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| Risorgimento del Sicilia; NTW: AAR | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 11 2012, 01:49 PM (253 Views) | |
| Telosan | Mar 11 2012, 01:49 PM Post #1 |
The Foremost Intellectual Badass
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Alright, I've run a practice campaign a decent number of turns to get a grasp of my new mod and am now ready to attempt this AAR. The mod I found is called Napoleonic Total War III. It's very historically focused, to the point that all the names of countries, units, buildings, etc are in the languages of their countries (which makes identifying south-eastern minor nations ridiculously difficult). The flags are all changed to more accurate versions and the AI has been modified to behave differently for different factions. The example they provided was Russia, with poorer equipment and larger numbers, has reduced range and firepower for their units, but increased melee stats and a greater tendency to charge. On the other hand, the smaller, highly trained and superbly equipped British have the reverse and will shy away from melee whenever possible. Rather than pick a larger nation, I figured I would try something small and let the giants toss each other around. I'll be playing as Sicily, who starts off allied to Austria, but fortunately at peace with all. I'm certain the French and Austrians will fight almost immediately, so I'm likely to be drawn into a war or a breaking of alliance. My immediate goals will be securing my area and perhaps conquering Italy. I'll attempt the campaign objectives, but will not be limited to them. I dislike naval battles, due to their glacial pacing and will be autoresolving them. Campaign difficulty will be Medium/Medium, so I don't get slaughtered on my little island but the game remains interesting, especially since the AI has been greatly enhanced by the mod. Comments are welcome! Edited by Telosan, Mar 11 2012, 01:53 PM.
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| Porcu | Mar 11 2012, 01:58 PM Post #2 |
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."
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Good luck! :P |
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| Telosan | Mar 11 2012, 03:47 PM Post #3 |
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The Foremost Intellectual Badass
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My campaign begins here, in the picturesque southern island of Sicily. Under the rule of Ferdinando III, this idyllic countryside cares not for any of the happenings outside his immediate sphere of influence. In fact, he seems content to let the region sit in a relative state of decay, as the national infrastructure is due for an overhaul. Spoiler: click to toggle After much international pressure, Ferdinando was convinced to seek the services of a new advisor. Fortunately for our story and, perhaps, not so fortunate for the populations of the region, this patriotic young man seeks to expand this small kingdom and eventually be a great power. With this in mind, the dockyards to the east are converted, perhaps riskily, to a naval base for the construction of a navy rather than a port for trade. As the months pass, our advisor comes to realize that the current cabinet is nothing but an obstacle. A playground of decadent politicians holding the nation back for the their own benefit. Without much liking for any of these men, Ferdinando agreed to the reorganization of the government's ministers. Spoiler: click to toggle By the session's end, not a single politician has retained his seat and the pool of worthy candidates has been exhausted, yet our advisor remains unsatisfied. The government will remain in turmoil for several months, with many ministers holding their seats for a few weeks, at best. As midsummer comes to pass, the dockyards have finally been completed and a new warship inhabits its piers. This warship, though Sicily's only vessel, carries 80 guns and is surely the largest ship on the Mediterranean. To command this fledgling navy, our advisor recruits Desi Auriemma as its captain and admiral. Spoiler: click to toggle Despite the celebrations, Admiral Auriemma complains of the inadequacies of the naval administration and warns that it will be some time before fleet operations can begin. Sadly, the execution of the previous naval minister did little to help this problem. Edited by Telosan, Mar 11 2012, 03:48 PM.
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| Telosan | Mar 11 2012, 10:35 PM Post #4 |
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The Foremost Intellectual Badass
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These turbulent times offer many opportunities to all who live in it. Sicily itself gained independence from the chances found in the decadent Spanish Empire. Fortunes, however, appear to come in pairs as our small island nation so soon discovered. With most funds being channeled to the establishment and maintenance of the Sicilian Navy, the army was left relatively untouched, Ferdinando and the advisor both counting on the small island being too far out of the way for the great powers to bother with. In an ironic twist of fate, it would be the Spanish to prove them wrong and prove the Duality of Fortunes. Spoiler: click to toggle With little warning, an experienced, professional Spanish army lands just a few miles from the capital, Palermo. In a panic, our advisor himself ran through the streets, calling to arms any volunteers to defend their homeland. By the day's end, our advisor and his assistants have gathered a little under 3,000 citizens to bolster the Sicilian Army's pitiful 800 regulars. As the Spanish under Joaquin Joyes approach the city, Ferdinando and his ministers make preparations for a hasty retreat, despite the advisor's protests of the futility of such an action. Spoiler: click to toggle Determined to make a stand, our advisor enlists his childhood friend, Vanni Bassano, to lead these men since the Sicilian War Minister remains unmovable beneath his bunker of a desk. The two coordinate the city's defenses, fully expecting the walls to be breached. In the panic, some citizens drop a crate of ordinance, and a terrible hole is torn in the walls of Palermo. Spoiler: click to toggle The regulars are stationed at the gap and as the Spanish drums are heard beyond the forested limits, many of these men are found praying the gap will remain hidden by the very forest that hides the Spanish. Alas, this is not so, and a great tremble shakes the ground before the Spanish cavalry break through the treeline, storming into the ranks of citizens. Bassano fears they will break, but the desperate calls from the citizens' wives keep them firmly grounded. Spoiler: click to toggle Realizing the gap will be difficult to exploit, General Joyes attempts to scale the walls themselves. Repositioning beneath the citizens, they take fire from the frightened men above. Spoiler: click to toggle Spoiler: click to toggle After a long, hard fight, the Spanish regulars fall back, surprised by the tenacity of the supposedly weak Sicilian moral. The bastard Joyes hides behind his artillery, just beyond the forest and continues to bombard the city. Women cry out as their beloved husbands fall from the walls from round after round of shot. Angered, Bassano and our advisor themselves sally out through the bloodied and flaming gap to spring through the trees and cut down the crew. In the frenzied melee, the advisor finds himself in single combat with General Joyes himself, but a nearby cavalryman rushes to his rescue and an awful slash rakes across his swordarm. Bassano, thankfully, saves his life at the last moment with a slash of his own. Joyes tries to flee, but a carefully aimed pistol shot from Bassano brings him down. Spoiler: click to toggle With General Joyes killed and the Spanish landing force slaughtered, Sicily lives another day. Our advisor is praised for his personal bravery on the field, but he modestly rejects any commendation, instead promoting Vanni Bassano to general, for his valor and assistance in the defense of Palermo. |
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| Telosan | Mar 11 2012, 10:36 PM Post #5 |
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The Foremost Intellectual Badass
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However, there is no time to rest and even as our advisor nurses his wounds, the less glorious aspects of war sink in. The economy in shambles, the Sicilian Navy is forced to engage in raiding the enemy trade routes near the island. This proves an unhelpful source of income and the growth of the navy is put on hold. The dockyards are converted to a commercial port and taxes raised as bankruptcy seems imminent. Spoiler: click to toggle The construction is rushed and with its completion comes desperate trade agreements with Great Britain, Austria, and Russia. Finally, the economy seems saved. The Duality of Fortunes has not been fulfilled, though, and before a single merchantship has arrived, the Spanish raid the port, angered by their defeat by such an insignificant power. Spoiler: click to toggle Trade cut off and bankruptcy upon him, the advisor falls ill from the stress and the improper care of his wound. General Bassano rushes out and removes the invaders from the harbor. At sea once again, the twice insulted Spanish seek any target they can find. Admiral Auriemma, only recently aware of the Defense of Palermo, is inbound to Sicily and the Spanish fleet attacks. Frightened by the vastly superior fleet in both size, guns, and crew, Auriemma sensibly retreats and finds himself at the mouth of the Adriatic. Determined to report something of worth, the Spanish admiral pursues and the trapped Sicilian Admiral must fight. Spoiler: click to toggle The battle is one sided, and Admiral Desi Auriemma faces the forgone conclusion with bravery. A week later, a message arrives from Austria with the grisly news. Auriemma has drowned along the warm spring coast of the Adriatic, and with him, the Sicilian Navy is reduced to driftwood. Spoiler: click to toggle
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| Telosan | Mar 12 2012, 11:41 PM Post #6 |
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The Foremost Intellectual Badass
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The Duality of Fortunes, though a clever theory, is quite obviously false. Our advisor's theory is thrown on its head as a passing French fleet stops to raid the Sicilian port, cutting off, yet again, the nation's only trade routes. Spoiler: click to toggle This leaves the poor nation with too few funds to repair the damage, even if the French left the eastern shores. Desperate pleas to the Austrians are never responded to and our advisor falls ill once again with stress as bankruptcy is imminent once more. Bassano, originally intending to pay his friend a visit, instead delivers a terrible message. General Joyes somehow survived the last battle and now he has returned, this time with two armies under his command. In this time of peril, the advisor decides to resume his duties despite his health and again gathers what men he can find. Spoiler: click to toggle The cowardly Joyes insults those who bested him once by demanding a surrender, a request denied out of hand. With the die cast, General Joyes and his horde swarms against the walls of Palermo once more. This time, though, the regular army numbers only 200 men, while the remaining forces consist solely of armed locals. Spoiler: click to toggle Spoiler: click to toggle The firefights are fierce, but the walls save many a man. Repairing the gap from the last battle was truly a wise investment, as the Spanish circle the city, searching for a weak point. With none to be found, the sizeable Spanish batteries unleash hell on the fortifications. Spoiler: click to toggle Spoiler: click to toggle This proves too much for heavily bombarded cornerstone and the point collapses. The sole unit of regulars stationed atop the section of wall take many casualties as half their numbers fall into the flaming rubble below. Spoiler: click to toggle Even as the advisor sways in his saddle from fever, he convinces Bassano to sally out, at attempt to flank the assaulting forces. Trusting in his friend's judgement, the general gives the order and crowds of natives swarm through the gates. Spoiler: click to toggle General Joyes realizes the potential of the Sicilian move and offers a response, leading the charge himself. With this, Bassano and the advisor join the fray to urge the men on; if only for the pragmatic calculation that their loss could break the defenses. Facing down the man who brought his wound, illness, and danger upon him, however, the advisor hopes for revenge. He is rewarded when an opportunity presents itself and he throws himself at the Spaniard. On the same horse, the two grapple until the advisor manages to force Joyes to the ground, where he is trampled beneath his own horse. Spoiler: click to toggle At the sight of their fallen general, the Spanish assault falters for a moment and feeling victory, Bassano and the advisor allow the attackers to retreat. As they disengage and turn back towards the city, another portion of the wall crumbles. Spoiler: click to toggle The new opening revives the enemy's moral and they surge forward. The Sicilian leadership races through the fresh gap, littered with the bodies of the wall's former inhabitants and throw together the defenses just as the Spanish break through the rubble. Spoiler: click to toggle Spoiler: click to toggle The Spanish assault finally repelled, it appears that the Sicilians have gained the upper hand, but the only remaining Spanish forces are the dreadful batteries in the distance. With the regulars, who are trained in such tasks, entirely depleted by the battle... Spoiler: click to toggle ... the advisor is forced to take whatever volunteers he can gather to storm the distant guns. At his insistence, Bassano remains in the city with the remaining citizen-army as the advisor leads the ragtag taskforce onward. Spoiler: click to toggle The daring rush is a success and the batteries are captured with relatively minor losses, though a close round of canister wounds Joyes' old mount and the advisor is forced to switch to another horse. Rounding south to the last of the artillery, the force is ambushed by Spanish cavalry that spring from the woods. Unaccustomed to formations such as the square, the locals are shredded by the professional Spaniards even as canister rips through their flanks. Ordering a retreat back to the city, the advisor is overrun by the cavalry himself and dragged to the ground. Fate spares him the same death as Joyes, however, and the charge continues on into the advisor's task force. His fever has drained him and the young patriot in unable to stand after several attempts. From morbidly perfect view of the city, he watches as the walls are pounded into the dirt and the resistance slaughtered. After another hour's time, a few men are ushered above the city's main gate by a squad of the Spanish cavalrymen. Lined up along the parapets, the advisor recognizes the members of the cabinet and King Ferdinando himself as, one by one, the squad fires and they fall backwards to the ground below. Spoiler: click to toggle Lastly, his friend and general, Vanni Bassano is brought forth and hung from the gates, where he remains until the advisor's consciousness fades. When he comes to, he finds himself in Palermo. Overjoyed for a brief moment, he is soon struck by reality as a Spanish soldier passes his cell and the he realizes at once. He has been captured and imprisoned, sadistically within his home city. The "advisor" vows vengeance, but for now he cannot fathom how he will bring it to bear. Edited by Telosan, Mar 12 2012, 11:41 PM.
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| Telosan | Mar 12 2012, 11:43 PM Post #7 |
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The Foremost Intellectual Badass
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~~~~~ The campaign has ended! This was a very close battle and an odd glitch prevented my guys from charging the last battery. This battle could have been won, but I did not want to continue it after 5+ hours. This was brutal, though. Any thoughts? Suggestions? |
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11:34 AM Jul 13