Civ Battle Royale November 19, 2024
HypnosEye
Empires rise, empires fall, the wheel of time turns for all. Many get struck and lose their old glory, but time is slow and steady, and Death is in no hurry.
Hello everyone and welcome to the Civilization Battle Royale, episode 32! I’m HypnosEye, who narrated an episode some months back, and I’m glad to embark again on that adventure with you today. Many exciting things will happen on our journey: dead people coming back to life, men fighting ghosts, planes in the ocean, surprise scares and unexpected reliefs…let’s start.
As always, we enjoy Sonicfan0511’s new map of the world! Thanks to him, we can see how many colors have disappeared from the cylinder, and how many are left. Shoutout to the small Makhnovian exclaves, these must be hard to map out.
The OC for today, as often, is the new installment of Orangechrisy’s Pacific Pals. Wahgi sure is scary.
As always, thanks to all the Ko-Fi sponsors for your continued support! You’re the fuel that has kept this project going for many years now.
For today’s PR slide, we look at England, who suffered a massive fall in the ratings. We hope the best for Henry in these troubled times.
One of the big stories in the last episode was the Ecuadorian-Mexican War. It’s only fitting that we begin with the latest news from the front: Ibarra has flipped back into Moreno’s hands, and by the looks of it they might be able to hold on to it for a turn or two. Ecuador is still under threat, but honestly I’d rate their chances to survive this quite high. Let’s see if that prediction holds any water!
Eswatini comes back from the dead for one turn to claim life in one more episode and cause headaches for the PR team, before their inevitable destruction.
The fighting has stopped around London, flames surround the mouth of the Thames river. A great musician composes a mournful sonata for the lost islands: “One day we will go back home”, he says, without an ounce of faith in his voice. Henry is nowhere to be found, having long departed with his generals across the Channel, to try and consolidate the continental holdings against the Faroese fleet.
And to be fair, who knows what they can do. If Trondur gets that gigantic fleet back from the North Sea, Norwhich and York won’t last long.
We get the confirmation of Eswatini’s demise. If anything, their resilience was always to be commended during this game, and I wish them a safe return trip to the great beyond.
Another capital falls: Wahgi’s troops, after maneuvering through burmese mountains, have finally entered Thanh Dong. A few of Rama V’s King’s Guard still stand outside the city gates, ready for a last ditch effort. Can Wahgi push any further, or will they peace out to avoid warmonger penalties?
While Siam despairs, across the Indian Ocean a quieter city capture has happened: the Singaporean armada has taken over Rakhigarhi and Sri Lanka. Kalibangan sits in steady hands and Lee Kuan Yew instructs his troops to ready the attack on Mangalapura. The city seems primed to fall, and will be somewhat easy to hold on to. Then, it’s just a matter of getting land units there, and soon the entire peninsula could flip.
We have a small break to take a look at the religions tab. On this slide, we can see the least powerful religion, the Lutheranism of the antique Shawnee people, that only a handful of people now practice over the cylinder..
And on that one, Vajrayana sits comfortably with the most followers and the most cities with 74, standing above the Ikko-Ikki’s Jodo Shinshu’s 63.
Trumpet in hand, Dizzy Gillespie sees the island of Kaldbak barely emerging over the horizon. He left the Seneca lands to cruise the Atlantic with his Warband escort, and wonders where he could play his next show: the world cares more for war than music. His eagerness and joyful spirit endure, nonetheless, and he turns his sight to the open sea.
Boots, parades, gigantic leader portraits, national celebrations and xenophobic sentiment echoing through the streets. There’s no escaping it: Autocracy has taken over Kanem-Bornu.
The Zheng fleet, massive as ever, patrols the seas, but their core is still bare from any significant land units. In their place, workers, missionaries, general and artists go from city to city. Charles Correa, an engineer, stands amongst them. Sketches and building permits overflow his hands: there is so much to build, so much to adapt to, and yet if Goguryeo comes from the North, not much will stand against them.
A Bora-Bora fleet, led by danish admiral Peter Tordenskiold, sails in New Holland’s waters. Does this speak to good relations between the two main powers of South America? Or is this the last friendly trip before they come at each other’s throats?
Panic erupts in the Himalayas as 4 different powers declare war on the Khoshuts, including three of their direct neighbors, Bukhara, Afsharid, and Dzungars. To be fair, the mountains will keep the Dzungar and the Bukharan at bay for the time being. The Afsharids, however, have flight and do not care for these obstacles called “mountains”. And we know they’ve been building up an imposing cavalry force. And Harappa is quite open. No need to say that this does not bode well for Gushi Khan, especially given his tendency to give away cities in peace deals as a show of good faith, but let’s try to maintain hope for them.
Same cannot be said for poor Leogivild, as Narbo looks ready to fall to Sierra Leone’s troops. Despair has taken over the streets and soldiers flee the fights, as the Visigoths are undeniably outmatched by the West African power. England’s iberian holdings would make a nice easy conquest for Peters, to finish his tremendous march north.
Ishtar’s missions have taken her everywhere. She has met people full of honesty and people full of deceit, brave warriors and cowards, wise leaders and hopeless fools. She would believe she has a good understanding of the human psyche, if not for Mithridates. And yet his plot against the deceased Rio Grande must have a reason, it surely must, even if it doesn’t make sense.
We get a good look at England’s new base in France. A Bavarian army is on the advance, but they are technologically inferior, so that immediate danger might peter out quickly. More important are the damaged coastal cities of York and Norwich, who are still threatened by the Faroese navy. If - or maybe, when - these fall, England will find itself in poor Burgundy’s situation: trapped between two powers and doomed to die.
The attack on Damietta is not going in Saba’s favor. Yes, the city has fallen to the red and a rifleman could take it. But they have all naval presence in the Red Sea, and there will be enough Pontus troops to retake it. Let’s be honest: before going north, Saba should have attacked Kanem-Bornu. Without controlling Damanhur, that siege is probably not going anywhere.
Well, predictably, Harappa has already fallen in the red due to the imposing Afsharid air force. This might turn into a disaster for Gushi Khan, as both Mohenjo Daro and Lothal would be meagerly defended if Afsharid conquers Harappa. And remember: Nader Shah has increased movement after a war declaration, so this could all go very fast.
It would be nice for the Afsharids, though: they have not had a lot of expansion opportunities for a few episodes, and this war could give them the advance they need to dominate the region.
Architect Kan Yeang appears very appropriately in his home region of Malacca. He is tasked with building an environmentally friendly, bioclimatic building for the modern age.
Singapore’s troops, meanwhile, move west, to India. Their core looks empty, but they have higher quality units than Zheng does, which might deter any war.
As planned, Mangalapura is getting close to fall. Protests have erupted over Khrishnadevaraya’s catastrophic handling of the war. The Indian king had no mercy for his people, and the repression was terrible. Vijayanagara has fallen to autocracy.
Wahgi paratroopers are given furlough to celebrate the victories over Siam and some of them take a holiday in Hawaii. The sun sets over the gentle waves, soft airs of goguryeo-pueblan music play, and life is nice for once.
Back to the Visigothic front, no need to paint you a picture. This is less a nice battle painting than blood splattered over a canvas, Cy Twombly style. Narbo will fall, and Toledo will probably follow. Then where would Leovigild go?
Harappa has fallen, but the Khoshut mounted forces could retake it and hinder any further advances to the north-east. However, Mohenjo-daro to the South is open and Afsharid cavalry battalions, having just outflanked the enemy army, are reaching the city gates.
The nightmare scenario unfolds in England right now: Norwich’s defenses have been reduced to rubble, Amiens is taking chip damage from incoming enemy ships, and Faroese Great War Infantry units have landed near York. At least Bavaria does not seem to have made any progress yet. Ludwig’s performance in this whole war is very disappointing.
Speaking of Bavaria, they make a very uninteresting peace deal with the Khoshut, ending a war both parties had forgotten about. On a more serious note, their invasion party in England conceals the fact that their core is at the present very weak and empty. Both Pontus and Latvia could deal serious damage to Ludwig, who also suffers from quite the technological handicap.
Wahgi seems to be going for the kill with paratroopers surrounding Ayutthaya, and even more units making their way to Hai Phong.
In every installment of the CBR, one civ always does a striking invasion out of their zone. I feel both Bora-Bora and Wahgi fill that description now: would you have said they would be the first to kill Siam of all people, before going for either Singapore or Zheng?
“Narbo has fallen”, they tell him. Leovigild looks at it all, having lost the ability to mourn his dying realm. “And Toledo will fall”, he says. “It is as it is”.
On the other side of the world, Managapura falls too. But the future of this war is still uncertain. There’s a nice Singaporean presence around Vellore and Penukonda, but could they reinforce in time to hold the cities? If they do, will they be capable of reaching Vij’s capital? One thing is for sure:Krishnadevaraya’s chances are on the floor.
Harappa has flipped and has been retaken by the Afsharids, who continue to advance towards Mohenjo-Daro. In the north, the Dzungars are attacking Tawang, but I don’t think they have enough to achieve anything there. To be honest, Vijayanagara could end their Singapore war and move inland by attacking the very undefended Lothal and Dege. If they don’t, the Afsharids might get there first.
Toledo will fall, Leovigild repeats himself. Toledo will fall. Until it doesn’t. Thomas Peters fears the ire of the other great leaders of the world, and decides to end things there, leaving Visigoths as a rump state but depriving himself of a capital. If anything, he should have focused on Toledo, and not taken Narbo, especially because now any action against England’s cities will be more difficult.Leovigild, to his great despair, gets to rule a few more turns.
Ayutthaya has just fallen. Hai Phong is the last refuge for the Siamese governing family, and Wahgi is knocking at the walls. The last hope is that Bolim, just like Thomas Peters, doesn’t want the warmonger penalties.
The Thule-Nivkh war continues in the Bering Strait as Thule retakes Nurgan. Sadly, I think the terrain is just not on Nivkh’s side here.
Henry manages to broker peace with Ludwig, bringing calm to the eastern front. Sadly, this is all too late, as York has fallen to Trondur’s troops, and the Grindadraps arrive to exploit its seas. Norwich looks like it could be captured next turn, and Amiens is already below half-life. Sadly for all England fans, I don’t think it’ll get any better.
The Mexican-Ecuadorian war is still going and still in limbo. Ibarra is firmly held by Ecuador, but Latacunga has no defenses left and a few line infantry units are closing in. We’ll see if they make it. If they do, Mexico could peace out for this city, and plan a better invasion from there.
The Khoshuts manage to recapture Harappa once again, but in the south the Afsharid army has finished the siege of Mohenjo-Daro, and reinforcements are coming from Dholavira. In the north, Dzungar units continue to percolate from the mountains, but Gushi’s troops hold the passes.
‘(Also, keen eyed viewers will notice some rosy units nearing the Vijayanagara city of Mehrgarh…keep those in mind)
Ishtar begins to understand the paranoia that haunts the cylinder leaders. “They fear, she writes in her journal, the vengeance of the Dead, and so they plan wars against them. No sooner than today President Pawhuska revealed his plans against Po’pay and the non-existent Pueblo. It is a crusade against Death itself. And why not? The Eswatini have come back to life, if only briefly. Who knows what old horrors could surge back from their tombs”.
Glass half empty: Norwich falls and Amiens’ walls are destroyed. Glass half full: Norwich could be retaken and the Faroe attack is actually thinning out. Plus, they are getting truces left and right, with no less than Nivkh ad Wahgi. There are ways to cope away the defeat.
Wahgi does opt out of eliminating Siam for good, and they sign a peace treaty. Rama probably doesn’t have good enough terrain to be an effective turtle, so he’ll probably get stomped by whoever decides they can go for the kill. Wahgi refused to do it. Is it because of the warmonger penalties, or for any other reason…?
And in a thunderous turn of events, Wahgi declares war on Bora-Bora! Nobody can say this wasn’t coming, but looking at the troop distribution it might have been hasty on Bol’im’s part, as there are no naval units concentrated on the front. On the other hand, while Puni’s fleet is massive, his carpet is mainly made of frigates: would that wooden wall stop the technologically superior Wahgi, who sit 14 techs above them? Everything will hinge on Bora-Bora acting quickly before a real Wahgi fleet gets there.
We look at the massive Wahgi city of Banz, the third biggest city in the world, where the Pentagon has been constructed. It offers a consequent 33% discount on military units upgrades. That, coupled with Wahgi’s tech advantage, explains their massive military score (double that of Goguryeo). And it’s very scary for Bora-Bora’s future.
Whooh. Well. We all need a breather I think. So it’s map time. First is the player map, where we can see the Faroe’s conquests, and the Faroes’ advance. Also, Harappa is currently in Afsharid hands
Then comes the diplomacy map. Latvia and Zheng are quiet for the time being, Mogadishu and Sierra Leone have finished their wars, and Tiwanaku are sobbing over their dead empire alone, perhaps.
The growth map shows Kazan and Taino in a boom, and a few countries in decline: Vijayanagara, Bukhara, the Finns and also Mexico and Bavaria, which is more concerning, especially for the latter.
Happiness is not a problem across the map, except for the Faroes who have always struggled with the mere concept of a smile.
Politically, most of the world has either not reached ideology or has already fallen to autocratic sentiments, except for Faroes and Ikko-Ikki, who follow Order, on one hand, and Singapore, who follows Neutrality, on the other.
Faroes, England are having money problems, and so do Wahgi and Bora-Bora. Makhnovia, who rejected long ago the principles of money, are deep in the red.
Bora Bora takes the initiative in the first turn of the war and surrounds Tolu, bringing it almost to half life! Wahgi still does not have a fleet (or airforce) in sight, which is great for Puni.
Norwich has been put to the torch, and Amiens is soon to follow. The English can wish to retake both next turn, but it’s hopeless.
Mongolian rock band The Kinks have started making waves in the Turfan scene. It’s been a strange few episodes for Mongolia: they aren’t in immediate danger but they’re trapped into a really mediocre situation. Might as well enjoy some music while you’re at it.
What better ideology for Rome than Autocracy? Trajan has militarized his realm, and a big army carpets the mediterranean and its shores. And yet it’s been a long time since Roman soldiers have had to fight anyone. They pass the time with endless parades and wargames.
Singapore’s attack on Vijayanagara’s east coast continues, with both cities driven to yellow health. At a glance it feels like both cities will fall and flip. Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, near Gujarat, the Singaporean detachment we noticed a few slides earlier is attacking the once-harappan city of Mehrgarh! That one will probably not flip once captured, which is another humiliating blow to Krishnavedara.
Khoshuts expectedly peaces out with the two members of the war coalition that could not do much against him: Bukhara and the Selkups. Dzungar forces attempt to besiege Tawang but have made no progress. However, Lothal in the south is in the red, and Afsharids have consolidated around Harappa. Will Gushi Khan dispatch some of his northern troops to the south to prevent further advance?
Singapore’s navy opens yet another front with Vijiyanagara by attacking the seychellian colony of Belgaum. Gingee will probably be next, and Singapore would become the first empire to span across the Indian ocean.
Tolu still stands at yellow health, but Wahgi’s fleet is, say it with me, missing. In a rare showing of bravery and tactical stupidity, paratroopers are sent to their death in Tevaitoa, where Bora-Bora’s frigates will pummel them. Puni fields a respectable, if outdated, airforce, while Wahgi’s has not yet been transferred to Micronesia. All of this honestly makes me wonder why Bol’im decided to go after Bora-Bora without preparing properly, because it’s looking like more and more of a bad decision.
We get a gander at the Yellowknives’ lands. The fourth great power’s core is filled with tanks ready to strike the Great Plains - if they decided to. The troops and the planes amassed near the Great Lakes might hint to such an attack, at least.
Yellowknives’ old competitor Thule still stands tall, and they have hired Chu-yuan Lee, the architect of the Taipei 101, to improve their lands. Their navy, overtaken by pirates, is now 80% privateers. They look over the sea to find booty to plunder, but do not venture out: “It’s too warm out there”, they say.
Thule’s siberian colonies are doing well, exchanging bombs with Nivkh’s. Nurgan may flip a few turns, but it’s hard to find excitement in these frozen lands.
More exciting is the decisive capture - and razing - of Lothal by the Afsharid horde. The city will probably be exchanged once or twice, but most importantly the road to Dege and Chamdo is now open. An awful situation for Gushi Khan would be to lose the Indian plains and be relegated to the mountains, left to turtle away and wage boring wars with the Dzungars for the rest of his life.
We get the message that Lothal has flipped to the Khoshuts. At the foot of Gyangtse’s mountains, a nameless Dzungar general gets news from the siege of Tawang: cannons have managed to set up properly and defenses have dwindled. This could actually work out nicely for the blue riders.
A surprise Wahgi blockade has hit the Bora-Bora island of Machaca. The city, once a Tiwanaku settlement, has probably nothing to fear, as friendly ships are in the region, ready to deal with the intruders.
Another Wahgi force goes south to attack Bora-Bora’s antarctic outposts. GIven the age of these ships and units, my best guess is these were sent for a war many turns ago and were just coming back before being informed that war had been declared.
And despite all of Wahgi’s “”best”” efforts, they actually are the first ones to lose a city, as Tolu falls to Puni’s hands. This is actually quite humiliating for Bol’im, whose units don’t seem coordinated at all. Anyways, this is very good news for Bora-Bora, which is all that matters.
Amiens had flipped once, but Faroes have recaptured it. Trondur, always the coherent man, resumes the razing of the city, sparing none of its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the English mount a grand assault to retake Norwich.
The opportunists strike again! Mogadishu and Saba declare war on Vijayanagara, hoping to take over those seychelles cities Singapore has weakened, depriving him of all access to Africa. Mogadishu looks better placed to take over both of them if Lee Kuan Yew doesn’t.
Speaking of Singapore, they have just taken Vellore, and have driven both Mehrgarh and Penukonda to low health. Poor Vijayanagara, they really haven’t been able to catch a break.
Nader Shah has retaken Lothal and advances his army in a common front to Ganeriwala and Chamdo, the door to Koshut’s himalayan cities. These units are battered however, and reinforcements are still deep in Afsharid territory, so Khosuts might have a moment to reorganize and, perhaps, ask for peace from Dzungars.
Hoagy Carmichael, singer and songwriter from the Zheng, sees his Bora-Bora tour canceled by the war with Wahgi. He starts composing a song that he titles “Tolu on my mind”, before dozing off to sleep.
In upper Taino circles, Ishtar tells us, war is being discussed, a very rare occasion. A plot is being formed to weaken and attack Pawhuska of the Osage. One can question the intelligence of that plan given the tightness of the border connecting the two powers, but we have to admire initiative where it’s at least being considered.
Bavaria becomes an Autocracy. Will Ludwig’s totalitarian rule have an aesthete quality to it, with nice silk-woven uniforms? Who knows. However we can notice the Swan King is transferring troops over to the Eastern front: is an attack on Pontus or Machnovia brewing?
One rule of life the CBR shouldn’t teach us is that opportunism wins everytime, except when it doesn’t. Mogadishu steals the capture of Belgaum under Singapore’s nose, and has a strong position to take Gingee next. This would be an amazing pick-up for Abu Bakr, who would then consolidate his holding and strangle Saba’s sea access.
Sadly for Mog fans, we learn that Singapore has taken Gingee, and that they have also retaken Vellore. As for the other cities, the capture of Mehrgarh is certain, and it’s possible they take, but do not keep Penukonda.
While the units set to Chamdo are faced with heavy resistance, Afsharid troops in the north are gearing for the conquest of Ganeriwala, battered by ceaseless bombing. A few hexes away, Dzungars have weakened Tawand and could take it soon. Also, Gushi’s forces have…melted, there’s just a handful of Cuirassiers to help against both their enemies attacks.
Finally, the Wahgi have struck back. They have retaken Tolu and seriously damaged Tevaitoa and Fetuna. Again, their attack still lacks a coherent navy, but whatever troops they have deal so much damage to Bora-Bora’s army that Puni ends up struggling.
Generalissimo Gwanggaeto has appeared on television, his eyes lit with a strange kind of fire. “My fellow compatriots”, he says, “I have seen in action a new kind of weapon, one that will revolutionize war as we know it for decades to come. Our enemies will fear us, all will grovel at our feet!”. Then he stops. This is the only time the immortal leader has felt death’s presence over his shoulder.
A storm takes over western africa with the third biggest war this episode, as Sierra Leone decides to attack Kanem-Bornu.
Let’s try to assess the situation. Sierra has double Kanem’s manpower, production, and 8 more techs. And, given army placements, even if Sierra fumbles the bag, they might still get out of it with Manan, Bo or Njimi at the very least. Very exciting prospects for Peters.
Mehrgarh falls to Singapore, as expected and as for Penukonda well…wait, what is this unit partly hidden by the city banner? One of Mogadishu’s Uwassiye units! They now have the opportunity to do one of the funniest things ever to Singapore.
The Faroe fleet has moved down to England’s new capital, Emerita in Portugal. The city is already hurt, but the two artillery divisions there could ward off the attack. To the north, England is still trying to win back its lost cities, but Faroes land reinforcements are starting to come from the newly-conquered port of York.
The Khoshuts have been able to relieve Tawang from its siege, however the Afsharids have thrusted their army forward, capturing Ganeriwala, damaging Chamdo and preparing to move on to Dege. This has been a very clean performance by Nader Shah, who proves he’s not become completely irrelevant on the cylinder yet. Many of his neighbors still don’t have planes, too: he could really blob out here.
In South America, once great Tiwanaku gets attacked by two blue powers, none of which can reach them. Noongar is on the other side of the Pacific with no access, and New Holland would have to go through Ecuador to even get a shot at it. So, before Maurits develops paratroopers, the inhabitants of Tiwanaku can sleep tightly. If only there weren’t so many Great Musicians around, singing and dancing all night long.
We learn that Bol’im is the first leader to enter the Information era.The papuan civ has a terrifyingly strong advance to any other player, yet their war has not moved much: Tolu has been recaptured by Bora-Bora and might flip again. On the flip side for Bol’im, Puni’s carpet has been largely sunk, and his melee units will have a easier time sailing through to the different islands.
Trondur decides Emerita was too much for him and settles for peace with England, winning Dijon in the negociations. His legion of unique worker boats prepare to conquer the Atlantic, which they much prefer to any of that dry land. Meanwhile, you can see Rome in the right of the screen mount a small assault on Nancy. With England’s artillery freed from the northern front, I don’t know what Trajan’s prospects can be before his troops get shelled to death.
It’s been 8 turns since the last Ecuador-Mexico slide, and Mexico has finally been able to capture Latacunga! They have also bombed Quito’s and Riombamba’s walls to ashes, and Maximillian is gearing up for a landing to take Moreno’s capital. Airpower is really making all the difference in this war: I don’t know if it would have gone any further than Ibarra without it.
Sadly, no more Mog memes for us today, as Singapore takes over Penukonda. It’s hard to overstate the disaster this has been for Vijiyanagara, who started this episode with 10 cities, and have lost 6.If Singapore decides to mount a field army in India, it’s probably completely over for them.
Back to West Africa, as expected, Bo and Manan are already quite damaged. However, Peters doesn’t have an airforce, so he will not be able to just roll all over Kanem with ease.
Khoshuts have lost Chamdo to the Afsharids. Dege has no health left, and Tawang’s defenses have also been put under a lot of stress. As a caveat for Nader Shah, the closer his armies get to the Khoshut heartland, the more difficult it will be to navigate units through the mountains to capture those cities. However I don’t see how he doesn’t get to the bay of Bengal in this situation.
Alexander Borodin leads the charge of the Wahgi combined forces into Bora-Bora territory. They told him it’s to raise soldiers’ morale, but he feels like his enemies have sent him here to die. If he survives, he swears, he’ll compose an opera that will stun them all.
An interesting development happens in Kamchatka ! Ytyk’ has been captured by Thule in a surprise attack, much to the dismay of Nivkh command. This could be a very helpful breach for Thule, if they wish to go further west.
Trondur watches the bomb fall on the small island his scientists chose for the test. The explosion is massive, blinding, a cloud of smoke taller than anything he has ever seen. The power to destroy everything - now at his fingertips.
Ecuador loses both its capital and the city of Loja to Mexican troops. New Hollandish peacekeepers roam the countryside without intent. The Ecuadorian dictator has already accused the Dutch of collaborating with the invaders, but panic has prevented the incident from escalating. Moreno’s dismayed troops, meanwhile, have to choose between regroupment or recapturing the lost cities.
The Wahgi have managed to capture Tevaitoa, and they are looking to retake Tolu. However Puni’s fleet near Fare is still somewhat powerful, and they could at least get their own city, bringing the war back to the statu quo ante bellum.
The heroic ecuadorian partisans have managed to recapture Quito and Loja. Nonetheless, Moreno has not moved from Guayaquil, as his generals expect both cities to flip again soon. This is honestly bittersweet news for Ecuador, as they at least don’t get boxed in their own interior. Mexico’s army is still looking scary, especially in the North. I don’t believe they’ll push further than this, but Ecuador’s fight is a lost one.
It took 14 turns, but Saba’s attack on Damietta has succeeded, and the city is now in the queen’s hand. Now the question is: where to go next. It’ll be hard to attack Trapezus across from the Red Sea, but wilder things have been done. Attacking Kanem is also a good idea to consider, but Saba doesn’t have a good record with that.
The rout of the soldiers finding culprits or excuses for the army’s defeat has led to the adoption of a series of brutal laws in the Khoshuts, trying to reign in the population as the Afsharid near Dege and Tawang. Conscripts from all ages are pulled to ensure the rest of the south does not fall.
Peters has captured Bo, as expected, and is still looking to take Manan. Nijmi is another story: Kanem-Bornu has concentrated a ton of units near the city, reducing the effectiveness of any encirclement strategy. We’ll have to see if that tactic proves enough to hamper Sierra’s progress.
Another skirmish against the dead is prepared as the ruthless Karlis Ulmanis of Latvia gathers generals, diplomats and spies to prepare an attack on the long disappeared Changamire Dombo, whose existence cylinder historians have just been rediscovering.
As we check into a non-existent airport, Bora-Bora has managed to capture Tevaitoa again. There are more and more Wahgi ships and troops coming, though. Puni will suffer from his production deficit compared to his attacker, and might want to end this soon.
The fall of the Khoshut empire continues: Dege has been taken, Tawang and Lhasa are still under attack, and the planes that have been relocated to the makeshift airbase in Lothal are ready to bomb Nakhon Ratchasima and Nakchu. In other words, soon Khoshuts will just be left will Dam and Shigatse. And if you would kindly look at their border with Goguryeo, the korean dictator has a few planes and units there ready to advance.
The Finns attack Makhnovia: this is like a fight between two lame ducks, and it’s just as sad.
We end with a nice shot of the old Pueblo core, now entirely in the hands of the Yellowknives. They have just declared friendship with New Holland, who trails them on the InfoAddict rankings. Maybe that great tank army was very seductive to Maurits, or maybe they are plotting against Mexico or the Osage together. Friendship is magic, after all.
I’m honestly sad to finish the episode here, not knowing what happens to all of this episode’s wars! I guess that’s the serial format for you. Anyways, I’ve been HypnosEye and this was episode 32 of the CBRX4. Thank you again to every Kofi patron for your continued support and have a great day!