Story of Baltic War in April 2018 Retold

Day 4,029, 11:27 Published in Russia Russia by D 881

Wars in Erepublik have undergone a massive amount of changes during the 11-year game history: v1 and Rising war mechanics, introduction of divisions in current game system, Combat Orders, packs and other features have each been somewhat a gamechanger and forced the player community to adapt. And still War, as we know from the Fallout series of games, never changes. Every other generation of players in every other country has a chance to prove themselves worthy fighters, competent tacticians or inspiring strategists, and, of course, to cooperate with others.

This article for Plato Foundation Media Contest records the story of the April 2018 Baltic Conflict, where Bulgaria and Russia and their allies helped Estonia repeal the joined attack of Andes countries Chile and Argentina and their allied parties. Although not the largest of conflicts in game history or for countries involved, and not as titanic or lengthy as great wars of the past, this April 2018 it still gave the players interesting battles and a testing bed for military abilities. I've been deeply involved in the Russian military effort, so my record may somewhat be biased, though I did my best to avoid it.



Introduction

Not long after the Russian celebrations of victory over Greece who attacked Russia in April 2018 have ended, another threat appeared from overseas. Two able military nations of Chile and Argentina planned a joint operation in Estonia to establish a base in East Europe. Direct engagement against two top countries gave us little hope for initial success: our military and financial reserves have been depleted after Greek campaign. In sharp contrast, Argentina and Chile, having avoided large conflicts for some time, had vast reserves of funds and energy bars. Apart from that, Asteria-Andes NAP prevented the most powerful alliance of directly assisting us and Estonia here.
All these factors made Russian government, headed by CP Vzhuh and PM Khotko, refrain from direct all-out war against countries entering Estonia. We required smarter and more flexible tactics than those employed against Greece.

Russia could not ignore the Andes-Asteria factor, thus Russia and its allies worked out a plan of using this strategic advantage of or opponents against them. Due to several historic parallels, the plan was coined as Operation Kutuzov and involved giving up Moscow to a strong Asteria country to block enemy advance to the East and contain two big opposing countries inside Estonia, where they would have to be attacked directly and in resistance wars. It was decided that two fronts should be opene😛 Bulgaria leaded by Old7 commanding the main front vs. Chile and Russia engaging Argentina on the second front. The success of the plan relied on gaining strategic initiative on both fronts and getting campaigns into allied primetime.


Stage 1. The conflict begins


At the time of the preparations for the transfer of the Louna-Eesti region to Estonia by leasing to Russia with airstrike from Canada, Argentina and Chile are launching laws to AS Estonia. At this time, Canada is already flying full steam ahead to Estonia, organizing a landing at Kirde-Eesti. The Russian Armed Forces at this moment are already alarmed and are preparing to help Canadians at all costs to land and gain a foothold in Estonia, reducing the number of regions from 5 to 4 for landing and maneuvering of Chileans and Argentines during the first days of the war. At the same time, while the military is helping Canada, the diplomats lead discussions, devising a plan of action to prevent defeat and wipe of the potential target of the Latin American aggressors. The decision is made to close the road to Russia, which is to the east of the campaign setting, with the help of Romania. The plan is risky, Russia has to sacrifice a large package of MPP to put up a Romanian barrier in Moscow, not letting Latin Americans into the country. In return Russia helps Romania to reset determination in the Georgian colonies.

Canada successfully landed in Kirde-Eesti without any problems (110: 0). At this time, the landing of Chile and Argentina will start. Chileans chose Pohja-Eesti as their landing site. Argentina, on the other hand, makes a serious mistake by landing its AS to Louna-Eesti, giving the Allies a chance to knock them off even on approach because of the high determination in the region (1.33). At the same time, Canada launches an attack on Kesk-Eesti and after 13 hours occupies the region (96:14), which will further lead to the launch of Declaration of War law addressed to them from Argentina and Chile.

Meanwhile, all available allied forces are sent to the Argentinian landing site in Louna-Eesti. From the very first round, the Argentinianss initiate Epics in low-divs, nullifying the opposing tactics of the D4 + air round and by the first air mini it becomes definite that Argentina's landing mistake will remain unpunished. But the allies received important information as to where will the enemy now go from. Now, to ensure the successful installation of the Romanian barrier in Moscow, it is vital for Russia to seize the initiative in the war with Argentina in order to enable Romania to enter Moscow.
A final action plan is being worked out for the surrender of Moscow and Russia and launching Natural Enemy law to Romania. So, at the end of the landing of Argentina in Louna-Eesti (97:36), Russia, ahead of the enemy, launches DoW to Argentina, ensuring the initiative in the war, the possibility of choosing a convenient time to attack, and giving Romania time to put a barrier in Moscow. The timing of this move, and the pace of the Russian president who launches the DoW law ahead of a full Argentinian congress NE which arrives too late, is privately applauded even by some countries allied to Argentina. In a somewhat similar successful scenario, Bulgaria send DoW to Chile from its base in Finland, right after Chile, a former Bulgarian ally, completes its landing at Pohja-Eesti (113: 0).

While Argentina’s advancement has stalled due to the expectation of accepting a DoW law to Canada, Chile continues to develop its success and within an hour, after taking Pohja-Eesti, its troops cross the border of Laane-Eesti and start fighting, and in 13 hours the region is under the control of Chile (110: 0).

A day after the landing of the Andes countries, almost the entire territory of Estonia is a war zone. Uprisings flare up in the regions controlled by Chile and Argentina, as well as a rebellion in the Canadian-held Kirde-Eesti. DoW laws of Argentina and Chile pass and after a long break Argentina comes into play again, attacking the Canadian Kesk-Eesti. Russia at this time gives the initiative in their unexpected TW to Romania, surrendering the battle for the Taurida region. All aparties are now awaiting the opening of the main and secomd fronts.
Estonia reappears on the map within the borders of the Kirde-Eesti region, the Chileans put down the RW in Pohja-Eesti (0: 110), in Louna-Eesti the rebels manage to cling to the first air round (22:94), and the Canadians gradually surrender Kesk-Eesti to Argentina.



Summing up the results of the Landing Stage of the war in Estonia, Andes managed to gain a foothold on the bridgeheads in Louna-Eesti and Pohja-Eesti, using the advantages of its primetime.
Despite the fact that Chile was able to develop success and take Laane-Eesti, while Argentina, after a delay of 1.5 days, began an attack on the Canadian Kesk-Eesti, the successes of Latin Americans are only insignificant.
The key point is that Russia, which has avoided spending public funds for CO, and Bulgaria got the initiative in the warin the “battle of buttons” , which will be the key factor of the future victories.


Stage 2. The Battle for Estonia: Liberation

Counterattack

After the first day of the war, Andes landed successfully in Estonia and were able to build on success, taking up another region without much resistance. Now came the time to take advantage of the "battle of buttons" which Russia and Bulgaria had won. Just after daychange, the main front opened. The Bulgarians began landing at Pohja-Eesti and, using their prime time, right up to the evening they took the round after round against Chile. It all lasted until the score 86:0, when Chile finally woke up. Then came the first epic in D4 which Chile won, and after that, the next round was left for the Chileans. It became obvious that if we allowed Chile to gain ground, it would not be stopped. The commanders decided to take the key battle to the air mini. All air forces of the allies were prepared for combat, and so were the money for Combat Orders.

That time has come. All forces from both sides clashed in air combat. The wall flipped one way, then the other. By the middle of the round it was not yet clear who would prevail. The key factor in the round was the appearance of Egyptian COs in T60. Huge funds did their job and the advantage finally shifted to the side of the Chileans. The difference in 3kk persisted until the T90, when the Allies, together with the Polish Air Force, organized a counterattack. Unfortunately, the advantage of Chileans was too great and the round was left for the opponent.

The defeat in the airfield put the Allies in a difficult position. It seemed that these nearly 2 hours of battle decided the outcome of the entire campiagn and the victory was taken from under his nose. But as it turned out, there was life in the old dog yet. By the middle of the next round hope re-emerged for Bulgaria and its allies. In addition to the success in D4, the allies also pushed through D2-D3, with the potential to drive the low divisions into epic. It was in these two divisions where the decisive battle ensue😛 either now or never. In the Andes prime time, pulling out the battle would no longer be real. Therefore, all forces were sent here. Billions of damage poured in from both sides, hundreds of fighters took to the battlefield, millions of CCs flew to CO from both sides. Soon after, the D2 and D3 accelerated to the epic, followed by the D4. Brave Chile fought its best but could not withstand such pressure. First, D2 was left for the Allies, and then D3-D4, thereby ending the battle in favor of Bulgaria (106: 49).

Last round

Whole battle




It is also worth mentioning that in this battle Russian efforts played an important role. In addition to the active participation of Russian tanks and airmen in the final rounds, even despite the parallel attack of Russia on Louna-Eesti, the CO management by our commanders, became a key factor influencing the outcome of the battle.
With the total costs of the Allies at 9,544,004 ss, our investments amounted to:
Khotko's Russian Fund - 3 025 219 ss
State spending - 797 130 ss
That in total amounted to 3 822 349 ss (40.1% of all Allied spending), and it is worth remining the reader that Russian resouces were very limited due to recent Greek war.



At a time when the attack of Bulgaria on the Chilean Pohja-Eesti was in full swing, and the Romanians went to put up a barrier in Moscow, the second front opened. Russia began direct war against Argentina in the Louna-Eesti region. The decision was made to focus on the D4 and air rounds, as such tactics worked well against Greece. From the first rounds, it showed its effectiveness. For the first 3 rounds, our troops, together with the Finnish allies, successfully left D4 behind them, giving away low divisions to Argentina. The Poles, the Swedes and the French also pulled up to the first air round to us, helping to make our plan for the battle into reality. Everything went well up to and including the 6th round. We met the beginning of the 7th round with a quite comfortable score of 47:34.

At the same time in Pohja-Eesti began the most important air mini. It was decided to transfer troops in support of the Bulgarians in order to close the battle as soon as possible. The awakened Argentinians did not miss this opportunity and took this round from Russia, which could adversely affect the outcome of the entire battle. Even the next air mini taken did not inspire hope in victory in this battle. Argentina, due to prime time, has finally been able to deploy its units and strike at full strength, while Russia was squeezed out by the last rounds of the battle for Pohja-Eesti and the night time of day, which had been grandiose in scale. Watching Argentina take the round after the round, the commanders had little hope for victory in this battle. But who would have thought that Russia would manage to make a shock ending.

First, the Russian Brazilian Mr Alexei, pouring in billions of damage and sending 400k CC to the CO for Russia, slightly delayed the opponents, even if at the cost of an epic lost in D4, but this played an important role on the outcome of the battle. We approached the 3rd Air mini with a score of 69:83 in favor of our opponents, but Argentina was exhausted by the last rounds. In addition, at this time, our air forces woke up. With the help of our American allies on the battlefield, and the infusion of state funds, with the important support of a high CO from Poland, this air mini was taken, which levelled the campaign to 91:83 for Russia.

Everything had to be decided in the last round. Argentina needed to take the D2-D3 to epic and win them earlier than Russia wins d4. Russia, by all possible efforts, had delay the D2-D3 minis. It was decided to strike at the beginning of the round, where Russia managed to immediately gain 180 and 120 points in D2 and D3 and ensure a significant reserve in D4. Toward the end of the round, the war HQ was expecting a massive counterattack in D4 and acceleration of D2-D3 to epics, but the previous rounds exhausted Argentina so much that they could not gather the necessary forces for the final assault. Taking D4 before the enemy could get D2-D3 into epic and win them, Russia, after the daychange, knocked Argentina out of Louna-Eesti (96:89).





Finally renting Estonian fish came at a cost, though. After the end of the battle, comparative calculations were made of the funds spent on COs. Russia and its allies spent 4 590 499 CC on the battle for Louna-Eesti. Of these, the Russian side spent 2,302,851 CC. 973 946 CC were spent from the state budget. The remaining 1 328 905 CC were private funds of Russian citizens. I would also like to note the contribution of the Polish side, leaded by Kherehabath, to our victory. Their costs for COs amounted to 2 208 480 CC.

The expenses of Argentina and its allies for this battle were 2,609,112 CC. Argentina itself has invested 1,023,187 CC. The ally who invested the most money was Egypt, with a score of 1,435,636 CC.



Reluctant to release Latin American countries - Chileans to Finland, and Argentina to Russia - before the end of their direct attacks, the allies secured themselves with barriers. Russia let Romania enter Moscow, and Bulgaria, at a time when Chileans became more active, together with Finland launched an RW in Southern Finland, in order to finally block any possible enemy advances. Immediately after the capture of Pohja-Eesti and the appearance of the border with Argentina, Bulgaria launched its NE law ahead of the opponents.

After the initial successes of the campaign, the Allies gathered to discuss a further plan of action. Whether to go to finish off the opponents, not allowing them to re-organize a line of defense and strengthen in the remaining regions, or wait, prepare an assault, tighten the reserves and give a break to main forces after heavy morning battles.
It was decided to take a day of rest and launch attacks before auto-attack time, waiting for the Bulgarian NE to Argentina to pass. This became to key issue. Since the Bulgarian battle ended at the very beginning of the Andes prime time, it was necessary to work out a plan for delaying the attack to a more convenient time for the allies, depriving the enemy of the timezone advantage. It was decided to launch the RW in the last Chilean region in Estonia - Laane-Eesti, and delay it for as many rounds as possible, which could help delay the auto attack until the morning. Allies managed to grab some points in the first 5 rounds and get a much needed handicap (53:13), after which the allies slowed down, letting Chile rush the RW closer to the day shift (53: 112). In the meantime, the allies open the RW in the Argentinean Kesk-Eesti in order to drain Argentina while Argentinians storm the Estonian Kirde-Eesti, which they got without much resistance (110: 0).



Liberation of Estonia



Unfortunately, the last day of the operation to liberate Estonia was not as packed with interesting events as the previous ones. The enemy was completely demoralized by the victories of the allies and the results of the RW in Laane-Eesti, and gave little resistance, surrendering one region after another. With the start of the new day, Bulgaria hit Chilean Laane-Eesti and Argentinean Kirde-Eesti, easily occupying both regions with a score of 99:11 and 110:0, respectively, sending Chile home. The ending point in the operation was put by Russia, taking Kesk-Eesti (104:6) and finally knocking out the Andes from the Baltics.



The Baltic War of April 2018 demonstrated that smart strategy and tactics can get you an advantage over an opponent with more potential, and also proved an important point to the Russian gaming community that even for a country with a more defensive gamestyle a strong army and good coordination with allies are of prime importance. Some players got new experience in military strategy and on the battlefield, and veterans used their chance to use their commander skills again.

Wars in Erepublik might be somewhat similar in nature and might at some stage become boring. Yet every war, like this one, is a separate story of many people working together or against each other, and a story which deserves being told again.