IGdood
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And thus, the British have fallen... so it's basically now us and the Mughal who dominate most of the world at the moment, that friendly status will not last long once everyone else is gone...
Oh, so conquered factions can come back if their conquerors have fallen and they rebel, interesting. Hm, I'd wonder then if the Mughals falls before all it's territory is taken...
Yeah. And when that friendly status turns hostile....... it'll be the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny.
Yeah, but only if it's the conquered faction's province that is rebelling. So of Scotland rebels, we won't get the British back. Instead, the Scotland faction will arise. There's a lot of minor factions in the game that only appear during rebellion in the special province.
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With Ireland ours and the London garrison taken, only Edinburgh, Scotland remains. Its garrison sallies forth, but I found an excellent defensible position. The soldiers are not at full strength, having replenished only partially from the second battle at Finland.
I'm in my corner, waiting for you. We all are. Funny thing is suddenly the officer of the Arni Militia is doing the leading. maybe he's training for leadership under the Anon/b/ Knight officer? hahahaa
Blackguard, I want a very very LONG row of stakes.
That is a magical cluster of flying shrapnel, which I managed to press the pause button on right after the shot exploded. It does things like....the second screenshot.
Oi it's just a flesh wound....
Stakes? Stakes!? STAAAAAKKKKKKESSSS!
Sniping from safety.
Little Friend packs quite a big package.
Every cavalryman in this screenshot is actually dead. They didn't fall yet.
Arni Militia, open fire! They're like cowboys. Sorta.
Sharpshooters provide covering fire on the side.
The crew of Little Friend are in a bit of a sticky situation and are forced to withdraw.
The Brown Eagles move out of the line and see if they can get some shots off into the British side.
And it turns into a mass melee. The Brutalizers I'm not worrying about.
Some heavy cavalry force the Brown Eagles back through the lines. But they managed to get a few shots off.
Coldstream Guards. Where the Black Watch excel in melee the Coldstream Guards excel in shooting. SO. I clicked all my guards, set to melee mode, and.....CHHHHHHAARRRRRGE
The Blackguard are really taking a beating.
They're starting to break.
They break. Surprisingly the Company Infantry pursued the fastest despite being tired.
The armies of Britain are defeated (well not their colonial ones, but that doesn't matter)
Scotland belongs to us now!
With the fall of britain new nations arise in the Americas. The United States, Gran Columbia, Quebec, the Huron-Wyandot, and the Pirates have returned.
New nations.....ready to join the Order (by force of arms)
There are also many rogue provinces, of course it's a scramble to grab those before the Mughal do.
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One would think Europe is out of adult males by now.
When in doubt, make MOAR.
Previously on Empire Total War, we were eying the British Isles in a bit of a hungry manner.
Anyways, INVASION TIME. The Mughals remained my allies, but decided to cancel infinite military access with me, LOL.
Dublin's pitiful garrison fell.
Scotland is under siege.
There was no dock so I couldn't just run in and clear London out. Looks like the generics will have to wait this one out.
The British forces rush to the defense of their capital and their Parliament and their king and queen and god save whatnot.
I've no idea where my reinforcements will be coming from, but I think it'll be from a corner.
The wrong corner. Anyways, while we reform our lines, let's take a look and admire British uniform fashion.
And the Brits also get the single BEST horse unit in the game....and they're just called "Horse Guards." Their stats are in the 20s, including defense, which is insane for a cavalry unit. Fuck, these guys can probably fight it out with an infantry unit and WIN. Hell, I tried it once in a custom battle and they can even beat squares. Well, one square. Still, that's legendary for a cavalry unit. They put the Household Cavalry to shame. Thankfully, they still die to bullets, cannonballs, and stakes just as easily as everyone else.
Triple line, bitches, let's see you Brits break through this!
I don't expect the front line to last too long. Is it just me or do I feel like the bad guy?
Swiss Pikemen? Just try to stay away from their pikes!
Form a square. You're meant to be surrounded!
Well the British are fleeing and my front line is still standing. Somewhat.
Not even the AYE-REESH can stawp me
Horse guards are actually routing, after they chopped 4 line infantry regiments to pieces.
British reinforcements are coming in, but let's keep going.
Through the woods we go, trees provide some cover, but they provide the enemy some cover too!
Ah, Nock's volley Gun. The brits HAVE to get their own version of the blunderbuss shotgun.
And dealing with the Black Watch, badass Scottish mofos who have insanely high melee stats. Yes they shot at me for some time, but then they decided to have a good ol' KAPLAAAAA and wiped out 3 line infantry regiments before finally routing themselves.
Here my cuirassiers charged into a melee, but then they were quickly sniped to death by Swiss jaegers (who carried silent guns, so I couldn't pinpoint their location on the battlefield)
Oh, here they are.
Chaaaaarge!
When in doubt, throw more soldiers at it. You'll get results
Surprisingly, they lost more than I lost soldiers.
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Maybe the kill ratios could've been better, but mind you that that's FINLAND. I'm sure your soldiers were terrified of it, given its history.
Also, how long is this going to go on for? Until you've conquered every province?
Yeah, we shall not rest until the whole world belongs to the Order.
Okay, NOW I can safely say that Continental Europe belong to us now!
And good thing the Russians are now down for the count, revenge has been served. Our fallen's souls have been calmed from their torment...
Indeed they have....
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Time for the Russians to face death.............there is no escape. The fallen shall be avenged.
These are Ghoorkas/Gurkhas. They're great meatshields and aren't too bad at combat.
Exactly why are those Russian reinforcements coming directly from the side? Mother of fucks!
First thing first, I deploy the howitzer (which I had incidentally placed on the side, shit), order the company infantry to form a square, and charge in the Gurkhas for melee support. I also charge in the lancer guards, who seem pretty awesome at killing off cavalry.
That's gonna hurt.
Fuck casualties, pull back and charge again!
Any cavalry who try to break through are then shot by Kingley's Queens.
Even then, some of them make it through and charge the 'Splosion Lads, who while not having square formation, are manly enough in their melee stats to kill off the cavalry. Other Russian reinforcements come in at our front, but Little Friend makes short work of them. Mostly.
Heavy casualties? You bet, Russia's best cavalry are bearing down on us in their own last stand of sorts.
I can't really shift the infantry in my line since they're slow, and the awkward hilly terrain makes it hard to get a shot off (hill blocks bullets, you might know what I'm talking about in some of my zoomed screenshots.) I move in all the ranged cavalry, and even then it's a bit of micromanagement hell.
Hell as in, aw shit the Ghoorkas are routing and Luca's Lacerators shooting some of the Anon Knights by accident and Bruno's Brutalizers shooting a LOT of the Brown Eagles by accident, fucking guys can't aim for shit, it would seem. C'mon, grab your shit together, you're the Royal Army of Malta!
I have the Lancer Guards withdraw. They're spent.
Shit, now I have infantry to deal with....ugh
Meanwhile, the Arni Militia kill off some artillery before galloping back to the line.
Go go Brutalizers
Brown Eagles gotta withdraw, along with some of the other spent infantry units who got into some big gunfights.
Meanwhile, Vanir's reinforcements arrive and are ready to kick ass.
Vanir opens it off by leading a charge against howitzers.
Russians are caught between two places. Vanir's forces are fighting off their infantry in the city, and the Royal Malta Army is fighting whatever's left of them on the grasslands.
The Longshotsmen duel with a group of riflemen. They win, of course.
This is the town fight I was referring to.
Those riflemen sure regrouped quickly.
Well not anymore, thank the Knights.
Sandwiched, and ready to die.
I'm sure the kill ratios would've been a lot better if it weren't for the reinforcements catching me off guard from the flank.
With Finland ours, the Russians are practically no more.
Now let's take a look at Great Britain.....
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Oh wow, Sweden had barely managed to still live by retaking Norway. Talk about being desperate for survival... and now they're gone. But yay! Scandinavia is ours!
The Aesir Riders can now finally rest in piece! lolHeh, 200 years of Garrison Duty? At least they are also from around the beginning of the campaign. Better not suffer the same fate like the Termina Division then. Oh, by the way, it's Vanir, not Vani.
Good to see that the 'new' guys are seeing action.I find it amusing how throughout the ordeal Europe as it has suffer to much border changing... and there is the Red of Great Britain still the same as ever. lol (Granted, their focus has been on America all this time, but still, it's somewhat funny the contrast it makes in Europe now.) And now they're practically the only others left in Europe, since now the Russian are on their last stand and as for Persia... well, that's no longer Europe anyway, though taking the map instead... yeah...
Quite, those Russians will now finally pay for all those who have fallen! Time to give our lost comrades the eternal rest they deserve! *Waves flag*
Yeah, funny was that the Mughals owned Norway, then they retook it from them. Well at least its one province less for the Mughals, and one more for the Order. *_*
Yup, these guys are old.....sorta. Hahaha. I'll try not to get them killed, these militia. And sorry about the typo, it's Vanir...renamed it just now.
And yes, it's really crazy now that you look back to the beginning of this LP. Going from just a tiny island that barely provided any money.....to now.
If those Russians don't attack us, we'll go for them. And then take Finland. And then Great Britain, perhaps, as Integrity wished. Then take their colonies. Then the Mughals. If our income still works out by then. Or I can just send all my armies into Mughal territory (they offered me indefinite military access, those fools!)
Persia doesn't exist anymore, they had two provinces but I took one and the other one rebelled and became Afghanistan, which the Mughals then gobbled up.
Also, Furet, you don't like the Gurkhas? i thought you wanted swordsmen, like actual ones, hahaha! But then that was months ago.
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Russia's provinces are mostly undefenhttp://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?app=forums&module=post§ion=post&do=reply_post&f=24&t=22321ded, and they belong to the Order now.
And with Norway belong to us the Swedish no longer exist as a nation.
15 years ago, the Grandmaster's Finest made their final stand on this very spot. Shall we go down in a glorious defeat, or will we be victorious?
Coming soon.
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This Swedish force stands in our way. Remove it.
Formation, FORWARD!
Halt...annnnd FIRE!
Riflemen? No problem, suck it up and return fire!
This is a bit too easy compared to that failure at Stockholm.
Okay maybe not.
POINT BLANK MUTHAFUCKA
Chipping away at the Swedish, one army at a time.
Alright, this is the first part of the Swedish last stand. I was planning to get into a battle that will involve all their forces but unfortunately their armies were all spread out.
One thing about Swedish cavalry units is that some of them are more numerous than those of other nations (80 instead of 60). It's kind of annoying, but not too bad.
Light dragoons are pretty great in intercepting enemy units.
Damn, that percussion shell almost got them too.
Instead friendly fire wiped out a huge block of my soldiers. Idiots!
Nothing really to report on this battle actually, it was just a grinder.
Now this one is a bit different. I let the force led by Fearsome Vani to lead the assault. In case they fail, then the Royal Army of Malta will arrive to do the killing.
Did I ever mention that for some reason Artillery crews never seem to go down to gunfire? It takes like 40 shots before suddenly all the people manning one cannon collapse and die.
Fuck you, hussars
I thought the Polish were cavalry heavy. Looks like the Swedes are too....or maybe it's just their unit size.
Left flank is folded in because enemy reinforcements are beginning to stream in from that direction.
There were rumors that these folks may be the descendants of the Guttersnipers born during the years of peace after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
These line infantry are given the order to fire at will because they're standing on an elevated surface, allowing them to fire over the heads of their allies in front.
Light infantry? Not on my watch. Order Cavalry, GO!
You ugly sons of bitches. Eat my sword.
What's this? SUPERIOR Line Infantry? That's a unit type I downloaded? Bullshit, you be wiping out my guys.
Out of ammo, fall back. Reserves, move up!
Platoon fire makes the whole regiment go off like a machine gun. Phtoom. Phtoom. Phtoom.
Horse Grenadier Guards? Both units of Order Cavalry, CHARGE!
These infantry are pulling back after wiping out some howitzers in a melee after using up all their ammo. It was fun.
Welcome to war, Arni Militia.
Fighting rifles with pistols? Tactical shift!
After slicing through the cavalry, I withdrew the order cavalry...who then proceeded to run through a scattered unit of some guard infantry.......it was like a movie. One has to wonder if they took lessons from the Aesir and Spiky Gitz....
Brown Eagles on the field.
Guerilla Mercenaries and Breech Loading riflemen. What do? Send in line infantry to draw their fire, then charge in the lancers.
Oh, I just noticed they had cute helmet straps.
Run, you spineless dogs!
Add in some axes for good measure.
So, Stockholm and a lot of other Russian provinces belong to us now. The Russians are currently confined at.....Finland.
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St. Petersburg belongs to us now.
Captain of the Hussars - Men of Malta! Today, we are going to assault the last and only province of the Swedes. They think themselves significant to make a mark in their world; they made the wrong choice by challenging us to a show of arms. They will learn their lesson by the end of this day!
The assaulting army was divided into 3 groups. 2 of the groups will have a cannon team to blow holes on the wall. The troops will then rush through the holes and climb the walls, hopefully to hit the Swedes with enough force such that they can't handle all the attackers at once. The third group will consist of a tiny infantry group who will make a mad dash for the flag after climbing the walls.
The walls crumble. Get ready.
GO. GO. FOR MALTA! FOR THE ORDER! FOR GLORY!
Sir! We're no match for these ma---ARRGGGHHHurgh..
Well, Assault Team 1 is...failing horribly.
Assault Team 2 is fighting to a standstill.
Assault Team 3 is butchering some guerillas on the way.
This is Assault Force 2 reporting. HEAVY FUCKING RESISTANCE. - Line Infantry officer.
Keep fighting, we can't let glory escape us! - Hussar commander
With Assault Team 1 annihilated, the defenders went after Assault Team 3, who had to quickly set up firing positions.
Those guys are not gonna be fighting for Malta any time soon. They got grenade'd.
Silence that artillery and we can get the flag!
Oh FOR THE LOVE OF ST. JOHN FORM SQUARE
The enemy are trying to get the guys outside. Open fire!
Carabineers, you're out of ammo. Charge inside!
WHAT?
Sir, we're heading for the flag! Oh is that quick---AAAUUUUUGH IT BURNSSSSSS *gurgle*
RUN FOR THE HILLS
Are we the only guys left? Oh shit.
And the lancers arrive with a great cry of FUCK YEAH
Dessedor Longshotsmen, here to fix the fucking mess.
Facebreakers show off their melee abilities.
Anon/b/ Officer - Hm, should've blown more holes into the fort before charging, dumbfag. Now yer ass is lying cold on the Swedish floor. -sigh- It's almost time..... Howitzers, I want you to bomb key targets in the fort. Everyone else, stand guard and shoot anyone who tries to charge out.
Let's...stay on the walls and shoot the people down there. Sounds smarter than the previous group, yes?
This is for our fallen brothers! Sorta.
A defeat. Looks like Stockholm won't fall so easily.
These numbers be shameful.
Our forces scattered a bit in their retreat, but they're so cohesive enough that they can reinforce each other in battle.
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Say hello to the Arni Militia. At the beginning of this LP, there were two militia cavalry units that served as the garrison of Tunis after establishing a front there. One became known as the Termina Division. The other garrison unit is now commissioned as the Arni Militia as replacements of the fallen Termina Division. They're a bit rusty from 200 years or so of garrison duty, but they should prove themselves to be quite useful. Their attack rating is very high, but their defence and morale are lacking in an army of professional soldiers.
The Fearsome Vani will lead a second reinforcement army to the Royal Maltese Army, which is led by the officer of the Anon/b/ Knights.
Alright Russia, let's end this war. Once and for all.
The problem with conquering Russia is that it's so big. It takes almost forever to get through one province, so I can't just steamroll through it as quickly as I could more dense areas like Poland.
The Brown Eagles are basically fresh native recruits imported from the colonies. Compared to the other ranged cavalry, they're pretty....well...inferior. So what's their advantage? Well, for starters, they have insane stamina. They're resistant to the heat too. Oh, and they can hide, one of the few cavalry units able to do that. Also, for some reason the game gave them the ability to be put in guard mode, usually an infantry-only ability. Going into guard mode means that the unit will maintain formation while in melee instead of turning into a blob and will not readily enter melee mode if it can help it.
The Moscow garrison quakes in their boots, but they sally out in a pitiful attempt to save themselves.
So, let's just stand here and wait. I also garrisoned one of the buildings with my Albanian Warband.
Household cavalry crashed into my lines as they were getting into position.
Oh look, more cavalry. But this time I'm prepared.
And on the other side fending off infantry like a boss.
About to get serious now....
Alright, let's take a few steps back. That way the garrisoned building can cover us, sorta.
And as usual, the Russians charge my lines, because Russian line infantry have poor shooting abilities and a higher charge bonus than the line infantry of other nations.
Some dragoons smash into my Albanian Warband, but that's alright, dragoons suck in combat anyways.
Turn around and offer fire support to the line!
Some of our infantry fled, but that's what the reserve line is for. To the trenches! Oh wait, did we win already?
Well no, still a group of riflemen to deal with. Albanian Warband, go! Yes, I do know riflemen have better accuracy, reloading skill, and range. But get this: Rifles are actually really slow to reload, so technically while riflemen have a better reloading skill than the Albanians, it takes them longer to reload since they're using rifles, not muskets. Hence, rate of fire wins here, and possibly accuracy, but I closed the distance somewhat, and I'm using light infantry doctrine.
So Moscow is ours. I think I might make their Winter Palace my winter resort. Heheh.
We're ready to shut Sweden the fuck up.
Let's see you get rid of us, fuckers!
Troop Lineup for Royal Army of Malta
Anon/b/ Knights - Answers directly to the Grandmaster. Officer serves as the commander of the Royal Army of Malta.
Arni Militia - Offers a quick, powerful charge against unsuspecting opponents. Otherwise will back up the firing line with their pistols.
Brown Eagles - Fast ranged attack, can be used to ambush unsuspecting opponents. Reliable in hot weather, and can also back up the firing line.
Lancer Guards - Offers a devastating charge, is also one of the fastest cavalry types (lancer class) on the battlefield.
Little Friend - Canister and Shrapnel shot. 'Nough said. Can also counter enemy artillery to some degree if its not destroyed itself, although that's not its main use.
29th Facebreaker Battalion - All-round elite infantry group. Can throw grenades when necessary.
60th Scabrous Brigandine - Partially elite meatshields, serves mainly to inspire the other non-elite infantry.
Engineers - Infantry who are pretty good at melee but don't use firing drills in ranged combat. They just have the whole unit shoot at once.
15th Maltese 'Splosion Lads - See 29th Facebreaker Battalion.
Cancer Regiment - More focused on ranged combat than grenadier guards.
82nd Dessedor Longshotmen - Riflemen, here to offer long-ranged support. WIll be useful in picking off enemy elite infantry and countering other enemy riflemen.
Indian Infantry mercenaries - Meatshields.
Luca's Lacerators - Mobile, long-ranged, fast riflemen.
Howitzer - Percussion and quicklime.
Maltese Blackguard - Partially meatshields, maybe use them in light infantry mode to make them even better at being meatshields.
Kingley's Queens - Meatshields.
1st Bahara Dudefellows - Serves to put order in newly-conquered provinces and also as an all-purpose combat unit. In case the Cancer Regiment or whatever is defeated, they can step in.
Company Infantry - Totally inexperienced and unqualified to be in the Royal Maltese Army, but for some reason they're there. Maybe they can prove themselves.
Gurkhas - Sword & shield infantry, will be very useful in leading charges.
Bruno's Brutalizers - Ranged cavalry who are well able to handle themselves in melee combat.
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Haha, the time for mourning is long gone. Time to celebrate good news once more! Continental Europe is mostly ours!
(Though I'm not sure if by 'Continental' is until the Urals and if it covers Scandinavia as well, but oh well, 'mostly' is accurate anyway.)Party at my place! lol no...
Russia, perhaps scared shitless after Poland's fate, accepts a ceasefire from me. I go ahead and repair a ton of damaged farms, factories, etc.
I somehow managed to save enough money (after excessive taxation) to buy Kashmir, a tiny province, from the Mughals.
I remember back in the beginning of this LP Furet asked me if we could have swordsmen. We ended up naming the Royal Cairo Guards the Ironcraw's Marksboyz instead of actual swordsmen. Well, here you go, Furetchen. These guys are numerous, their melee attack his high, but then their defense is kind of low. It'll get better once they hit a few levels.....
What the....well fuck you Sweden. I like Basshunter.
And my trade income is....
Whoa, I'm still making 29000? Looks like either Sweden's trading benefits are worthless or I've conquered enough provinces to offset the trade money.
Sharpshooters, an alternative to the Cacciatori troops. Not as nicely dressed, but they're just as lethal, and are better at hiding since they can walk whilst hidden.
Whoa, what the mother of fuck. I'm now letting a second Finland massacre happen. Time to gather up my armies once more.
These Order Grenadier Guards have distinguished themselves during the war with the Ottomans and the Polish. Let them be known as the 29th Facebreaker Battalion. Inspired by the Ironcraw's Marksboyz' ideals of a balance between melee ability and marksmanship, they will serve as an all-purpose elite unit, inspiring the line infantry and filling out whatever role is needed on the battlefield. of course, don't forget the grenades. They believe in the usage of the Platoon Firing drill, guaranteeing an almost constant rate of deadly fire. Their rivals are the 15th Maltese 'Splosion Lads, who believe in a large morale shock via the Fire-By-Rank drill.
These Line Infantry Guards came from the few survivors of a particularly fatal and snowy ambush with the Polish. Their abilities are still rather low compared to the other "guard" status units, but they serve as an inspiration to the generic infantry, who could always use a morale boost when faced with morale shocks.
Garrison guards, the white-wearing guard infantry. They are unique in that they offer a garrison policing bonus to provinces filled with unrest, keeping the civilians in order. This particularly group is led by an officer who is a relative of the late Ollanius Pius. Inspired by his cousin's sacrifice, he hopes he can fight in battles half as glorious as those with Poland.
One of the weaknesses analyzed from the green dragoon's fighting abilities was that while their shooting capabilities were amazing, their melee stats left them vulnerable if caught by infantry or even light cavalry. Bruno's Brutalizers are a unit of Horse Grenadier Guards who have honed their skills in both melee and shooting.
One of the weaknesses analyzed from enemy riflemen is that they rarely managed to get away from pursuers. Most of the time they will run, and then give up and try to fight off their pursuers, usually angry line infantry with far better melee capabilities than them. Luca's Lacerators are light cavalry sharpshooters, basically mounted riflemen who can effectively pick off enemy troops and ride to wherever they are needed. However, their melee abilities are also slightly better than your typical dragoon's.
This 24-pounder horse guard artillery battery distinguished itself in a field battle with the Polish. Their shrapnel shot hit enemy cavalry from afar, and their canister shot drove off wave after wave of infantry. They are said to call their cannons their "Little Friends" They also ask other people to say hello to them.
Also, note that the Blackguard and Kingley's Queens are in the army. Also, I'll explain the other units in a new post, I'm taking screenies, and updating as I go. Stay tuned..
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Remember Georgia? Well, they smashed their poorly-equipped armies at my gates, and now they're trying to rescue their last province from our clutch.
Their reinforcements arrived.....right behind my army. I quickly encircle them and shoot them to death. Their general came first.
While the other section of my force holds off attackers from the front.
They don't have Fire-by-rank, so they charge me. They don't have bayonets either, so they'll get their asses kicked hard.
I can't tell who's who! It was an easy win.
The Polish-Lithuanian lands fall to us through prolonged sieging, starvation, etc.
The Georgians no longer exist as a sovereign nation. Georgia and Dagestan now belong to us, their peoples learning the ways of the Order.
And offering us another path to one-up Russia with.
Mughals declare war on Sweden. I'm reliant on both for trade income. If I side with Sweden, I'll be at war with Mughal and lose a trade partner. if I decline my alliance with Sweden, I still have both trade partners. I'm still at a -6000 per turn. Periodically I jack up my taxes to the highest levels for an income of 50000, but then I have to lower them so my provinces don't revolt (and they can recover their lost wealth)
Poland's little pet, Courland, declares war on me.
Before I deal with Courland, I have some business to wrap up.
Not even Goa is safe. Greetings from Ceylon, you assholes.
Ah right, back to the siege assault against Courland. Here I've got a small force that's distracting the entire Courlese (?) garrison. Meanwhile everyone else is entering the fort from different directions.
The Cancer Regiment are here to hold off a bunch of Courlese trying to race to the town square.
And the Anon Knights randomly charge random enemies for the lulz.
Yes, everyone is fighting for the flag.
Casualties were actually quite a lot, mostly from the distracting force. But anyways, it was fun to squish these roaches.
Courland belongs to us now. Also, this middle-of-nowhere Russian province does too.
The garrison of Poland is starved out, and Warsaw belongs to us now. Gentlmen, knights, fellow members of the Order, this is one historical moment to celebrate. I shall do so in my comfy wheeled office chair with a glass of water. You?
But, all is not over yet. The Polish still have one last stronghold: Silesia.
We start off in a defensive position, but unfortunately one of our reinforcements happened to appear right behind the Polish army. I order a withdrawal. Really, the loss of that howitzer battery would've been pointless.
My other line infantry come from a far enough distance from the Polish.
But since Rocket teams can't move, they can't go with the Polish army. So, goodbye.
We've got trenches. You wanna piece of us?
"Come get some!" - Hussar
Meanwhile, in the distance, my reinforcements are either duking it out with theirs as they make their way to the main defensive line, or.....why did I even take this screenshot anyways? I forgot why.
Eyes and ears, engineers, shoot them!
Are these marines angry? No. Hrm. They are pretty accurate........oh I miss the ANGRY MARINES.
Some cuirassiers charge puckle guns (machine guns). It didn't work out. (Understatement)
I never got a clear shot of the line infantry,t he bread & butter soldiers of my army huh? Well here's one. They die a lot, they kill a lot,.....
So the Polish ran out of steam pretty early, their units were in really small sizes. We won, basically.
And since Poland-Lithuania is based in Europe, its holdings in India automatically go to "rebel" status. Yes. Poland-Lithuania is gone.
Meanwhile, since Persia has no allies, I declare war on them. I think I took their last province, but that screenshot didn't capture.
Finally, I have time to disband excess units and finally put together another legendary army. For Malta, ever onwards.
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Battles rage back and forth, many of them on the field. A few, however were particularly noteworthy, and soldiers of great valor and skill have distinguished themselves. The grandmaster is looking for able units to form the new Royal Army of Malta.
In this particularly snowy day, a field battle was fought close to Lithuania by a river. The cold weather caused fatigue to troops simply by walking, and fights sapped all strength in seconds. It was here that a particular unit of sharpshooters proved themselves to be cold snipers, picking off targets while a blizzard blew around. The aftermath of this battle could be witnessed below.
Estonia & Livonia fly our flag.
Belarus & Volnyia's garrison surrenders. We let them leave and have the province for ourselves.
In this particular battle, one of the many Order forces was ambushed. A unit of Garrison Guards and a unit of Line Infantry Guards fought straight to the end, only routing when it was clear the battle could not be won. They, along with some a handful of almost equally brave line infantry were the few survivors. They have been noted by the Grandmaster.
Meanwhile, a single army made its way to the very heart of Poland-Lithuania: Warsaw.
Needless to say, the Polish were not happy to see our faces.
Well my infantry weren't happy to see their cavalry either. FORM SQUARE!
Horse archers? DIE!
I do wonder why the enemy general would want to charge my square head on. Does he really want to die?
Canister shot all around. This already-veteran artillery battery shows great promise.
Unfortunately, I must redeploy the artillery. This wall in front is blocking their shots to the left.
Foolish Polish, do you know the meaning of your doom?
Time to reform my lines, we can't spread out and get too disorganized.
Ugh, curse those guys and their greater range. But then that's why I have sharpshooters hanging around.
These guys ran out of bullets, and so they charged forward.
We managed to win, it seems.
This deal was too good to pass up. Thanks, Mughals!
Half a year passes, and a crucial battle occurs in Serbia...the victor will keep Serbia. it is not a siege, but a field battle.
I realized that some units were so small they can't possibly be useful anymore in the battle. I order them to withdraw.
And Sharpshooter reinforcements replaced them. They have the ability to walk whilst hidden, and so the Polish did not realized someone will be sneaking up on them from behind....
One of the things I really hate in Empire Total War is when your units are reloading and a cavalry unit just charges in.
Soooo many cavalry...
The front line crumbles, and the militia open fire!
Followed by a charge!
That's a pretty nice uniform....I suppose.
The sharpshooters finally get in range. Then serious damage occurs.
What the...Armed Citizenry?
SNIPE.
Hold the line dammit!
SNIPE.
And the militia deal with the armed citizenry.
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So what units ARE actually standard? 'Cause I can only think of, like...Line Infantry, Regiments of Horse, Pikemen, European Mercenaries...
...
...Uh...
So what IS the default Malta Line Infantry uniform? The white coat is quite fetching, but...
Standard would be: Line Infantry, Regiments of Horse....Light Infantry, Colonial Militia, Riflemen, Provincial Cavalry, Dragoons, Light Dragoons, your typical cannons. Oh, and the Native units, the African units, and the Company units and Sepoys......etc.
Default unmodded, the Malta troops wore the red/maroon color of their flag, which was historically inaccurate.
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Wait, it can't be Finland, that's where... the massacre happened...
Huh, so Switzerland was so neutral it actually removed itself from the game world to avoid war!
lol
Yeah, but their troops (Swiss Line Infantry, Swiss Pikemen, Swiss Guards, Swiss grenadiers) have insane stats, although they're pretty expensive. Example: Sir Vimes' First of Foot in the prussian playthrough kicked major asses.
Can I nominate page 20 of this LP for most genuinely epic page on SF? Seriously, those two parts were amazing.
Thank you, thank you. Yeah, let's nominate it or something, someone make a banner, put it in a sig, and I'll be happy to display it in my sig.
You know, I gotta say, for a 'minor nation' the Hospitallers have so much...heart, and soul. I'd recognise those white coats anywhere, now. Are the Order Militia/heavy Cavalry, or the Militia/Marines standard?
...Jesus, without the Militia, earlygame would have been . . . difficult.
Actually, the Order Militia, Order Militia Cavalry, Order Cavalry, Order Marines, Order Grenadiers/Guards, Cacciatori, etc. are all downloaded from a mod made by an actual Maltese Empire Total War player. In the original game, the Knights of St. John were just lumped in as a minor nation of the Italian group, and had no special units. This guy reskinned all the standard units (line infantry, heavy cavalry, light infantry etc.) to a historically accurate uniform and added in the actual historical units.
I actually thought that the Order militia were overpowered, I mean their morale is shit and so is their shooting, but their melee stats are on par with guard and grenadier units. So I asked him if there was some historical basis. He just told me that back in the 1500s-1700s, the Maltese were pretty much a really militant group. They fought off Barbary pirates and Ottoman invasions (Siege of Malta where they kicked major ass) And the island of Malta didn't have that many resources, so the citizens either hunted animals or they just went off and fought pirates.
Hell, they would've stopped Napoleon on his merry conquest too if it weren't for a law in the Order that forbade taking up arms against fellow Christians (which I ignored in this playthrough).
The Order still exists to this day: http://en.wikipedia...._Order_of_Malta
They were headquartered in Rome for quite awhile, but recently they're returning to Malta.
It's also a little amusing to see how the Knights Hospitaller and units of their order are some of my favorite ones to use in Medieval II Total War.
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Now that you mention it, for a while I've been curious of that white spot surrounded by Order territory just north of Italy. What gives, is Switzerland going neutral on another war again?
Switzerland doesn't exist in Empire Total War. In fact, the whole piece of ground where it is supposed to be has been removed from the map, hence the white spot. Or...could it be Courland? Courland is south of Denmark....I believe. Or Finland.
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Man, those Russians will pay! Gah, there went almost all of my named units...
Will think of the replacements soon enough...
Yeah...not even the Termina Division, the OLDEST veterans of the Maltese Army survived. Holy hell, they've been in service for 200 years since the beginnings in the 1700s when the Order was having problems with survival alone!
Reminds me of Sigurd.....
My poor...ANGRY MARINES. Perhaps the Cancer Regiment will live up to their name.
Thing is, this is only a set of three battles in ONE zone.. I've got about 5-6 potential battlezones scattered around the Polish lands. The thing is, each one will take a ludicrous amount of time. Do you want me to post all of them as I wage war or only the important ones? If I post all of them, things are gonna be pretty slow.
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Anyone have suggestions on replacements? The previous other named characters are somewhere in the warzone, I just don't know which army since I've got plenty of garrisons and armies walking around.
However, since the Order belongs to the "minor nation" category in the game files, we actually don't have that much unit variety than say, if we played as a major nation such as Great Britain or the Polish. We don't get breech loading rifles, we don't get 32 pounder howitzers (we have the standard 24 pounders)....etc.
Indeed, Furet. A new elite army of Malta will rise.
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But I do not have much time to write now. I have to focus on the battlefield. The Russian general galloped up to us and thought to taunt us. He was shot dead.
Horse grenadiers tried to flank us through the woods. The combined charge of all our cavalry stopped them.
The gunshots raged as all the men fired as much as they could. I myself had to help with loading the mortars.
The fighting in the woods was fierce, with neither side refusing to give ground. Not even the horses were fazed.
I turned around to see Ollanius Pius and his men engulfed in a wave of Russian cavalry. They just turned around, and stuck their bayonets into the closest mount and continued firing.
The Facebiters ran to shoot the horse grenadiers. Unfortunately, they were too late in saving the Spiky Gitz and the Aesir Riders. Most of them were killed.
I turned around once more to hear cries of "RETURN FIRE YOU VODKA-DRENCHED SHIT-SMELLING COCKSUCKING FUCKHOLES!" The ANGRY MARINES, always furious for some reason, were particularly today. They awoke and gave a great feral cry.
This battle was clean and quick. It was...... pure. I....I will not run away again. That is not the way.
July 6th, 1903. We sighted a third Russian attack force marching our way. They are only a few hours away. I looked at the remaining of our army, and they looked up to me. They know what was coming. They know this battle would be their last. I was never a good speaker, but today, I had to say something. I opened my lips, and only one line came out. "Well, we're not getting out of this. So let's take as many of those Russians with us, shall we? When you gut them with steel, you look them dead in the eyes and you tell them that YOU sent them to hell." The cheers came, along with clapping and "FUCK YEAH" from the ANGRY MARINES.
Our uniforms were tattered, bloodied, and muddied. We fought to our last, still with bandages, some with fresh blood on. They came, they engulfed us, and we made them choke. Indeed, they suffered greatly at our hands. For every drop of our blood spilled, we spilled a gallon of theirs. For every man of ours they killed, we took down 4 more.
New, and Last, Report: This is officer Ollanious Pius. Commander -bloodsmear- has fallen in combat. We gave those Russians a good beating. As of now, I only have a handful of brothers left fighting with me. We are broken in body, but never have we been stronger in spirit. I am proud to have served the Order of St. John. May we all meet again at the right side of our patron, Saint John of the Hospitallers.
Grandmaster Skitarii closed the journal. He asked the messenger,"Where are the final killing records of Grandmaster's Finest?" "Milord, they were not recorded down, but from gossip and reports gathered from our spies it was believed that all of our soldiers performed equally well in their last stand." "....." "Further instructions, milord?" "Knight them all. Prepare an induction ceremony. They...they deserve this."
Took me quite awhile to write this. But....it was a Total Party Kill. They're gone. They made an epic last stand and fought to their last breath.
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So on a rainy Maltese night, grandmaster Skitarii was awoken to the knocking of a door. He bid the guest come in. It was a messenger. "Any news?" he asked. "Sir...the Finland invasion...." The messenger hesitated. Skitarii's face was grim. Speak. "Well...." the messenger handed a bloodied journal to the Grandmaster. Skitarii's hands shook as he opened the journal....there were bloodstains everywhere, some of the words smeared out in rusty flakes. "This......this is...."
July 4th, 1903. Operation Overlord is underway. Most of our forces had been entrenched alongside the Polish border for years now, gathering their strength and readying for the final push. The best of the Order's soldiers have been put on separate navies, invading some of the Polish lands by sea, where their forces cannot intercept us. However, we were sent to Finland to free it from the Russians. Our task was to carve a path from Finland to Ukraine, connecting these provinces together and removing the Russian and Polish naval presence. However, we underestimated the amount of Russian troops stationed in Finland. We were outnumbered. There was no retreat for us, for there was no dock during our disembarking, and we had to waste time. I hope we survive this. To be frank...I have not led an army before, I am a mere officer of a mortar battery. Yet, to entrust me with such a task, and the Grandmaster's Finest. I have heard tales of their exploits, from the veterans' of the Termina Division and their battles with the Barbary States, the Guttersnipers and their unequaled marksmanship, the Spiky Gitz, Aesir Riders, and Melon Cutters and their ferocious charges, to the Jaguar Squad and their resourcefulness in hiding and springing from ambush....to the steadfastness of Ironcraw, the Avon Gate Foot's brutal fighting techniques and warcries....(blood smears off the rest of the text) - Francesco Greco
We used the double line strategy, tried and true as stated in the Codex of the Order. The Facebiters and Guttersnipers were positioned along the edges of the line, ready to take out charging cavalry.
The Russian force truly is frightening. All of their units were armed with the pinnacle of technology and the best of training. There were no regular infantry units, only guards, grenadier guards, riflemen, and guard cavalry. They also outnumber us, I pray that St. John will guide us through this.
The advancing cavalry were easily shot down.
But their marines, not so much. Our mercenaries lacked the training, but they made up for it in numbers. However, enemy fusiliers and other assorted infantry came to our right flank. The militia, experts in close combat, were ordered to charge. Their morale may be low, but these Maltese citizens only did two things on their island: Hunt, and farm.
The Spiky Gitz were ordered to circle around and hit the fusiliers from the rear. It was very successful, and broke them instantly.
The Aesir Riders were not so fortunate. The Russian sharpshooters switched targets from the Marksboyz to the cavalry, and opened fire. They were still cut down, although the desired effect was not achieved as quickly.
The line infantry in the middle of our line were unable to hold back the expert Russian melee fighters, and it began to crumble despite ranged cavalry support.
Our own guard troops struggled to contain theirs. Their grenadiers made their way over to my mortars...and...I quaked in my boots. But I saw the looks of the other elite soldiers. They stood resolute, their own comrades dropping to the floor in spurts of blood. But still they fired.
I fled. My men were not trained in swordsmanship. We were no match for the Russian grenadiers.
At this point the handwriting on the journal changed.
This is Olanius Pius, officer of the Garrison Guard. Commander Greco has fled. I wouldn't blame him, as our lesser soldiers have also fled. The Russians flee just as easily with concentrated fire, however they are quite numerous and my men are tangled up even worse than that time with the Ottomans. As of now we have defeated their first army and their second army is trickling in. Our flanks are still covered. The Guttersnipers have volunteered to fill in a gap in the front line left behind by the militia and line infantry.
New report: The Spiky Gitz charged a group of Lancer Guards to stop a flank attack that would've caused massive casualties to the infantry. We owe our lives to them.
The Facebiters have also formed a square to stop cavalry from flanking us, thus allowing us to better deal with the incoming Russian infantry.
New report: Russian howitzers have begun to pour quicklime on our right flank.
I have looked for possibilities to deal with the Howitzers, but there are breech loaders watching the field out there. The Marksboyz will have to endure the torrent of acid for now.
Horse grenadier guards hit our flanks. They fall easily to musketfire, but they dealt much damage themselves. I would say they are nearly equal to the green dragoons, and have the fighting abilities of the famed Anon/b/ Knights.
New report: The breechloaders seemed to be inspired by their grenadier comrades and have decided to charge the Marksboyz. The Jaguar Squad circled around and fired into the mass of Russians.
The Melon Cutters have also taken this opportunity to circle around and hit the Russians int he rear, but the horse grenadier guards turned around and opened fire, breaking much of the momentum of the cuirassiers.
The Aesir Riders had galloped across the whole battlefield, avoiding Russian troops. They finally found an opportunity to charge the Howitzers. It didn't break them, and the Riders had to withdraw as a group of marines came running by to catch them.
New Report: The melon Cutters fight in a 1:1 kill ratio with the Russian grenadier horses. The decisive breaking factor was the Jaguar Squad, who fired into the rear of the Russians.
By St. John! The Polish howitzer crews seemed to have meddled with the occult once again! They're firing 20 quicklime shells, decimating our troops fast. We must act now, with those rifles out of the way we can intercept them.... The Guttersnipers also took heavy casualties.
Unfortunately the Aesir are unable to intercept, as they are being pursued by Russian marines.
The Spiky Gitz were forced to withdraw, although not quite as reluctant as they had hoped. Being pelted by 20 quicklime shells is.....brutal.
New report: Inspired by our acts of bravery, the Facebiters charged a Russian hand mortar company, bravely dodging the grenades shot at them. The melee was quick and brutal.
The last of the Russians, the exhausted marines who were pursuing the Aesir, were quickly gunned down as they reached our lines.
July 5th, 1903. The Russians were relentless. The first attack had taken a large toll on us, and already another army marches in its place. This second attack would be easier to defeat compared to the last one, but they had brought their legendary 64-pounder Tsar Great Cannons to bear on us. St. John preserve us. I have lost more than half my mortar crew, as well as the army. Still, the men are cheerful, as though they were at peace. Is this what it means to be one of the Order's Finest?
It was a very rainy morning. One must wonder if the droplets are St. John's tears.
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I envy your entire life. That was... that was amazing.
I salute you.
Thank you. I return the salute. There isn't much to envy though....
Most epic battle of the LP ever? It's a shame the timer ended it, though. I'm sure you could come up with some reason for RP purposes. Like your army had to retreat to regroup after losing the general. Or they just felt bad after killing like four stacks' worth of soldiers and decided to give the survivors a break.
I'll just say everyone got tired.
Previously on this LP, one of my generals was intercepted whilst marching his army deep into Polish territory. Horrendously outnumbered, let's see if I can pull a victory out of this.
Cavalry at the flanks....
Countered with a square.
The main battle begins. Opening fire. All fronts.
My heavy cavalry intercept enemy cavalry to some effect.
The Polish keep coming. We keep killing. But our numbers are dwindling.....very slowly..
All units, switch direction! Those infantry on my left have folded into the rear line as reserves. Those who were reserves are now at the right flank.
I spy lots of light infantry reinforcements. Looks like this cavalry unit will go on a suicide run.
Well maybe both, since there are just so many of them.
DEM CLOAKS
PUT HOLES IN CLOAKS
FIIIIRE
They seem to be without number!
PLOW THROUGH THEM
No new developments, just people coming to get shot and shoot back.
And my own troops are finally routing. I've got only several reinforcements.
Here I've surrounded a large group of Polish troops tied up in melee combat with some infantry. They were all shot in the back.
Hold the line dammit, HOLD
"There's too many of them! We can't hold!" I retreated my general so he can lead the reinforcements.
However, several units stayed behind and fought valiantly to almost the last man. Despite being surrounded on all sides.
Reinforcements, I hope you follow the example of your brothers, and HOLD THE LINE.
Outnumbered, outgunned, but not outmaneuvered.
Well, my fellow bodyguards. It looks like we're in a sticky situation. SO. Pull out our sabers, and let's have some Polish heads on the floor.
For the Grandmaster's honour, and St. John himself!
General vs. general!
Being a bit overwhelmed.
These winged hussars may be flying, they may have lances, but we've got 12-inch pieces of steel. BAYONETS!
They are without number!
That fellow is the commander of the reinforcements. He gives zero shits.
Charge! Before they reload!
Still they held....still they held.
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So, I've got an understrength Order Cavalry unit. let's try to get at those cheating howitzer crewmen with their invisible cannons.
Oh wait, nevermind that plan. Sharpshooters popped out of hiding and sniped the cavalry. My line continues to be bombed, and my own howitzers are having trouble hitting accurately.
Front row, you're mostly down to a few soldiers and almost out of ammo. You will be remembered, your families will receive a bonus for your sacrifice. CHARGE.
Soldiers moan and cry on the battlefield, cannons go boom, muskets go PHTOOM. It's a good day.
Reserve line, move up and FIRE AT WILL. Just try not to hit your friends in front of you.
Enemy cavalry gallop straight for the commander of this battle...the Howitzers. I had forgotten to move the howitzers up due to the immense amount of Polish troops...and...well...
My commander dies in the charge. A chain rout occurs....
And these fuckwits are still alive.
Anyone who's still standing out there....FUCKING CHAAAARRRRGE!
The first group is all but dead/unfit for combat. Here's my second line of reinforcements, fresh and ready for the killing.
Back at the front, the cheating howitzers were taken care of, and I throw what's left of the guys at the Polish infantry. They're too far away from the map border to withdraw anyways.
Here, what's left of them open fire on the Polish. True heroes, these generics.
A few enemy reinforcements won't deter me.
Feels like the battle has restarted itself. It's back to the beginning, just with a lot of corpses lying around.
Pandours? CHARGE.
Light Infantry? CHARGE.
Time is running out, and I'm the attacker here, so I'll lose if I don't rout them all soon.
CHHHHARGE
Wavering? WAVERING. ROUT YOU FUCKERS
Well, they routed, but before the game checked to see that all enemies were defeated time ran out. It was a valiant defeat.
However, I don't suffer a penalty for additional losses. The only penalty I got was that my forces retreated back to my home provinces instead of staying in Polish territory.
Coming up....Intercepted. I hope I don't lose.
That Valiant Defeat...it was a defeat, but that battle was one of the best I've ever had. The immersion, the screams, the gunshots, the explosions, reinforcements pouring in, just....THIS. IS TOTAL WAR.
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So, how many ingame years has it taken for the island of Malta to conquer all of this land?
It's 1899 now. The campaign starts at 1700.
Each year is two turns.
What Integ said. There's a date at the bottom right corner.
Same with Shogun 2. Maybe the screenshots are a bit blurry for you?
The force besieging Vienna, Austria is defending from a sally. let's do this, Order Members!
This time most of the reserves will be in the back.
This is the Albania warband.
So I waited 5 minutes. Then I realized the AI wasn't going to move. So I did my laundry and came back to find this screen. Thank you, AI glitches. You sallying out but not attacking means I win when the battle timer runs out. And you lose troops for losing the battle, even though no actual killing took place. Free experience points!
I believe this is the final tech I can research.
Hungary falls to its besiegers.
Austria falls along with that botched sally of theirs.
Ukraine belongs to the order now. If Russia was the mother, then the Order would be the father taking back custody of the kiddy provinces because the mom is fucked on vodka.
Prague has been taken from the Polish and given to us.
So does Bavaria. I'm practically pumping out stacks of line infantry every turn.
But at the same time, my income is going down from all the enemy raids on my farms, factories, and etc. I'm trying to take their provinces and hopefully their income will go down and their forces will disband. Lies, the AI gets bonuses, especially on hard campaign.
So, I sue for peace with Poland and Russia. They accept. My income jumps back up as I repair all my facilities. They don't declare war on me for some time too.
That's half the Polish army.
I buy military access from Denmark. Armies that disembark without a dock will have to wait a turn before being able to march. Well I wanted to take Iceland without the Danish doing anything. So, I paid them off with cheap military access.
A turn later....
Let's do siege assault..
Well, damn. The game crashes when I try to fight the Danish army. I'm not sure why, but I think that the mod giving the Danish extra units is having problems, so I do the next best thing. Auto-resolve. Luckily that was the only Danish province, and they're wiped.
However, the Danish also happened to be one of my trade partners. Killing them off caused my income to go from 25000 per turn to -16724 per turn. That's very bad. That means that I can't go to war with Sweden and Great Britain as I thought I could. Damn, who knew trade income was this important? I already raised taxes but then my income is still in the red. So, I ended up disbanding a lot of my armies in territories that are rather "secure." Secure as in...bordering the British and Mughal colonies in the Americas. I think I can trust on them to not go to war with me for now.
Motherfucker
So. I reloaded the game back a few turns, saved some more money BEFORE I wiped out the Danish, and now came a new problem. Poland and Russia are at peace with me. Poland is allies with Great Britain, the Mughal Empire, and Georgia. Russia is allied with Poland. My forces have already surrounded the Polish provinces and are ready for the final push. So, I declared war on Poland. Britain, Georgia, and Mughal then joined forces against me. My income was around -100000 or something. Reloaded the game again. I declared war on Russia, but her only ally is Poland. So, by declaring war on Russia, I got Poland to officially be my enemy again, and my trade partners didn't get involved because they weren't Russia's allies. Fucking diplomacy, how does it work!?
This, my friends, is going to be a headache. My computer was lagging to shit just at the campaign map.
With the way the armies were positioned on the map, I can expect reinforcements to arrive from...well...just about everywhere.
Right after I pressed that button, some units were already fighting. Off the map. You know, outside that red boundary? Order reinforcements and Polish reinforcements were already duking the fuck out OUTSIDE the map. Shit, this is hard evidence for the gravity of the situation. Namely, it's SERIOUS BUSINESS.
I form a quick battle line. The Polish are marching to meet my troops. Opening shots: Howitzer battery.
In one corner, line infantry and Albanian Warband reinforcements arrive. Cavalry quickly attack them, but they fight off the first unit.
In another corner, where the reinforcements were fighting, my line infantry came out victorious but I can't control them for some reason.
Shooting up a few cavalry units that try to attack my battle line.
The Albanian warband reinforcement pair were defeated by Polish light dragoons and riflemen. Damn. Well actually the light dragoons were driven off, but then riflemen sniped and routed the line infantry. So I put the Albanians in light infantry mode and hoped they could duke it out with the riflemen, but they were promptly charged by enemy cavalry.
All this fighting and the main battles lines haven't even clashed yet.
Fuck you, Polish cannons.
With new reinforcements coming in to replace my losses, I figure I can expend 4 units of line infantry and the cuirassiers to run up and hit the Polish flank, where their cannons are.
The cuirassiers charge, wiping out some light dragoons and 2 cannon batteries. The infantry are running over.
And shoot whoever's left.
More Polish reinforcements come in. The cuirassiers are expendable. They go wipe out an additional 2 cannon batteries before getting shot to death by Polish light infantry and riflemen. The infantry move in.
Fucking cheating AI. I can only deploy fougasses during the deployment phase BEFORE combat, but the Polish AI are able to deploy fougasse mines as soon as they enter the field. Anyways, this one was triggered by the fleeing cuirassiers, so it killed more Polish than it did the Order soldiers.
Polish reinforcements keep on coming in. These line infantry won't be enough to hold them off. Well, I've got MORE.
CHARGE. They're mostly light infantry so KILL EM ALL.
Just don't look at all the enemy units behind you, the howitzers will take care of them!
WELL. Another light infantry group enters the field, and they deploy an instant fougasse mine. The fuck is this bullshit?
And it's not that one corner of the battlefield I'm worrying about either. The main battle lines are shooting each other, and my reinforcements are being harassed by Polish cavalry reinforcements. It's like a game of RTS with two equal players. As soon as you think you've destroyed enough of the enemy units, more take their place, and as soon as yours are destroyed, you build more.
Push em back! Fire, ALL MUSKETS SMOKING
The Polish howitzer glitch/bug/cheat reappears. That crew of 20 each have an invisible howitzer cannon to themselves. 20 quicklime shells at once annihilated the infantry. MY infantry. I'm forced to charge.
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As I march through the lowlands of Copenhagen, the Russian troops there move out to fight me. Let's go!
Time of day.....uhh....evening?
Fusiliers set up stakes on the flanks....just in case. Most likely the cavalry will then try to attack from the rear.
Percussion shells in the field. I've always neglected training Howitzer teams in most of my generic armies...... It's just so easy to spam click training line infantry.
Usually howitzers tend to miss. But the AI's howitzers always hits your guys. So unfair.
Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes, yargh!
Best way to edal with elite infantry? Outnumber them.
Unfortunately Russian troops are quite beastly in melee, so no doubt my troops will rout. I have reserves to replace them, of course, such is war.
"One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic." I'm not sure if it's a sad thing that I'm starting to understand this quote. Seems like as long as I get results, it's all acceptable. Even though this is a game...but I do get attached....sometimes anyways.
Enough of my inner monologues, this cavalry unit did not touch the Howitzers. They switched direction in the last minute to attack the infantry. Bad choice.
Victory. 4 more similar battles (I swear the Russians pulled troops out of nowhere from Copenhagen, Denmark) happened later. I won them all. I didn't take screenies since they were repeats of the above screenies, except with less troops each time.
Denmark has been liberated from the greenies. The actual country of Denmark still exists in this game, except it's on the island of Iceland. Should I go conquer them?
Moldavia falls to us as my forces move deep into Russia.
Sheet lead cartridges. now our navies will have less of a chance of misfiring their cannons!
Let's hope we don't meet any angry Russians along the way.... (their armies are concentrated with the Polish in Istanbul)
A small navy delivers a big package. Hello Crimea. We are DAEIN.
Say hi to Finland.
Careful maneuvering on the campaign map past the Polish armies....and into their undefended provinces.
Let's Play: Empire Total War! - Knights of St. John run
in General Gaming
Posted
WORD.
Gran Columbia is quickly taken out of the game.
The Pirates comeback is rather short lived. The Bahamas belong to us now.
Quite a strange name.... Rupert's Land, Moose Factory. What? The main commodity there is furs.
The Mughals quickly declare war on the United States. They managed to grab Maryland and New York and Philadelphia.
I redirect some of the invasion fleet (including the Royal Army of Malta to the India theater). I can always produce more soldiers after finishing off the US.
Maine's skeleton garrison is quickly disposed of.
The US is no more. Well, they've joined the Order.
Quebec's garrison is pretty strong, but I believe our infantry will carry the day.
Panama is ours, wrestled from right under the noses of the Mughals.
Told you our men will carry the day at Quebec.
Canada is ours now.
Well, now the only players are the Knights.....and the Mughals. I spent quite a few turns amassing funds and preparing for the final war. Our armies await at the borders of the Mughal Empire and its colonies. Our navies are ready to take control of their docks and unload all troops on their cities. On this Earth, there can only be ONE nation.
Let the games commence.
ONLY THE FAITHFUL WILL CARRY THE DAY!
Well I didn't expect this.....well that's why the Grand Maltese Fleet is here to kick your wooden asses!
This lone ship is carrying a full stack. Losing it will mean I get one less army to use to screw over the Mughals.
FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
Reinforcements arrive in a very disorganized clump. Well, gotta make the best of it. FORWARD
The Mughal ships are mostly no match for ours.
They also tended to try and stick as close to your ships as they could, and exploded at the wrongest places.
Persuasion flees the battlefield.....after taking 2 explosions in the side. Oh c'mon, it didn't even lose more than half the crew.
Huge clusterfuck of heavy First Rates.
The Mughal ships for some reason just loved to shoot Intimidation. In fact it got shot so much it catches on fire...and flees.
What a mess.
Intimidation Y U SINKING NOOOOOO
Well the first fleet is easy work, really...aside from Intimidation and Persuasion fleeing (the former meeting an untimely end....)
Time to withdraw this ship...her hull's been beaten.
Second enemy fleet is very very close.
This one's for Intimidation you assholes!
I turned up my speakers just to listen to things explode. It was AWESOME.
White Base finds itself to be more than a match against these ships.
Ouch.
They tried to board one of my ships. They surrendered before they finished hooking on.
Holy shit! Intimidation, I saw you sink...but...the ship is still here! How?! Also, what the fuck how did that light galley reach level 3?