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Skymning said:
War.
FYI, the colors of the title of the next installment tell what's going to happen. I developed it by accident during my Swedish AAR. Blue/Green are peace or diplomatic (though I forgot which was which
o ) and red is something violent.
We could always use more violence.JoshWeber said:War.
FYI, the colors of the title of the next installment tell what's going to happen. I developed it by accident during my Swedish AAR. Blue/Green are peace or diplomatic (though I forgot which was which
Chapter 7
July 3, 1839
July 3, 1839:
Otto learned very quickly that he had to find something to help him connect with the people he ruled. There was a lot of agitation at Otto’s failure to issue the people a constitution. Thankfully he was learning Greek. Though he had trouble carrying on a conversation, he could read a prepared speech well enough to trick the casual observer. That helped a little. What helped more, though, was to remind the modern Greeks of their connections to ancient Greece, praising both groups whenever possible. At times the Greeks even let him get away with comparing himself to the Greek rulers of old, provided that it wasn’t Athens, of course.
Otto hoped that history would help him connect with the Greeks today. He was about to ask them to do something that would, in all likelihood, be very hard. And if history didn’t work, he could always appeal to their pride and religion. Even people who hate their country’s history are quick to act when their sense of pride is injured.
With sweaty palms – he wondered if they were sweaty from the heat or from nervousness – Otto climbed the stairs to the top of the Phocian Wall to address all of those gathered before him. Of course the crowed was partially composed of reporters, censored press or not, newspapers still sold, but also of people from all across the Greek nation. Was this a good sign? Were the Greek people finally starting to accept him? Or were they merely hoping he would fail so they could tell their friends at the market about the funny king they saw today?
“We are standing on hallowed ground today. We are standing on a place that has been revered for centuries. We are standing on the place where western civilization was saved.
“Over 2300 years ago the Greeks were a divided people. Athenian fought Spartan. Corinthian fought Thebian. Plataean fought Thesbian. Greeks slaughtered Greek for century. It was one large family in which brother too quickly went after brother’s throat. However, also like a family, the Greeks stood side-by-side in the face of any sort of outside threat. The blood that divided them would suddenly unite them in the face of danger. They would stand beside one another until the danger was gone.
“We are standing in an area where the Greeks did exactly that. We are standing at Thermopylae. This is the very spot in which the Greeks saved the world.
“In the face of Xerxes’ assault on everything good, the Greeks stood together to defend their homeland. In the face of Xerxes’ assault, Greeks gave their lives to defend their brothers.
“Originally intended merely as an advanced guard, the Spartans knew that they had no choice but to give fight at Thermopylae. Leonidas knew that failure was not an option. He knew that, if the Persians were allowed to advance past Thermopylae unmolested, all of Greece would fall. They would live out the rest of their lives as servants. Their wives would live out the rest of their lives as members of a Persian harem. This was unacceptable.
“Wave after wave of Persians attacked. Time after time they were repulsed. The Greek soldier was simply too much. Even in the face of the Immortals, Xerxes’ crack troops, Leonidas simply ordered the Spartans to advance, facing them on the battlefield. Of course, even the Immortals were no match for the training and fighting spirit of the Spartan hoplite. Once again, the Persians were repulsed. At one point during the battle a Persian bragged that if they fired their arrows it would block out the Sun. The Spartan defender merely remarked ‘Good. Then we can fight in the shade.’
“Only when Ephialtes, a traitor to his people, his culture and his history, showed the Persians a pass through the mountain were they able to defeat the defending Greeks. However, even then they did not surrender. They did not flee. They did not beg for their lives. No, rather, they went down fighting like men. And when Leonidas did fall, the Spartans fought over his corpse. Four times the Persians captured it and four times the Spartans regained it. When the Immortals finally outflanked the defenders, they fell back to a more defensible position, fighting, at times, hand-to-hand. And the battle raged until, by midday on the third day, all was quiet.
“You may ask yourself why I recount this story. Why do I recount this seeming defeat? It is because a great struggle is coming to Greece. At times it may seem like our soldiers are fighting another Thermopylae, a seemingly lost battle. At those times, though, I ask you to look back to Thermopylae for encouragement. Though, at first glance it appears to be a loss, it was actually exactly what the people needed in order to mount the final assault. It was what the people needed to halt the Persian advance for all time. It was what the people needed to create the world we live in today.
“During this struggle there will be good times and there will be bad. During the bad I ask you to trust in me, our commanders, and above all, our soldiers. We will fight. We will be successful. We will defeat the Ottomans.”
Otto declares war on the Ottoman Empire:
The hill where the Spartans made their final stand at Thermopylae:
The hill where the Spartans made their final stand at Thermopylae:
Next: False Start pt. II
Takin' on the woooooooorrrrrldddd...
Takin' on the woooooooorrrrrldddd...
False start? Does that mean that you may not end up victorious?
Takin' on the woooooooorrrrrldddd...
False start? Does that mean that you may not end up victorious?
It means that they moved before the War causing the the defending troops to jump over the borderline.
We will respot the boundries five miles back and repeat the 2nd day.
We will respot the boundries five miles back and repeat the 2nd day.
Dumouriez said:
I was wondering when a Greek would show up.
And by "remember Portugal" do you mean "remember to take Portugal?"
Sure, why not. And as great Greek poet once said
"Let's get ready for the assault to the Heaven"
After all the whole Europe bowed to the Greek might in June in Portugal :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: .........
So I expect that that will be the case with your AAR!!
"Let's get ready for the assault to the Heaven"
After all the whole Europe bowed to the Greek might in June in Portugal :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: .........
So I expect that that will be the case with your AAR!!
Sounds like a nice uphill battle for Greece..... It'd be nice to see the Greeks on both sides of the Aegean again. Good luck!
JoshWeber said:
And several other regions of modern Greece (Macedonia, Epirus and Thessaly) and Romania to be exact. But there the revolution was put down rather easily and relatively fast.