Looking Back at Hello Kitty, the Second Time

Day 891, 17:56 • Published in USA USA • by Lieutenant Scheisskopf

Between some personal internet problems in the past 48 hours which kept me from paying close attention to the war, and the ‘accidentally’ epic Battle of Heilongjiang which closed earlier in Day 891, I wanted to offer a special commentary piece on the battle and its implications. I aim to highlight the countless statistics which many have referenced, but also ask some questions and suggest a few possible answers about what this means for eHungary, and where the New World is to go from here. For those who remember my original article, let us begin looking back at Hello Kitty a second time.

Hello, Kitty. Once again, you return to dominate our media

Background
Four months ago, the most epic battle in eRepublik history at that time took place in Heilongjiang. The New World had occasionally since revisited the battlefield in half-hearted skirmishes and resistance wars (RW) between Day 774 and Day 890, but not for a minute did anyone readily expect the fortress and backbone for eHungary’s economy and military to face a serious threat during those campaigns. EDEN’s desire for eChina to eventually regain their natural iron haven and to expel the Phoenix superpower was still very real, but statements from political and military leaders making the liberation of Heilongjiang a priority were largely just empty words meant to inspire their subordinates.

Not all epic battles appear destined for greatness from the start, and the beginning of the 10,193rd battle in eRepublik started inauspiciously. It did not start right before server reset, to overwhelm the defender with the element of surprise; it did not signify the end of a long campaign as its final battle; nor was the region recently targeted, recently conquered, or recently proclaimed to be a priority by either side. It is questionable whether the New World realized that Alpho would be the starter of the most significant RW in the game’s history. Most of the New World probably thought that he was just opening a damage drain and a diversionary attack for EDEN, to bog eHungary down and force them to divert damage for their prized region’s defense. How 24 hours changes things…

Months ago, Heilongjiang looked secure within Phoenix’s possession, as eSerbia
and eRussia were at their peak and the eUS had no presence in China to contest them

The Battle in Isolation
On paper, the battle is nothing special, and pales in comparison to the first battle four months prior. The battle covering Days 773-774, as I noted when ranking the Top 10 battles of the Winter War, drained 15,000 gold from Phoenix and EDEN coffers. Hello Kitty’s liberation on Day 891 came at much lower cost for EDEN, at 5,900 gold; combined, the Days 890-891 battle cost half its historical predecessor. Our eRepublik admins showed us that over 3,000 citizens fought in battle 10,193 and that they dealt over 6 million damage points, but the fighting from Days 773-774 witnessed over 15,000 fighters dealing nearly 15 million damage on both sides. Amazingly, the efforts of the eUS alone in the first fight for Heilongjiang would have been enough to win the same battlefield four months later. But obviously, numbers aren’t anything, and that is why we still have to fight the fight.

Anyone paying attention to the wider war on Day 890 was probably focused on the raging fight in the Balkans, or on EDEN’s recent success in removing eIndonesia from Western Australia. Peripheral conflicts were ensuing with eBrazil and eSpain fighting in the Iberian Peninsula, the three-way rivalry in full swing in the Levant, and numerous RWs sprouting up across the globe. The RW for Heilongjiang looked like any other minor blip on the radar of strategists looking at the wider picture, and it remained this way throughout the day, as soldiers were deploying to other battles and devoting resources elsewhere. Battle 10,193 became the historic battle not because of what it was expected to be, but because of what it was not; because the Hello Kitty RW was given no attention and because Day 890 proceeded as most military thinkers expected it to, the Hello Kitty RW was allowed to completely shock the New World in a way which an ordinary battle with its gold and damage investment could never do.

Generals and New World war enthusiasts worldwide can take away a number of lessons from this fight

Lessons Learned
As with my original look at Hello Kitty, this battle teaches us much and leaves much more for discussion and future evaluation. First and probably most important is a two-part lesson, part cliche and part overlooked truth: nothing’s what it seems and military leaders must always expect the unexpected. Phoenix and eHungary likely considered their 1.2 million wall to be secure and in no danger, since the overwhelming majority of EDEN’s military forces did not deploy to Heilongjiang to take part in the battle and since no EDEN member’s soldiers actively targeted the RW on the battle’s opening day. But in doing so, Phoenix leadership overlooked the need to remain cognizant of EDEN’s tanks’ location and activity, a fatal oversight since this battle was won on their shoulders. There was also the oversight, or neglect, of consideration that EDEN had the financial means available to challenge a 1.2 million point wall, and although Phoenix’s leaders showed evidence of a mitigation plan after seeing the threat in action, the initial delay and failure to act made the battle fatal for eHungary. Clearly, there were some intelligence failures on Phoenix's side which left them unprepared, and EDEN was able to easily exploit these gaps with a timely strike.

On the other side, EDEN leadership took advantage of their understanding of Phoenix's capabilities and intent in the battle, and eRomania ingeniously disguised their motions long enough to deceive their own intentions to Phoenix. It is no small task to hide eRomania's Mobile Forces, who managed to inflict 1.2 million damage in the fight without alarming Phoenix too far in advance. For their part, eUS President Woxan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff NXNW positioned themselves and their country to be the recipient of Fortune’s good graces by bold action, a practice proclaimed since Roman times to be key for winning wars (“fortes fortuna adiuvat,” “fortune favors the bold”). It takes real conviction and understanding of all aspects of the battle-- including finances, intelligence, manpower, and time constraints, among others-- to sense an opportunity and be comfortable enough with their judgement to change their strategy completely at the 22nd hour of a fight as the eUSA's leaders did, and EDEN's leaders demonstrated an impressive grasp over these critical issues. The tune we would be singing in the eRepublik media would be entirely different if this maneuver backfired. But what distinguishes these leaders' decisions, and the battle as a whole, is that where most would scuffle or find excuses not to act or to change strategy, these leaders did, and made eRepublik history in the process. Without this string of critical decision making and without fully understanding the current situation, nothing else would have assured the same outcome for EDEN.

Heilongjiang is, for now, in the past, so it is time to start looking ahead

So What Is Next?
I wrote only three days ago and was mistaken, as were many others, in thinking the eRomanian-eCroat invasion of eHungary’s native regions had no larger strategic purpose and would leave minimal long-term damage because Heilongjiang was still eHungarian. However, with the fortress gone, eHungary’s remaining possessions become more vulnerable and are more important for Phoenix to defend. Losing all of them will eliminate eHungary’s mutual protection pact (MPP) network and close the active wars with their EDEN neighbors; not to mention, the removal of eHungary from the map for any period of time would be a propaganda blow to Phoenix that has few rivals. To counter this, the eHungarian-eRomanian war and the eHungarian-eCroat conflict carry greater weight, and we saw eHungary take initiative in both fronts. This does beg the question of whether the EDEN powers are now content to delay future attacks. On the one hand, Heilongjiang could have been the primary objective and previous attacks were an elaborate diversion which fooled everyone; on the other, EDEN has activated a slew of MPPs against itself which will not disappear quietly.

Moreover, we may see a prolonged eSerbian counteroffensive to allow eHungary breathing room while it is reeling from the loss of Hello Kitty. Blocks from eSerbia and eItaly, along with other punitive raids on eCroatia and eRomania will preserve eHungary’s place on the map and allow the Phoenix power to regroup. Doing so may even, hypothetically, buy eHungary enough time to build a new land bridge to try and reenter Asia, or at least approach eRussia and loan one of its many high resources regions as it did many, many months ago. Finally is the consideration that eRussia may challenge Heilonjiang when able, although this does little to mitigate eHungary’s immediate lack of resources to fuel its economy and war machine.

That red region is a welcome sight for some, a disappointment for others, and was a surprise for all on Day 891. Surprises may not always be positive for everyone in eRepublik, but they keep the game interesting and worth playing.

Wrapping Up
We have seen what made the most recent fight for Heilongjiang exceptional, but should realize that its exceptional characteristics cannot be measured by traditional measuring methods. The battle looks only moderately significant on paper and did not involve much of the world’s forces, but has single-handedly turned the world upside-down. Nonetheless, this fight shows how quickly things can change, and what we are writing now may not last a month, or even a week, if Phoenix can mobilize and deliver a strong counterstrike. That being said, Day 891 showed me something I had not seen in nearly 11 months of playing eRepublik, and was the latest reminder of why I continue to find this game engaging and worth playing, despite its technical limitations. No one expects the unexpected, but no one fails to notice and appreciate when that moment comes.
God Bless America,

Lt. Scheisskopf

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