Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:40 pm
RUS Grand Campaign AAR.
I played the Reds, starting under 1.01rc3 and installing patches as they came out. I started writing this AAR about halfway through, with the July, 1919 turn, using the “restore previous turn” option to go back, so I don’t have complete data on the earliest turns. But I’m trying to recreate my thinking at each step so other players can see how the game developed.
My basic goal is to hold Sovdepia (the central region bordered by Kazan-Yaroslavl-Petrograd-Smolensk-Kursk-Tambov-Tsaritsyn-Syzran) and build up through 1918. I plan to build fortified lines in my major cities so that they will hold up enemy advances and liberate my field armies to move about. In early 1919, I will try to invade the Ukraine. I expect aggressive White moves against Tsaritsyn, the Caucasus, and Turkestan. I will leave sacrificial forces in the Caucasus, send some reinforcements to Turkestan to try to hold out as best I can there, and give ground as need be on the southern flank. I hope to hold Tsaritsyn since it is an important production point. If necessary, I will withdraw forces from Turkestan and the Caucasus by sea to reinforce Tsaritsyn. On the other fronts, I will launch spoiling attacks in the spring of 1919, then hunker down in the summer and await the White storm. Once I’ve broken the White offensives in summer 1919, I will go on the offensive in the Don and try to break through Orenburg to connect up Turkestan overland. I will give priority in late 1919 to defeating the Southern Whites, or at least confining them to the Crimea. In 1920, I expect to have to fight the Poles, and I will also begin my campaigns against the other separatist states. I will push east against the Siberians, but I don’t give a high priority to the Siberian theater once I’ve taken the Urals. Without the production of Perm and Ekaterinburg, I don’t think the Siberians will have much to go on.
The first five turns: I don’t have save game files to consult, so I can’t be sure of the turn-by-turn outcome. But the general course of events is as follows: Trotsky went to Kazan as soon as he was available, with as many reinforcements as I could spare. I built a fortified lines there right off. I was expecting that the Siberians would be pushing hard to take Kazan before the Imperial Gold Train event paid off, but in fact there was only a weak attack on turn 2 or 3. I sent reinforcements to Ekaterinburg, which allowed me to hold that town until October. I put all the garrisons in Siberia on “hold at all costs,” which appears to have made the Siberians' mopping-up operations more time-consuming and costly. All the towns fell anyway, but perhaps they kept the Siberians from making much of an offensive towards the Volga. The surrenders of these small garrisons in Siberia cost me NM, but only if they actually surrendered. If they died fighting, the only NM loss was if the town itself was strategic, so by putting them on “hold at all costs” I also saved a good deal of NM that I otherwise would have lost. By turn 6, in previous playings, I would have been at a significant NM deficit, but in this game I was still pretty close at that point (though falling dramatically later, as you will see). In the south, I moved the isolated Red forces in the Kuban back to Tsaritsyn as soon as they unlocked, putting them on “evade combat” in the mean time. The Southern Whites marched into their objectives without loss but I was able to get most of my troops back. The only one of those forces to be really chewed up was the Taman Front, which ended up having to do a march across the steppes and suffer a whole bunch of attrition. The Red partisans in the Kuban broke up the rail lines behind the retreating regulars, making the White pursuit less effective and presumably interfering with White supply lines. I built troops in the central region and pressed east towards the Volga from Tambov and Nizhny Novgorod. I did the “limited mobilization” event as soon as I could, but was so horrified by the 5 NM/25 EPs cost that I never did it again, preferring to do “special operations” recruitment missions as required. I may not have done enough, at least until the winter of 1918-1919 when my pace of special operations sped up.
Early July 1918: Red morale 96, Siberians 100, Southern Whites 101. Komuch and Czech forces pushing west out of Syzran up rail line towards Moscow and north towards Simbirsk. First Red Army digging in to resist them, Trotsky rushes reinforcements down from Kazan. The SR’s revolt in the central area, from Moscow to Vologda, a real surprise. I raise new troops, rally some reserves at Moscow under the command of Kamenev and Tukachevsky to fight them. Three recruiting and two requisition missions complete. Loyalties in the high 60s/low 70s throughout Sovdepia except for the areas affected by the SR rebellion where they are closer to 60.
Late July, 1918: Red morale 95, Siberians 100, Southern Whites 98. Komuch forces surround Simbirsk, Trotsky with Eastern Front just to the north and 1st army (four divisions plus guns) dug in in the city. I hope they attack; I think Trotsky will be able to march to the sound of the guns and even if not his morale advantage apparently works in an adjacent area. One requisition mission complete.
Early August 1918: Red morale 95, Siberians 98, Southern Whites 98. The guys in Perm are barely holding out, having won a bunch of battles, but they are surely going to surrender soon. Kamenev’s forces in Moscow are almost out of org, but so are the White attackers. The Whites appear to have military control of the province but not the city. I begin raising a few divisions in Smolensk/Kursk to be ready to enter Belarus and Ukraine once the Germans withdraw. Trotsky has now held Kazan long enough to get the Gold Train event, he now sends some reinforcements to Moscow/Yaroslavl under the command of Bela Kun. Komuch forces near Simbirsk have moved away, maybe to face my troops approaching from the direction of Penza? Voroshilov to take one division to the Caucasus to try to stave off defeat there. One recruiting and two requisition missions complete.
Late August 1918: Red morale 87, Siberians 97, Southern Whites 106. Makhin takes Penza; I’m now ready to move on Syzran from the west and north. White uprising captures Ashkhabad. Siberians take Perm. Southern Whites take Ekaterinodar and declare it their capital, boosting their morale a whole bunch. Not much I could have done about that. The Taman Front is slipping around them to the south, heading for a linkup with the Caucasus front in Grozny. Blucher slips northwest out of Orenburg as large White forces close in, he hopes to slip past Samara and link up with Trotsky at Syzran. The Southern Whites appear to have done mobilization. The eastern Caucasus is now nearly free of White garrisons, with the last one to be cleared up in Petrovsk. One recruiting and one subversion mission complete.
Early September, 1918: Red morale 87, Siberians 106, Southern Whites 106. Red partisans take Azov and burn the depot – I can’t imagine a human opponent leaving it undefended! That’s got to slow down operations in the Kuban and Caucasus. Voroshilov killed in fighting around Petrovsk-Port on the Caspian; Kirov sent to replace him. South Ural Partisan Army turns away from Samara, heads for Ufa. I wonder what pushed Siberian morale up by 9? No sign in my record of any event that would account for this. Two requisitions, one recruiting and two subversion missions complete. One subversion was in Moscow, possible because of the presence of SR rebels in Moscow city no doubt. Red loyalty now up in the 90s there. The Lenin assassination attempt event means I can now do Cheka missions, though the price of 20 conscript companies is a high one to pay. My plan is to do them in the central provinces if my total loyalty falls below 60, and in peripheral provinces when I capture them if loyalty there is very low. Mostly, I intend to soften up prospective targets for my offensives by doing subversion missions there, hoping to have good loyalties by the time I actually conquer those provinces.
Late September, 1918: Red morale 88, Siberians 104, Southern Whites 106. Tukachevsky recaptures Yaroslavl, on to Vologda next turn. Whites pushing hard into the Caucasus, Kirov arrives by sea from Astrakhan with a division to help Frunze protect Grozny. Taman Front will not be able to slip past the Whites to join up with Frunze, turns north instead, hoping to pass through Stavropol and Elista to Tsaritsyn. Zinoviev takes Ashkhabad. South Ural Partisan Army takes Ufa, but large White forces in the vicinity will no doubt take it back. I put them on ‘evade combat’ and wreck the rail line. The depot is too big to burn, unfortunately. Amur cavalry gets caught trying to slip past Khabarovsk. Oh, well, the Trans-Siberian is wrecked going south all the way from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok. That’ll give those Japanese bastards some work to do! Two recruiting, one requisition, one subversion mission complete this turn.
Early October 1918: Red morale 81, Siberians 106, Southern Whites 102. Tukachevsky unsuccessful in taking Vologda, has to retreat and join up with reinforcements at Yaroslavl. I will send Bronch-Burevich to form a larger unit there so we can keep these Green agitators away from our capital. Trotsky forms Eastern Front in Syzran, faces the White Galkin Corps. Zinoviev holds Ashkhabad; a British force is moving about in southern Turkestan. Kirov now leaving the Caucasus, heading for Turkestan, and I’ve raised a cavalry division in Krasnovdsk. I don’t know how aggressive those Brits are going to be – historically they took a number of places but against minimal Red resistance. Since I’ve devoted more resources to Turkestan, maybe they’ll keep their hands off. I still hold Orsk, the only city east of the Urals that hasn’t been attacked yet. I’m going to requisition there like mad, hoping to build up the Green population to interfere with any White counter-attack or at least make holding the place harder for them. I’ve raised a light infantry brigade and a cavalry regiment there to strengthen the garrison. One requisition, two recruiting, and a Cheka mission completed.
Late October, 1918: Red morale 81, Siberians 98, Southern Whites 105. Winter is beginning, hopefully putting an end to the possibility of large White offensives in the south. Mironov with a small Cossack force pushes the southerners off the Tsaritsyn-Tambov rail line. Whites finish their conquest of Siberia by capturing Ekaterinburg and Ufa. Hopefully, this will end the hemorrhage of NM from the surrender of all those little garrisons. Trotsky captures Syzran, inflicting heavy casualties and closing off the Komuch threat to the area west of the Volga. Komuch forces retreat towards Samara and the Red Volga flotilla blockades the river against them. Hopefully this works like in AACW, that a gunboat unit in a river area denies it to the enemy. I’m building three divisions and some artillery in Kazan, and Blucher with South Ural Partisan Army is coming from Ufa to join up. There should be enough there to attempt something in the north Urals; maybe I can take Perm and/or Ekaterinburg over the winter. Three requisition missions complete.
Early November, 1918: Red morale 80, Siberians 98, Southern Whites 107. Bonch-Bruevich with Northern Front to engage rebels in Yaroslavl. The Great War is over. Both the Czechs and the Hungarians are leaving, a good trade for me. Stalin defends Tsaritsyn against a small White cavalry force. A larger White force is sitting just outside of town now for the second turn in a row; I guess they don’t like what they see. I’m hoping that the winter weather will inflict heavy casualties on them. Stalin is certainly not going to attack with such a big NM difference and the fact that he is basically a defensive-minded leader. Trotsky with Eastern Front to move on Samara. Two Cheka missions complete.
Late November, 1918: Red morale 79, Siberians 93, Southern Whites 107. A bad day for the revolution, though nobody at the time realizes it: Mr. Big T, Mikhail Tukachevsky, was killed in fighting near Yaroslavl. Where the heck am I going to get my good army leaders in the late game? I still have hopes for Blucher and Frunze. Taman Front still wandering near Stavropol. In Turkestan, Astrakhan force arrives in Ashkabad and throws the Menshevik traitors out of the town. Tashkent is still holding out, Zinoviev moving down the rail line to relieve. Trotsky takes Samara against heavy resistance, some Komuch forces appear on the west bank of the Volga and threaten Syzran, but First Army is dug in deep and quite powerful (3 divisions and some guns, total power 376, level 4 forts). I’ll send Trotsky back to “encourage” them for the impending battle. Four requisition, three recruitment and three subversion missions completed this turn.
Early December, 1918: Red morale 80, Siberians 92, Southern Whites 107. Trotsky defends Syzran against the remnant Komuch forces, who have somehow crossed the river from Samara. The fact that they don’t have any source of supply that I can see doesn’t seem to faze them. Looking at the detailed battle result, they appear to have lots of organization but low hit points. They even have an air force, though where it is operating from is a mystery since they control no cities anywhere close. The Germans evacuate the Ukraine and a variety of Red and Green units appear hither and yon. I have three divisions now ready to move into the area – not much, but something.
Late December, 1918: Red morale 80, Siberians 92, Southern Whites 129. Three subversions complete. Red Ukraine forces mass in Belgorod, on to Kharkov next turn! Southern Front under Stalin takes some bad hits from the weather but successfully covers the final stage of the withdrawal of Taman Front. About one under-strength division makes it out of the Kuban trap. A pile of Whites has suddenly materialized in Pskov – must have come over from Estonia. I won’t forget this, you Baltic bastards! I wonder if an alliance with the Balts is the source of the 20 NM increase for the Southern Whites? But the Pskov guys are part of the Siberian White faction, strangely enough. Hmm, a mystery. I speedily mobilize three divisions in the Petrograd-Novgorod sector and run some reserves over from Moscow. Bonch-Burevich takes command of the newly-designated Northern Front. Three subversion missions complete.
Early January, 1919: Red morale 79, Siberians 91, Southern White 129. Kamenev forms Ukraine Front, takes Kharkov. Zinoviev raises the siege of Tashkent as the Green rabble melts away before well-disciplined Red troops. Kirov is continuing to push down the railway from Ashkhabad. A new Red partisan army appears in the Abakan Mountains south of Krasnoyarsk. Just in time, as my Far East partisan army is beginning to starve to death. A bunch of Greens pop up at Stavropol-on-Volga upriver from Samara. I will send the Iron Division to take them out.
Late January, 1919: Red morale 78, Siberians 91, Southern White 128. Trotsky is in Sarapul along with Blucher, trying to push towards Perm. Frunze has been dug in for three turns now in Piatigorsk awaiting the big White push for the Caucasus but it doesn’t seem to be coming. Mironov takes Ekaterinoslav, Kamenev probes Kiev unsuccessfully, ready to retreat to Cherkassy. Four requisition, two recruiting, and a subversion mission finished this turn. Loyalties running in the mid to high 60s throughout Sovdepia. Still good loyalty numbers in Siberia
Early February, 1919: Red morale 78, Siberians 91, Southern White 128. Terrible weather in Siberia has obliged Blucher to pull back from Perm to Kazan to refit. Trotsky returns to Samara. The remnant of the Komuch forces are hanging out in Volsk, on the west bank of the Volga between Syzran and Saratov. I’ve sent two divisions under Makhin to harass them. Five subversion missions completed this turn, mostly in the Ukraine but one in Don. I’ve decided to subvert the Don as often as I can afford in order to sow up the Southern White forces and support my partisan comrades. The Kuban railway system is pretty much devastated thanks to my three partisan regiments working down there. The Siberian partisans are pretty much out of juice now, with everybody having starved other than the two infantry regiments. Fortified lines complete in Kazan, Petrograd, Novgorod, Saratov, Tsaritsyn and Simbirsk.
Late February, 1919: Red morale 74, Siberians 90, Southern White 127. One of our Ukrainian partisan cavalry regiments captures Taganrog, where there was rumored to be a tank factory provided by the perfidious French, but no sign of it when we arrived (?). Makhin retreats from Volsk to Syzran, having run out of supply. Kirov crushes the Ashkhabad Menshevik scum at Merv and can now be promoted to 3-star rank. Next turn, Turkestan Front! Kamenev moves on Kiev, hopefully we’ll wrap the Ukraine fighting up this turn. Five requisition, five recruiting, and two Cheka missions completed this turn.
Early March 1919: Red morale 76, Siberians 90, Southern White 87. Northern Front, under Bonch-Bruevich, moves south from Luga to confront a White force on the railroad to Pskov. I put them on ‘conservative attack’ because I don’t know how tough the White troops will be. It looks like I have them heavily outnumbered but if their quality is high, well, mine isn’t. And we have a NM disadvantage too. I’m guessing that the Whites aren’t doing a lot of recruitment missions. Ukraine Front retreats from Kiev to Cherkassy, having failed in its assault last turn. The Ukrainian garrison was too tough for us, again. Many Tachankas are done now and moving to join the armies – nothing like cheap fire support! The Whites have ‘recognized the independence of the nations in the former Russian Empire’. So much for ‘Russia, one and united.’ Denikin must be upset! That must account for the 40 point loss of NM for the Southern Whites. This has got to be a major turning point in the war, and a big political mistake by the Whites. We haven’t gone after any of the seceding countries yet, anyway, so they aren’t in the war. I don’t think a human opponent would have done this. I expect to get to the Balts and the Caucasus countries after the main White forces and the Ukrainians are wrapped up. I’m not planning to go after the Finns at all, and the Poles will no doubt declare war on me in the fullness of time. I notice that the Siberians have built a factory in Krasnoyarsk and a “tankodrome” in Vladivostok. They are taking advantage of my inability to take Perm and bulking up. I may have to devote more resources to that theater. One recruiting and one requisition mission complete this turn.
Late March, 1919: Red morale 75, Siberians 90, Southern White 89. Orzonokidzhe forming up a column with the International regiments and a couple of new divisions, some artillery and an armored train at Yaroslavl to move north to Vologda and maybe on to Astrakhan. Another possibility is Perm and Ekaterinburg. I have high hopes for these guys; they are among the best infantry the revolution has at its disposal. The Turkestan army chases survivors from the column that had been assaulting Ashkabad, capturing some supply wagons and a 75mm gun. Mironov digs in at Ekaterinoslav, Ukrainian partisan cavalry fan out across the rest of the province. Sixth Corps digs in at Baranovichy while a fusilier division captures Vilnius. The Poles are massing on the other side of the border but my political intelligence people tell me they won’t attack this year. I’m not sure enough of that to abandon the area entirely, but those divisions would sure come in handy on other fronts! Stalin and Southern Front move cautiously down the rail line from Tsaritsyn towards Novocherkassk, hoping to provoke the Whites into an attack. This is something that I wouldn’t do if I was playing a human being, but the AI seems to be insufficiently aggressive. I haven’t seen any White forces at Tsaritsyn other than a few minor cavalry raids. Stalin is a consummate defender; now he has to move aggressively, hoping to attract White attacks. The Siberian partisan army fails to take Tobolsk, but one partisan cavalry unit holds Barnaul. There are enough supplies there to keep us eating for at least a couple of months. Three requisitions, a recruiting, four subversions, and a Cheka mission completed.
Early April, 1919: Red morale 74, Siberians 90, Southern White 87. Stalin wins a battle northeast of Novocherkassk. Northern Front beats some Whites south of Luga, but can’t move on to Pskov (‘blocked by enemy positions in the countryside’ – what enemy positions? I don’t see anybody in the area. Oh, well.) Don Fleet has an unfortunate encounter with a bunch of French battleships in the Don estuary but manages to escape without serious losses. Back to Voronezh to peen out the dents! Eastern Front still recovering org in Samara. The Volga fleet is blockading the remnant Komuch forces in Volsk. Can’t see where they would be getting supplies from but with 12 gunboats offshore they aren’t getting any more. Hopefully, they will starve soon, as I don’t want to have to send troops down to clean them out. Ukraine Front still recovering and gathering new troops in Cherkassy. The Kiev garrison appears to be getting stronger every turn though where they’re coming from is a mystery. Red partisan cavalry have now entered every town in the western Ukraine right up to the Polish/Rumanian border except for Odessa. I wonder where the French and Greeks are? Perhaps they’ve gone to the Kuban instead. I see some guys over there who look suspiciously foreign. I can’t seem to build any new troops in the Ukraine. All the reinforcements have to be built in Russian cities, no closer than Kursk. Maybe when I take Kiev? Three drafts, a requisition, and two Cheka missions complete this turn.
Late April, 1919: Red morale 79, Siberians 90, Southern White 84. Southern Front under Stalin captures Novocherkassk from a surprisingly small White garrison. His numerical advantage and numerous armored trains allow him to capture the city (although the battle outcome is ‘stalemate’ strangely enough, no doubt his lack of aggressiveness is an issue here). Frunze redeploys from the Caucasus to Cherkassy to become second-in-command of the Ukraine Front. Three divisions started in Tambov and Kursk to reinforce the Ukraine theater. Two cavalry divisions and some artillery and tachankas in the Moscow region, hopefully to build a mass of cavalry to fight in the Don and/or Kuban. Awaiting completion of the fort in Samara so that Eastern Front can move southeast to hook up with Turkestan front. Blucher moves out from Kazan, heading for Perm, a division+ force is coming from Kotlas towards Perm from the other direction. Turkestan front is pretty much cleared up, Kirov moving up the rail line from Aralsk towards Orenburg. Three requisition and one subversion mission complete this turn.
Early May, 1919: Red morale 79, Siberians 90, Southern White 84. Northern Front is low on supplies and has to withdraw to Novgorod, taking 40 hits for supply shortage. D’oh! I build eight supply wagons to try to improve supply delivery by assigning extra wagons to Fronts and building a few depots. White gunboats (British?) pummel my fleet in the Northern Dvina. Collecting troops at Cherkassy for another attempt on Kiev, Mironov comes from Ekaterinoslav with three divisions, leaving Skachko with the Ukrainian Partisans in charge there. There don’t seem to be too many Whites around. A few White divisions are roaming around further to the east, but since they don’t have any supplies and don’t seem too aggressive I’m guessing they don’t actually contain too many troops. Budenyy arrives in Cherkassy with the latest Cossack cavalry division from Moscow (why new Cossack divisions appear in Moscow instead of some Cossack town is unclear). Depot chain completed to Cherkassy via Ekaterinoslav, Kharkov, and Kursk. Three recruiting and a subversion mission complete.
Late May, 1919: Red morale 79, Siberians 90, Southern White 82. Kamenev has finally assembled all of his forces at Cherkassy and will move on Kiev (for the third time) this turn. Stalin with Southern Front is pretty much fully reorganized in Novocherkassk, ingredients for his fort start abuilding around Tsarytsin. Trotsky besieging Orenburg. Blucher suffers heavy losses from attrition, withdraws to Kazan to refit. Kirov refitting in Aralsk – he got within two regions of Orenburg but then ran out of organization and supplies. It’s a long way! Three requisition, two Cheka, and three subversion missions completed this turn. One subversion mission in the Don – our support now nearly 50 there.
Early June, 1919: Red morale 90, Siberians 88, Southern White 82. A big turn for the Reds: Kamenev with the massed forces of Ukraine Front takes Kiev, Trotsky and Vatsetis take Orenburg. Siberian front embarrassed by their inability to overcome a small White force near Viatka. Northern Front under Bonch-Bruevich moves around White forces to the north of Pskov, now ready to attack Pskov from the east. Zinoviev killed between Tashkent and Samarkand in a fight with a small Green column. Three recruitment missions completed this turn.
Late June, 1919: Red morale 90, Siberians 88, Southern Whites 80. Siberian front trying to link up with small forces around Viataka, hopes to go on to Perm. Northern Front reorganizing at Pskov after a victory over the small White force to the east of the town, small White garrison besieged inside the town. We captured six supply wagons from the Whites in the battle last turn, sending them about the country to build depots to strengthen the supply delivery network. Budenyy to pursue Green force retreating from Kiev. Building units for fort for Kiev in Kursk. Two new divisions from Tambov to Ekaterinoslav with materials for a fort there; those units to move towards Donetsk once the fort is built. Stalin detaches Frunze’s division to attack Lugansk. Kirov moves from Aralsk down to Tashkent to try to restore the situation there after the death of Zinoviev. Guerillas wandering about the Kuban and in vicinity of Tomsk have smashed rail lines, in both cases Whites are slow to repair them. A Red partisan unit has been in Azov for three turns unmolested. If they leave me there one more turn, I’ll be able to move my captured naval transport unit away! Three requisition, two Cheka, and one subversion missions completed this turn. We are now building a tank factory in Petrograd.
Early July, 1919: Red morale 87, Siberians 87, Southern Whites 80. Siberian front under Ordonokhidze still trying to take out a small Siberian White force in Kotelnich in Viatka province. Those guys have cost me two of my International regiments! Northern Front still besieging Pskov. Kamenev and Ukraine Front pursuing retreating Ukrainians out of Kiev. Budenyy’s attack last turn was turned back with heavy losses, but still rated a “stalemate”. Stalin with Southern Front successfully defends Novocherkassk against two White attacks. Next turn, the fort will be done there and Uncle Joe can get on with pacifying the Don. Fort in Ekaterinoslav will be done next turn. Turkestan front under Kirov still trying to clear Greens from the Tashkent/Samarkand region, with seemingly unlimited cavalry reinforcements coming for the whites from Khiva. Eastern Front under Trotsky still pushing slowly along the rail line from Samara towards Ufa, with Vatsetis leading the way. The Iron Division has finished clearing the rail lines between Samara, Orenburg, and Aralsk, and moves back to Samara for rest and refit, leaving one brigade to hold Orenburg. Three recruitment missions completed this turn. Loyalties above 60 in most of central Sovdepia, with loyalties in the 50s in Tver, Novgorod, and Simbirsk.
General comments up to mid-summer 1919: I think the White AI is still a little passive. I expected much more ferocious attacks in the summer of 1918 and again in 1919. The White AI also doesn’t seem to repair rail lines very aggressively. My partisans have kept the Trans-Siberian broken in the Far East throughout the war, and as soon as partisans appeared in central Siberia they kept that link broken as well. The Kuban railway is more destroyed than not and has been throughout the war. On the other hand, White cavalry raiders don’t destroy my rail lines very often. I am quite quick to send cavalry out to chase them around, so maybe they just don’t have the time, but I expected to have to do more rail repair than I have. On the resource breakdown and “special missions” – I have had no shortage of money and WS. The big shortage has been recruits. I probably should have done more event-based recruiting. The ‘party members to the army’ even never seems to work. I did the mobilization event once. I do the ‘Red Cossacks’ event as often as possible and the “special taxation” event once. I think the special taxation event probably should give more money – 20 EPs for 100 rubles seems like a bad trade, especially since it comes with an NM hit too.
I’m going to keep on playing and see how it finishes up.
Stewart King
"There is no substitute for victory"
Depends on how you define victory.
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