DAY TWENTY-FOUR
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for:
The Qing invasion of Russia.
My nuclear bomber is done, and I've decided which country I'm hitting it with.
Fig. 78 Don't look like much, do it?
I'm building a second one right now.
I've broken the back of Xinjiang's forces. There's still a few things lying around in their core provinces, but they won't be a problem to overrun with militia and anti-tank. Everything else is going up to the Russian border.
Fig. 79 Now why did I worry so much about an AI?
My bomber is now sitting on an airstrip, all ready to be launched. Regrettably there's no way I'll be able to hit Moscow until I have all of Xinjiang, and I wanted to make a spectacular, nuclear-tipped declaration of war tonight, so I'm instead going to go for points I know have enough forces to cause problems when I arrive there. Option One is Vladivostok, which I've struggled to take before and is near the most lightly defended part of my border. Option Two, on the other hand:
Fig. 80 What a trivial, backwater place to drop a nuke.
I've even started backing off my artillery in readiness for a strike.
Everything on the ex-Mongolian or Ex-Xinjiang border is written off. I have more than enough troops congregated there as the aftermath of my invasion, so using nuclear weapons there would be a waste. I think Vladivostok is my best option, but distressingly close to my own border.
It's too late to get a spy report back now, or I'd already be checking the area for anti-air. Mind you I have several interceptors operating out of Kiamusze, and they're level 3. They should be able to take out any air-based interference with no trouble and inform me of any ground-based interference, even if it's by getting shot down by it. (My relations being what they are, I fully expect Russia to declare war on me if I try patrolling over their land.)
I can check the contents of Vladivostok itself by parking a submarine in its harbour. Being stealth level 4, I highly doubt the Russians have anything that will spot them without my actively initiating an attack.
Oh, look at that. It is anti-air. It also appears that there's nothing else in that neck of the woods, so nuking it would be a waste of time. Instead I'm going to scout out the entire area and nuke the first area with more than four units (unless all of them are clearly wimpy). If it all looks clear I'll move my bomber south, where it'll be safer from counterattacks, and keep it for later while starting my incursion immediately.
Germany has a nuke too. If I really care about kicking off the nuclear phase (which I do) I need to use mine and quickly. I could always drop it on Alexandrovsk, taking a detour to avoid Vladivostok and any cruisers Japan might have. Or I could drop it in the middle of nowhere just for the sake of demoralising Russia.
Blavoveschenschtnskshfk has a level 1 infantry. Not worth bombing.
You know what? I'm going to skip past all this boring preparation that's holding me up, move my nuke to a safer (and more centralised) location, and just get on with attacking Russia already. I've been waiting for this all game. Good grief. As a surprise attack, too; my popularity is 1%, so even if it made a difference I'd have nothing to lose.
My Massive ArmyTM stood up to Xinjiang's surprisingly fortified border; sparsely-defended Russia ought to be a pushover until I arrive in the east.
Fig. 81 The game didn't even tell me that this action would involve attacking a neutral action and may trigger a war. I think it has me and my strategies figured out by now.
Long-overdue update from the Japanese front: I briefly had three battle groups in commission before the HMS In The Original Klingon* got destroyed (my resolution to stick to normal names didn't last. It never does and I don't know why I thought it would this time), but the 10-unit doomstack that did the deed is being occupied by another ship of mine, whose name I shall doubtless find out when it gets killed. The reason why any of this matters?
Fig. 82 Quick, while the channel's unoccupied we can sneak into Shikoku!
Most of their units have been sent to Honshu as convoys, so sea-based interference is the only reason why I didn't do this long ago.
Fig. 83 I have to say that although I don't much care for the land bombardment animations, the naval battle ones are absolutely beautiful. I'm annoyed I couldn't get a better screenshot than this with the limited technology I have on this device.
It would also appear that Germany has something of a grudge against Italy.
Fig. 84 I'm slightly worried.
One could argue that this is the Axis equivalent of my Massive ArmyTM of militia and artillery, but that's because I essentially fight Comintern style regardless of the actual doctrine I'm using. Should Axis be doing this? I feel like they're wasting a lot of resources that could be directed to Russia, which by their own admission is a bigger problem.
On a lighter note: I now have a system of level 3 interceptor-compatible airstrips stretching from Rangoon, my southernmost city, to Hulunbuir, my northernmost one.
Fig. 84 Which would also naturally be nuclear bomber-compatible, given the range those things have. If I decide to initiate a Sino-Australian war that could be quite useful... always nice to finish on a lighter note, isn't it?
*This name has nothing to do with my being a Star Trek fan (I'm not) before anyone asks, but because of this. It has nothing to do with the events of the war, but I like the name.
