Volkerschlact (KR mod) updates more specifically the Nationalist Union of China, Indian Empire, The Imperial Crusade, and Mittagsland are not showing up.
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I'll look into it and fix it soon. Thank you for informing me of this problem.
Edit: @GhostRider124 , I just fixed the updates you mentioned. It should be normal now, although the images might be smaller than they were before. but not by much Again, thank you for telling me about this, let me know if something happens again.
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And it’s the third time this has happened. Zolton did it in the previous two wars.
Study Session 2
Hofstadter Junior High School - October 17, 2016
Alex looked awkwardly at Josh and Manfred again. He had wanted to continue sketching that schematic he started in physics class, but he couldn’t coast through the next hour or so now that he was assigned to this group.
“Well, this is kind of ironic,” he said, “Here we are…in Oskar’s class…again…”
Manfred rolled his eyes. “Wonder why he did this.”
Josh opened his copy of The Origins of Modernity. “Why don’t we just get this out of the way as soon as possible? That way we won’t have to put up with each other for long.”
“Good idea,” Alex said.
Manfred said nothing.
“Okay,” Josh said, “So, let’s start the questions. Why did the medieval Reich put significant emphasis on a cavalry-based land army?”
“Well, the Reich is a land-based country, as I’m sure you both know, so naturally Berlin would invest heavily in the army,” Alex said, “Cavalry formed the backbone of the army because of how the old eastern empire’s army was built around kataphraktoi, which when paired with the road network established by Friedrich the Great meant faster communication and deployment in the event of an uprising somewhere.”
“So the navy was neglected then, like during the First Empire?” Josh said.
“Oh, no,” Alex said, “The navy continued to protect Mediterranean and Indian Ocean trade routes as well as North Sea trade. The Vikings remained an ever present threat, especially now that they were backed by a single Scandinavian monarchy which no longer needed to worry about local rivals and stood to financially and militarily gain from raiding foreign shores. Which kind of applies to the next question on this list. What events led to the Reich’s military and trade policy pivoting from protecting inter-European trade to foreign trade?”
“The Mongol invasion, the first part of the Thirteenth Century Crisis,” Josh said, “The Reich built massive border defenses in Taurica and Transcaucasia in response to Genghis Khan’s hordes. This era also saw the beginning of a close collaboration with Persia which had started with a Seljuk princess marrying Kaiser Wilhelm I. The shahs invited the Roman military into Persia to help local authorities patrol the Silk Road routes in Central and West Asia in exchange for splitting the profits. Both sides saw giving the other some of the money an acceptable loss if it meant keeping the routes out of the Mongols’ hands.”
“Because Genghis Khan sought to bring the entire Silk Road under his rule so he could direct and control trade,” Alex said, “And eliminate the routes that weren’t. He’d have a financial monopoly on the entire network.”
“Exactly,” Josh said, “And this had a cultural effect in the east which was?”
“The proto-nationalism Herr Oskar talked about last Friday,” Alex said, “Where anti-Mongol sentiment drove many locals in the Middle East to firmly embrace Roman culture and consider themselves Romans, completing the assimilation of the region. Jewish refugees from the subjugated Saray Khaganate were encouraged to settle in the Reich, and they enlisted in the legions in large numbers, bringing with them battle tactics from their time on the steppes that were crucial in stopping Temur Khan during his invasion of Taurica. And the navy was used to transport troops from all over the country to Taurica when marching over land proved too slow. Many soldiers were offered land in the area once the Mongols were driven back. Up until the Soviet occupation, Taurica’s population was a mix of Greeks, descended from these soldiers, and Jews and other steppe inhabitants descended from those who fled the collapse of Saray.”
“Okay,” Josh said, “Next question?”
“There was a second event that caused the pivot in Roman military and trade policy,” Alex said, “The question’s not over yet.”
“Let me guess, the Sunset Invasion?” Josh said.
“Yeah,” Alex said.
“Let’s see, the invasion caught both the Romans and Scandinavians off guard, and Mexica troops were reported to have rampaged through mainland Scandinavia and even northern Germania,” Josh said, “Though reports of the razing of Altmark were probably exaggerated. There isn’t even a Mexica pyramid in Altmark as the sources claim, though it is clear Ocuil Acatl’s invasion forces captured Kaiser Wilhelm III there on their way to take Berlin. The heavy losses they suffered while capturing the Kaiser, as well as from the ensuing desperate counterattack by the Romans trying to free him or at least recover the sword Enonon, forced them to retreat. Realistically they only occupied Iceland, Hibernia, Caledonia, and parts of Scandinavia. Because Hibernia was an island and Britannia needed reinforcements against a potential incursion from Caledonia, which did come eventually, Kaiser Siegfried I oversaw a massive expansion of the navy to cut off Mexica supply lines, specifically to blockade the Britannian Isles and ship in troops. This was instrumental in securing victories at Ergyng and Worcester and later in the retaking of Hibernia and Caledonia and the liberation of Iceland.”
“Yeah, but that’s just the military history, right?” Alex said. “What about trade?”
“Prior to the Sunset Invasion, the Britannian Isles were considered the safest areas of the Reich from foreign invasion,” Josh said, “Since they’re up against the Atlantic, and at the time people believed the Atlantic was too large to cross safely, at least from what I understand. And with the Sahara guarding the south and the north heavily defended against Scandinavians and Russians, all potential invaders had to come from the east. Which is why the military focused on Taurica’s and Mesopotamia’s defenses.”
“But when Ocuil Acatl captured and killed Wilhelm III, Siegfried realized no province was safe,” Alex said, “Every part of the Reich was now equally threatened.”
“So the military shifted from purely focusing on Scandinavia, Russia, and Persia to reinforcing the west, building up a massive fleet,” Josh said, “Increases in naval spending eliminated piracy on the Atlantic coast, protect better against Viking raids, and fostered the growth of a merchant marine.”
“And from there, the foundations of trans-Atlantic trade were established,” Alex said, “The motivations for exploring the New World and establishing the colony of Neurhomania shifted from fighting the Alliance to generating wealth and extracting resources for Europe to encouraging the growth of local economies interconnected with Europe’s.”
“The Reichsflotte paged the way for the expansion of the merchant marine,” Josh said.
“Exactly,” Alex said.
“I have to say, this is kind of interesting,” Josh said.
“How so?” Alex said.
“Like when I grew up, I saw the history of the country as being directed by the Kaisers alone,” Josh said, “The reason we expanded into the New World was because Siegfried I and subsequent rulers wanted revenge against the Mexica for Wilhelm III’s death.”
“Well, it’s obviously much more than that, right?” Alex said. “They couldn’t do it alone. Thus they built up the navy and encouraged a shift from land to the sea, from east to west, and so on. Instead of the forests of Eastern Europe, they got their timber from Neurhomania. They started fishing off the coast of North Eimerica as the Basques did, not just on the European coasts. They built farms in Sudafrika, where they also established mines to supplement the farms and mines of Central Europe. And while Aegyptus and the Fertile Crescent still produced a lot of the country’s crops, it wasn’t their only source now. Many people there could now focus on other things like intellectual discussion.”
“I just don’t see how this is useful,” Manfred said, “I’m not going to be a historian, so why do I need to know all of this stuff about Juzzugs and medieval military logistics?”
“Juzzugs?” Alex said.
“Jewsade,” Manfred said.
“Oh right, that one time the Kohen Gadol was held hostage and forced to declare a milkhemet reshut against the Reich,” Josh said, “Truly a bizarre moment in history.”
“Up there with the founding of House von Ottoman,” Alex said.
“Definitely,” Josh said.
“But still, I don’t need to know all this stuff,” Manfred said.
“I get that a lot,” Oskar said, walking over.
“Herr Oskar, I’m curious,” Manfred said, “Why is social studies a required class?”
“Don’t you remember the saying?” Oskar said. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Ocuil Acatl said ‘All this has happened before, and it will happen again’. We have to study history to learn what people like us did before, and either follow in their footsteps or learn from their mistakes. The meritocratic system was built over centuries of trial and error by many different people, building on the achievements and failures of their predecessors. Like did you know the reason the death penalty is limited to only a few specific cases outlined in the Augustinian Code is because Kaiser Reinhard issued a moratorium against violence?”
“Yeah, but he was paranoid and not quite sane,” Manfred said.
“So we learned from his reign,” Oskar said, “We rejected his paranoia and insanity and refined that moratorium over the years into our modern policy on the death penalty. This is why the Reich has survived all these years when every other large empire at the time other than China collapsed eventually. And even China has gone through multiple cycles of collapse, civil war, and internal division. We adapt and take the best of our predecessors and contemporaries, with as little of the worst as possible. For example, we built the Augustinian Code out of Justinian's legal reforms, and we learned to avoid the succession crises that destroyed the First Empire by codifying our own succession laws.”
“I suppose,” Manfred said.
“More importantly, the Sunset Invasion fueled Roman foreign policy for centuries even after the Thirteenth Century Crisis ended,” Oskar said, “After driving the Acatls out of the Reich, the Kaisers turned to pushing them out of Scandinavia and Iceland. After that, they turned to developing better ships to cross the Atlantic so they take the fight to the Alliance. This has the side effect of shifting the Reich from a primarily land-based empire in the later medieval period to a naval-based global empire in the early modern era.”
“But the majority of the Reich’s territory remained in Europe didn’t it?” Alex said.
“That didn’t stop the Kaisers from looking outward,” Oskar said, “Eimerich’s voyages were funded by the Imperial Throne and had access to the Reichsflotte’s resources. His mission was to scout out the New World for places where military bases could be established and to assess the strength of the Triple Alliance. Other explorers like Malintzin, Arndt, Ferdinand, and Gabriel were similarly funded. Neurhomania was initially intended to be a resource extraction colony and a foothold from which to launch the Sunrise Invasion, but slowly it became an integral province of the Reich. The process sped up after Sunrise Invasion removed the threat, encouraging immigration. It became a colonial hub, and many Romans, particularly minorities, were encouraged to settle there. That's why the Gemischt culture has Malian, French, Polish, and native roots, and Malintzin is revered almost like a saint there. Had the Romans turned inward after driving the Acatls out of Europe, the Triple Alliance likely would’ve remained a major power, and Neurhomania would not exist in its current form.”
“I…guess so,” Manfred said, “But still, I’m not going to use this in my job. You see, I want to be a lawyer, not a historian.”
“Knowing history can keep you informed of related events happening in real life,” Oskar said, “Like how the legacy of the Saray Khaganate persists today in many parts of Yavdi, such as its Jewish and Zoroastrian communities. Many of those communities had been there for centuries, but a large number of Persians settled in Yavdi after the revolution. They contributed significantly to Yavdi’s development, building many institutions we see today. In recent decades, they were heavily persecuted by the Soviets who sought to Russianize them. Today, they remain locked in a constant struggle for more recognition by the Yavdian authorities. Some even call for reparations from the Russian government for Soviet atrocities. This can provide context when studying Russian and Yavdian law. And the French Lives Matter movement currently ongoing in Gallia is only happening because we no longer want to continue the centuries of injustices committed against the French. There's a reason very few people knew the word 'France' as recent as twenty years ago, thanks to the early Kaisers. Now the French people are rediscovering their culture and want to show the rest of us they are still here, and they are just as Roman. And I bet you’ll be interacting with them a lot as a lawyer.”
“But still, I’m not going to be the ambassador to Yavdi,” Manfred said, “What do I gain from learning about Yavdian Jews? I’m not going to be a lawyer in Yavdi. And have you seen what the cartels force lawyers to do in Russia? I'm not French either, and I doubt FLM activists would contact me. I barely even know what FLM is.”
“A greater understanding of the world,” Oskar said, “That is reward enough. Not everything is about money or status.”
“With all due respect, Herr Oskar, I don’t see it,” Manfred said, “If it doesn’t affect me in any way, I don’t see why it’s relevant to me.”
Oskar sighed. “Alright. I’m sorry you see it that way. It’s fine.”
“I’ll still try to learn, okay?” Manfred said. “I’m still in this class, Herr Oskar. I’ll still try my best.”
“I would appreciate that, Manfred,” Oskar said.
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I see that some students like Manfred there are going for a closed world view and are forgetting about what makes the Reich great and its rise to power out of hard work alone! (ignoring the console commands and the angels)