Combat ReportNogrania has elected to push the
Badlands and
Eastern Seas.
Toskesh has elected to push the
Badlands and
Mountains.
Combat in the MountainsNogrania bunkers down as Toskesh assaults the gray peaks once again.
Light rains and snows begin drifting down as Nogrania Drafts deposit Duke artillery in otherwise impossible to reach cliffs, replete with Emu NMG's to repel Toskesh's pesky attack helicopters. Sharpshooters with Kiwi's settle into crevices and Emu teams stack sandbags around NMG nests guarding chokepoints. Hippo's, Rhino's, and Paradigms settle into rocky tank-bunkers.
As with before, Qi Chu's are unsuited to the winding, rocky, and steeply inclined roads that make up the mountains, so Toskesh relies heavily on their infantry and new Xi-53 Li-Jiǎo Guàiwù Tank-Walker TB-53-01 this turn. The valleys and steep changes in elevation are ill-suited for attack helicopters, as strafing runs are difficult, ground cover is plentiful, and hidden AA nests can pop up easily out of the mountainside. More useful is mobile armor with leg-shields providing moving cover for infantry and RGL's to lob grenades in hard-to-reach places. It's a hard slog, and without their highly-developed attack helicopter and mobile artillery Toskesh doesn't really make much progress. The mountains remain Nogrania's for now, but the Li-Jiǎo is a step in Toskesh's favor.
Toskesh has failed to gain ground in the Mountains. Nogrania maintains their hold on the Mountains and generates +1 to their Economic Development Track.
Combat in the BadlandsTemperatures have begun to fall in the Badlands as Autumn rolls around. Both Nogrania and Toskesh have elected to push here this year.
One of the most notable changes this turn is the fact that with their Aluminum resource and more efficient engine, all of Nogrania's helicopters are now Cheap. This is countered in part by the fact that Toskesh has wasted no time at all in strapping Tūn NMG's to literally anything that will hold one. Their Pioqie, their Li-Jiǎo, their Qi Chu, and their Xīwàng are all now strapped with 12.7 mm Not-Machine Guns, and Nogranian soldiers lament the lax security that allowed such a tragic turn-about to happen. With such a fierce amount of ground-fire, Draughts are forced higher in the sky to drop their 110 lb bombs. Limited to two at a time and with a very poor view from the raised cockpit, the Draught's anti-armor role is limited and its strafing-fire role is likewise strangled. The Xīwàng, with its narrower profile, higher speeds, and armor (as light as it is) is more suited to the ground-attack role than the transport helicopter-turned-attack helicopter. It's anti-helicopter abilities are also boosted by the Tūn NMG inserted into the nose, which has enough ammo to leave the Xīwàng in the fight for more than a single pass. Helicopter-to-helicopter battles are still a bit of a toss-up; despite now having an actual gun, the Xīwàng is now outnumbered again. Despite the growing draw-backs of the Draught and Draft, they do have one thing that the Xīwàng doesn't - troop capacity.
Nogrania makes good use of their ability to drop in behind enemy lines, disrupting and destroying what they can before pulling out. So long as Nogrania keeps a solid perimeter, Toskesh's Qi Chu's can't do the same type of insertions. On the other hand, Toskesh's Qi Chu's now have
some defense against pursuing Draughts with their new Tūn's. Crews often elect to equip the hand-cranked variants rather than give up their rocket artillery, and harassment barrages are often followed by tracer light-shows between the ground and sky. Qi Chu's and Draughts give as often as they get in these engagements.
More firmly on the ground are the walker-to-walker battles, growing more and more common. Battles tend to revolve around these spider-like machines, and are often decided by whichever side can keep their walker walking. The Li-Jiǎo Guàiwù is an important addition to Toskesh's armory - not so much for the armor, but for the 75 mm HV cannon. With both sides fielding Medium armor as their thickest defense, both Nogrania's 4" and Toskesh's 75 mm guns can punch through one another easily. Engagements are often won by who can get off the first shot - in the wide-open plateaus of the Badlands, that's generally Nogrania. The 4" Duke shell can maintain its velocity at longer ranges. The 75 mm has a flatter arc, but tends to fall off quickly at longer ranges. Toskesh makes up for this with their superior infantry support. With RGL's and SMRL's, they're more apt to take out a tank walker on their own than a Nogranian soldier equipped with a Kiwi, which is less useful now that Toskesh has bumped their armor up a level. While it's an accurate hard-hitting gun, it would certainly be better with tungsten cores, sabot-discarding shells, or even a scope. As it is, it's simply not much use against armor beyond point-blank, and even then a Mill's grenade would be more useful.
There is one thing Nogrania has this turn that Toskesh does not - the Megamule. The significance of this vehicle cannot be understated. It's faster than a horse and sled, and it's ability to quickly get entire platoons from one place to another is a welcome return to the world of mechanized infantry. Being cheap means Nogrania doesn't have a single horse on the frontlines this turn, and can quickly and easily move hardware and men into position with a speed Toskesh can't compare to. It's similar to the Qi Chu in many ways, but out-performs it with regards to both cost and payload. Nogranian commanders make
excellent use of this new vehicle to out-maneuver Toskesh forces, and even manage to encircle their troops on more than one occasion. Troops tend to look a little green when disembarking, but experienced soldiers are fine. The only downside is that the Megamule is unarmed and unarmored, and thus vulnerable to air attacks.
Warrant Officer Lin ZengKang runs a strafing run over a Nogranian position, lighting up the Megamule convoy on the ground below. Troops disembark and flee the ant-shaped targets, quickly spreading out on the sands to avoid being caught in the firey explosions. An escorting Hippo commander pops out of his cupola and mans his Emu, quickly spraying yellow bolts of light into the sky. The Xīwàng shudders as a couple of rounds go into the air intake and black smoke begins to pour out of the exhaust. Lin turns the Xīwàng towards the Hippo and his gunner manages to wrangle the Tūn towards the offending target, spraying and killing the tank commander with NMG fire. The helicopter manages to limp back to friendly lines before settling down - a little rougher than Lin would have liked, but at least he's alive.
It's close -
really close - but Toskesh barely manages to push south this turn. Nogrania lacks a truly superior tank walker this turn, doesn't have very good anti-armor equipment for their infantry, and the Draught isn't as capable as Toskesh's attack helicopter. That being said, their ability to land behind enemy lines and out-maneuver Toskesh shouldn't be easily discounted, nor should their slight advantage in walker to walker combat. As before their artillery is slightly better than Toskesh's, but their infantry, air, and armor aren't the best in the field any more.
And just like that, Nogrania has lost control of the Badlands.
Toskesh has pushed south and gained control of the Badlands! They will gain +1 to their EDT for each year they continue to hold it!
Combat in the Eastern SeasNot much has changed with regards to naval actions this turn.
The only real change is that Toskesh's ships now have Anti-Air batteries, so there is some defense against Draughts. Being cheap means Nogrania can afford to lose them, though, so losing a single Draught in order to drop 220 pounds of "fuck you" on a Toskesh Yāngē is an exchange they are willing to make all day long. Nogrania manages to push further north along the coast this turn, and will have a naval advantage if they chose to assault the Fjords this winter.
Nogrania has pushed north and gained a section of the Eastern Seas!Foreign Investors:Both Nogrania and Toskesh have decided to sell their highly-yet-equally-developed turboshaft engines to the foreign investors.
Their scheme to sell the designs to the opposing side for a profit has been thwarted. Curses! They are suitably convinced your nations are worth the investment and both sides have gained
+1 Oil as oil refineries sprout up in both capitols. As the refineries were built in your capitol,
this Oil does not require TC.Red Scare:In a surprising move, Nogrania has begun imprisoning Communist and Communist-sympathizers in their capitol! A catalogue known as the "Red List" keeps track of people who have been known to fraternize with Communists or suspected Communists. Numerous people have disappeared into prison cells to await trial, and these trails often never come. Citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the police, and neighbors eye one another warily. In a seemingly unrelated move, the U.S. has begun supplying an additional
Ore Resource to Nogrania. This
Ore will require TC to utilize.
Other News:A young man by the name of Che Guevara sets out on a motorcycle trip through South America. Another man by the name of Fidel Castro leads a disastrous rebellion in Cuba and is arrested. The United Nations and North Korea sign an armistice while the US and South Korea sign a mutual security pact. The United Kingdom orchestrates a coup overthrowing the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh, as his anti-British policies made it really hard for them to get his oil. USSR tests their 1st hydrogen bomb and - in a startling move - does not publicly deny or affirm allegations of doing so.
Theatre Progress:Mountains:
Nogrania - 3/Toskesh 0
Badlands:
Nogrania - 0/Toskesh 3
Fjords:
Nogrania - 1/Toskesh 2
Eastern Sea:
Nogrania - 3/Toskesh 2
Jungle:
Nogrania - 3/Toskesh 0
Frozen Swamps:
Nogrania - 0/Toskesh 3
Nogrania: Level 4, 1/6 -> Ore
Toskesh: Level 2, 1/3 -> Oil
Author
Topic: Arms Race: Iron Behemoths - Toskesh - GAME OVER (Read 47176 times)