Waterloo Revisited (II) - 790 BC to 760 BC

790 BC: Round 2  and the siege of Paris begins - first, three Ballistas bombard the city...

 A fourth Ballista is moved to a firing position.

 Two of my Legions assault Paris from the East and West

 A third Legion captures the French Worker...

 ...then a fourth Legion attacks from the South.

  Paris holds firm but has been badly bashed.

 End of my turn and the French retaliate - my Legion W. of Paris is barraged by both the  Archer and the Paris Garrison - and is destroyed.... Oh well.

780 BC: The siege goes on...first the bombardment...

 ...then an assault from one Legion is enough...

 Napoleon is vanquished - my Legions have conquered the French capital....

 I've captured some Resource Hexes so let's export some Fur...thankyou, Askia - Gold is always welcome.

 My vital statistics - still below average population but the libraries that I am building are beginning to show improved literacy.

 The Roman Empire in 760 BC. Note that N. Africa is empty!!! Has everybody been fighting each other so much that they have no time to colonize?

Ok, I have Unhappiness again but the Courthouse in Berlin will be completed in 3 turns and a Colosseum in Rome in 4 turns. There are also two Luxury items in N. Africa which I intend grabbing. The Roman Empire will soon be a happy Empire again.

Waterloo Revisited (I) - 850 BC to 800 BC

850 BC: There has been some good news from Africa - My Scout has survived and is heading North to link up with an Archer I sent from Italy. It bumped into Barbarian camp complete with Settler. It was captured and is now a Worker.

830 BC: I decided that it is time to take care of Napoleon. I embark the Legion N. of Bilbao and send thru the English Channel to ouflank his defences.

 In 800 BC I announce the attack...

I invade from all sides - shock & awe!!!

 After a barrage from Bilbao my Legion crushes the French Warrior...

 A second Legion passes through the line to arrive S. of Paris...

 The amphibious assault W. of Paris..

 My Ballista moves forward and sets up...

 The pesky French Scout is overrun - and from the East a Legion and a Warrior move forward

 A French Warrior NE of Paris is bombarded...

 ...then decimated by another Legion.

 After the smoke has cleared, Napoleon only has one Archer, (a Worker), plus the Paris garrison left.

A satisfactory opening move!

Empire Building - 1250 BC to 850 BC

1250 BC: The Germans have been defeated but war in Europe continues - France is at war with England and Greece and in 1230 BC Catherine of Russia declares war on Suleiman of the Ottomans.

I've renamed Warsaw to Krakow - more accurate, and wanted to start giving my units personalized names, i.e. 1st Legion, 2nd Archer, etc. but I can't seem to get the rename function working....:-/

Research: After Sailing I need Optics which enables my units to walk over water, to Africa. I also need Writing so that I can build Libraries. Writing leads to Philosophy = Temples, then Construction which enables the Colosseum = Happiness points.

I also need to build roads to connect my cities to Rome - luckily my Legions are not only great combat units but are also excellent road-builders. Cities connected to Rome bring in more revenue but each Road costs 1 Gold per Turn per Hex.

Then I need population growth and that is impossible with Unhappiness. Curing that takes time - and patience. I can build some more combat troops in the meantime and fill-up my warchest thru exports.

1200 BC: My first Ballista is ready and I start building the Pyramids - yes in Rome! If I finish it first I receive 2 Workers and a 25% construction bonus.

 1170 BC: I build a new city, Odessa on the Black Sea - that peeves Greece, Russia and Turkey but expansion is expansion, right?!?

 1090 BC: Optics has beeen completed so on to resarching Construction...

 1000 BC: Yeah, and I can adopt a new policy, Meritocracy, so at the beginning of the new millenium the Roman Empire is again a HAPPY Empire :-)

 930 BC: Construction is completed, next is Writing followed by Philosophy in 870 BC.

Things are beginning to look organized - only Odessa still needs to be connected to the Road network - in fact, Odessa Province is an island of Romeliness surrounded by wilderness and barbarians. I have +3 Happiness and almost 1000 Gold in the Treasury.

Until the next post - I can promise more action - my Legions will be marching and the earth trembles.

Avé, Caesar :D

Taming the Teutons (II) - 1280 BC to 1250 BC

1280 BC: I move my forces adjacent to Berlin, taking hits, but I have two more in reserve...

1270 BC: The good-old tactic of barrage then assault - Berlin's defences are weakening...

1260 BC: Again a barrage then two Legions assaulting...a weak Legion is moved away from the front-line and a fresh one moved forward. The next round should terminate Teutonia for good :)

 1250 BC: My Archer bombards and the fresh Legion assaults - Berlin falls and the Teutons are vanquished - adieu, Bismarck :D

 My statistics..they look much better than before the war

 ....and finally the Roman Empire in its full glory...

There are of course negative aspects - I now have -3 Unhappiness and that means minimal growth - a real bind because my Population is #10 ranked. There are no more untapped Luxury resources in the area so I have to wait for buildings to be completed. Courthouses negate the Unhappiness caused by occupying another player`s cities. I also have a Settler ready but building a new city would create even more Unhappiness.
The Greeks may be tempted to start something - they never have been friendly - but their forces are no match for my Legions.

The good news is that three Ballistas are being built in Rome, Bilbao and Mainz and I have a full pot of Gold. It is now consolidation time and I shall reorganize things. Until next time - Ave, Caesar!