Join the new world

WW4 is nearing the end of its first full week since eRomania invaded eBulgaria, and virtually every country in the New World has taken part in at least one theater of the war. I intend to publish weekly summaries of the battles that took place to assess which side is experiencing greater success in a very complex war. These will not replace my other articles which I will still provide, but will be something to look forward to at the end of the week 😃
I previously showed how this war is truly a world war just by how many fronts there are between Phoenix and EDEN forces. To try and clarify the war’s progress, it is probably best to look at each individual front, and assess how valuable or costly it is for a side to be winning or losing there. This approach suggests who is “winning” based on which side is meeting their objectives in the regions which they prioritized as most important. However, having to go this in-depth should demonstrate just how easily it will be for the pace of this war to turn completely upside-down with one major battle.

Asia

The Asian front has been a net victory for EDEN forces, as the eUSA successfully (with the help of eJapan) crossed the Pacific Ocean and has ridden a string of victories to removing eIndonesia from eChinese territories. eIndia has retaken a few regions from the eIranians, but as with eChina, the main jewels (Jharkhand and Karnataka) are still under Phoenix control. However, EDEN’s victories in Asia-- to this point-- are not as impressive as otherwise expected because of the minimal resistance confronting the eUSA. Should EDEN succeed in removing eIran from Liaoning or eHungary from Heilongjiang, then EDEN would have achieved their primary objectives and no reasonable loss could dampen that achievement.
That being said, EDEN has done nothing to prevent them from their main objective, but they also have not done anything so impressive to say they are clearly “winning” because of their Asian exploits alone. Time may be running against EDEN, tough, as eChinese geography is hampering the eUSA's ability to stall in country without attacking a major Phoenix stronghold or risk bordering eRussia and opening the chance of a counterattack. The eUS and EDEN face a number of challenges in Asia for maintaining initiative and continuing on their current course. Should the eUSA for any reason fail to keep momentum in Asia, that could mean EDEN’s foothold in the continent could disappear and all prospects of ousting Phoenix in Asia would be on hold.
In a recent development, some eRussian elites are opposing eRussia’s battle orders (whether military orders differed is unclear) by supporting a pair of resistance war (RW) campaigns against eJapanese-held regions in eSouth Korea. Currently, the RWs look as if they will succeed. This will get eSK closer to unification; whether or not it will serve larger implications is unclear, but a political takeover (PTO) of the country for its Congressional elections is likely since the two new regions will increase the number of Congress seats available. eRussia could conceivably initiate a war against eSK and use the country to threaten eUSA positions, but no reflections suggest these to be among their motives.

Anatolia and Asia Minor

To this point, Anatolia and Asia Minor are the sites which have received the bulk of Phoenix and EDEN’s focus, as the implications of EDEN moving through eTurkey and eIran and into Asia are not wasted on either side. eRomania drove their way through eBulgaria after an initial setback, but except for a brief victory in Marmara (which has since been retaken by Phoenix), Phoenix has shown strong resolve in keeping EDEN from advancing any further into eTurkey. The eGreeks have the ability to be patient and outlast eTurkey as long as they can keep the initiative, but Phoenix’s ability to make EDEN waste more gold here could pay dividends in future battles.
Essentially, the Asia Minor front is becoming a war of attrition, and the side who can outlast the other will ultimately triumph here. As long as eTurkey is able to hold their ground, Phoenix can claim a victory in Anatolia-- but if Phoenix is unable to sustain the defense or runs out of funds, then the outcome in Anatolia and Asia Minor could turn to EDEN’s favor very quickly.

Europe


To date, Europe has seen three sustained areas of conflict: eSpain advancing through eFrance; the eUK’s offensive in eBelgium; and ePoland’s offensive against eGermany. The eSpanish were successful in marching through eFrance, destroying their fortress region, and wreaking havoc on their economy. eFrance attempted a comeback by attacking Limousin, but without Phoenix support as a result of the alliance's organization, the eFrench failed to remove the larger and more powerful eSpanish armed forces. Such will be eFrance’s fate in the near term.

Victory by the eUK in conquering tiny eBelgium helps to undo EDEN’s efforts at making eBelgium an independent country free from their union with the eNetherlands. After a couple of days, the eUK may look to take the eNetherlands and unify the 3 small countries under one banner. Not too significant overall, this conquest will allow eDutch and eBelgium citizens to involve themselves in wars through eUK MPPs without having to pay for new MPPs for their own countries. It will also make protecting the regions from political takeover (PTO) easier for Phoenix. The outcome of this sequence of events will not carry wider implications, but Phoenix gets the feel-good win here.

ePoland has had an easy going against the eGermans, as their substantially larger and significantly more mobile population has easily overran eGermany and their absence of Phoenix support. The going will get tougher for eGermany, who on Day 757 only brought in 74 new citizens in comparison to ePoland’s major baby boom which provided a staggering 1330+ newcomers. Once those noobs reach Level 5, fighting eGermany will give them instant gratification and likely lock in several young gamers as they come to understand the New World. Most importantly for ePoland in the mean time, though, is the addition of Brandenburg and Berlin, which provides ePoland with their only reliable high resource region (grain) of any kind, now that they their friendly government in ePeru may be jeopardized. The eGermans attempted to counterattack at Saxony and also attacked eSweden. Military orders for eSweden saw through the eGerman blocking attempt and President Rydekull quickly retreated the region so eSwedish citizens would continue to fight in Asia Minor.

Europe is overall progressing in EDEN’s favor, although none of these victories are likely to have long-lasting consequence. The eSpanish do not expect to hold eFrance forever, but are helping themselves in the short term through extracting revenge for WW3 and in stifling their neighbor’s economy. And although ePoland’s victories are against a weak foe, they are benefiting from the positive press that this campaign has generated and are going to keep new citizens interested.

Southern Hemisphere

Australia is one of the few countries in-game whose regions reflect RL borders

After a bit of well-documented treachery, eBrazil has emerged in strong position in the Southern Hemisphere, having swiped regions from eSouth Africa and launched a successful attack on eAustralia. Moreover, eArgentina has made a bid to take ePeru’s rich resources now that the ePolish government there is occupied helping ePoland elsewhere. Meanwhile, eAustralian elite forces have fought RWs to retake ePeruvian territories from eBrazil, likely as a diversion and an indirect blocking attempt. eBrazil has penetrated the Australian continent and appears to be gaining steam through successful tanking operations late in both eAussie battles. The million-dollar question is whether eBrazil and Phoenix can keep paying for the mass tanking.
The Southern Hemisphere is the surprise front of this war, as no one could have predicted this front to compete for international headlines on a regular basis before the war started. Large-scale Phoenix tanking has shown their priorities in this region, and have made EDEN scramble for a response. As a result, Phoenix's successes here weigh more than otherwise expected, given that EDEN is steadily becoming more invested here. If this trend continues, it could make Phoenix's defense of Asia and eTurkey/Asia Minor an easier task. EDEN's leaders will have to decide how much to invest into eAustralia's survival, or to let them fall and hope to resuscitate their independence much like eSpain did vs. eFrance in WW3.

The Week that Was
Could you see this coming? I am not going to proclaim one side as “winning” the war so far, but EDEN’s successes in Asia and Europe outweigh eBrazil’s gains in the Southern Hemisphere and Phoenix’s defense of Asia Minor. However, if EDEN remains unable to advance into Anatolia, Phoenix will win a larger moral and tactical victory; if Phoenix could follow up this defense with their own offensive and push eRomania back to their borders, Phoenix will have notched a victory in frustrating EDEN’s ability to increase the pressure on Phoenix in Asia.
EDEN, overall, has satisfied more significant goals than Phoenix, but Phoenix has been largely on the defensive and has earned victories of their own by stifling EDEN. EDEN must overcome these setbacks; otherwise, if Phoenix had sufficient funds, Phoenix could gain the momentum and dictate the pace of this war.

God Bless America,

Lt. Scheisskopf
ST6 MMP
Trying Times MMP