Battle Report 1, 1900This marks the year all our work was put to the test against the Nafunan swine to the south. Our work to put the newly gained knowledge of the outside worlds many advances has produced what is best described as the grand
Shonkhor 4kg Cannon being heavy but powerful and safe, designed by our own hands to strike out against the enemy and deal major damage to them. While we initially had some issues with the thing being unreliable, we have fixed that issue and now it should work about as reliably as any other cannon. Of course, it still weighs quite a bit, but its not too much of an issue to transport it in less logistical stressed locations like the villages. Still, our work has gone well for our first year, all things considered, and more progress is undoubtedly on the way.
Unfortunately, it seems our enemy has also managed to find out the many new things the outside world has, and they too have made something very similar to ourselves. The
Seth Demi-Culverin as they call it is a cannon that seems to be able to fire two shots a minute and so far, we have not seen the thing break in combat, and if it has, our soldiers certainty didn't see it. Its unfortunate to admit but it seems to be a better, if lighter cannon then our own and one that just so happens to be painful for our troops to deal with. Its also unfortunate that it seems that almost every Nafunan soldier we have seen this year is equipped with some kind of musket, usually with a few odd additions, like golden wings at the end, or a leather covering. A few soldiers even report them having kits to clean the things properly, and annoyingly, a single well placed shot from those things can kill a horse better then their old bows could. Luckily, its slow to reload, like our own limited muskets, but that isn't much of a reprieve.
Battle Report, Naval Combat: The battle for the waters remain mostly how it almost always was, ships just doing what they need and only firing a few arrows at each other if they get too close, with only rare engagements between convoys with minimal damage done to either side. The only thing of note was a single time two ships transporting cannons engaged each other with both crews having the bright idea to use the cannon on the deck. Only light damage was suffered by the enemy while our own ship suffered some moderate damage, it still raises a few questions about if the seas will be so calm in the near future. Either way,
No one has any kind of advantage at sea.Battle Report, Island Mountains. Attackers, no one: The soldiers in the mountains have a fairly uneventful time there, with most forces from us being diverted to the mainland, and the enemy having the same idea, our soldiers and their own mostly stick to their side of the lines. Rarely, a few of our patrols might bump into one of the enemy's and fight, but outside of these occasional incidents, most of our soldiers spend their days in camp talking with other soldiers and doing patrols on our side of the line. For this reason, unsurprisingly, very few casualties happen here outside of the aforementioned patrols meeting each other and the occasional avalanche or accident. Due to this, its quite obvious that
No one gains ground as no one actually made an effort to take it.Battle Report, Villages. Attackers, Karikhita, Nafuna: As one might expect, the Villages, being the most open and easy to supply front, has most of the fighting between our forces and the enemy, and also has the most casualties. It is here where we see how their gun can kill a horse easier then the bow, and it is also here where we see how they slowly developed a tactic to make up for the slow reload of their gun, where a few soldiers who have finished loading step in front of those reloading and fire before whoever has finished loading goes in front of them. It took a shamefully long time for such a simple tactic to be made by them, but unfortunately, their guns make up for their tactical incompetence quite well. Our cannon proves to be invaluable here however, where it decimates our enemy's from a distance when it fires, unfortunately, while tactically inept, our enemy isn't so stupid as to realize our cannons are a threat, and they use their own to take ours out quite efficiently when they are able to. From our experience, their cannon when put up against our own is able to fire faster and turn quicker along with requiring a smaller crew to man the thing, and most of the time, our soldiers on horseback have to try and go around their flanks to deal with their own cannons as our own aren't able to destroy them quickly enough to not take heavy casualties as well. Despite all of this however, our cannon is still good, its just the enemy's is better, and usually, we have similar numbers of them as well.
Unfortunately, under a hail of gun fire, from both cannon and rifled musket, our troops are forced to advance in the opposite direction. [Karikhita 1/4, Nafuna 3/4]Battle Report, Swamps. Attackers, Karikhita, Nafuna: If you couldn't tell, the battle here is miserable for both sides. We can't bring horses in, its full of mud, its easy to get an infection, and the air is uncomfortably hot and humid, which makes our composite bows more likely to deteriorate, along with the enemies. As it turns out, mud is bad for our heavy cannons, and they cant actually get into the swamps too easily, or at all really. Even in the places where there is mostly solid ground our cannon has issues, and as such it isn't really used here at all, the only evidence they ever where here buried under mud. The enemy also has issues with their cannon and mud from what we have seen, but in the places where there is mostly solid ground it still can work and surprisingly well at that, although thankfully it is slow to turn due to the mud allowing us to outflank them easier. Still, the main thing here that drives us up the wall is the enemy's guns which seem to work fairly well here, at least the first time they fire they seem to have no issues, but the longer a conflict goes on the more likely their guns wont fire, but the first shot is what counts the most. There are also reports of them trying to set up ambushes, the first report goes on about how they managed to defeat a few patrols in such a way with what we believe are the same soldiers before, however, many attempts done by soldiers who had the same idea as this group seem to fair no where near as well, mostly due to our soldiers being able to see them fairly easily if they aren't behind a tree or particularly thick bush. Still, their advantage in arms is a hard one to fight against, but in these conditions, the trusty sword is the one thing not to have some issues with reliability,
and our soldiers give the Nafunan's a bloody nose for each meter of ground they take from us. Sadly, they do still take those meters of ground. [Karikhita 1/4, Nafuna 3/4]Outside world and Internal affairs: Not much has happened since we contacted the outside world, however, something to note is that a group of today's youth seem to be extensively interested in these things the outside world call automobiles. In a sense these things are mechanical horses, especially the motorcycle, which plenty of the people in these groups wishing that the government would import some. Of course, we would never do such a thing, as it would be more wise to make a ship out of stone then import actual equipment from other nations. It would be much better if we made them ourselves, even if it will probably take a decade. In other news, the United States gains control over Tutuila in Samoa and several smaller Pacific islands. The United States and the United Kingdom sign treaty for Panama Canal. British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury rejects peace overtures from the Boer leader Paul Kruger as demanding too favorable terms. Japan uses its influence over Korea to deny Russia's efforts to obtain a naval station at Korean Port of Masampo. Recognizing that the war in South Africa is going to take a major commitment, British parliament passes the War Loan Act, calling for £35 million to support the fight against the Boers. Baron Von Ketteler, German Minister, decides to go to the Chinese authorities to demand more guards for European protection from Boxers and is killed by Boxers en route. The Russian Tsar orders that Russian must be the official language of Finland, despite growing unrest within Finland and increasing international concern over Russia's behavior there. And an allied expeditionary force, made up of Japanese, Russian, British, French and American troops, sets off from Tientsin for Peking, China, to put down Boxer rebellion.
Mongol Sabre: A old sword design that has served us well even after all these years, It can be used on horseback just as well as it can be used on foot. Costs 1 Ore -Cheap
Composite Bow A favorite of both our own troops and our enemy, it is a simple bow that is able to pack a good punch, it comes a quiver. Costs 1 Wood -Cheap
Karikhitan Flintlock Rifle: A domestically produced rifle, apparently obsolete elsewhere, but much more powerful than anything else we have. Sadly, its not efficient on horseback. 1 Ore, Complex -Expensive
Shonkhor 4kg Cannon: A heavy and powerful cannon that's only real issue is its weight, which is only an issue in combat. Its fairly reliable now that we have made versions of it that don't explode. Costs 2 Ore, Cheap
Khopesh: A classic short sword design we have still fought against even after all these years, the major difference between it and the original ones we faced is the use of steel instead of iron or bronze and it is much sharper then what we had to deal with before.
Composite Bow: A favorite of both our own troops and our enemy, it is a simple bow that is able to pack a good punch, it comes a quiver. Our enemy doesn't really use them anymore.
Thoth Mk.1 Flintlock Rifle: A domestically produced Nafunan rifle, that luckily is still obsolete everywhere but here, just as luckily, its highly inaccurate on a chariot. Comes with a cleaning kit and a few other things can be added to it from what we have seen. Costs 1 Ore, cheap
Seth Demi-Culverin: A cannon like our own, but lighter and seems to work even in harsh conditions. Fires about two or so shots per minute and is a pain for our troops to deal with at the moment.
It is now the Design Phase. Make the Khan proud of you, and something to push the Pharoah's so called soldiers back.