Doesn't take a military genius to realize that this upcoming attack, while possibly the best of a series of bad options, will likely be a bloodbath on all sides.
Good update! Pulling for Persia here. Rhomania may be the home team in this story but these guys in charge need to be slapped around a bit.
I’m on the side of the Roman people, but I am on team Persia here. To be realistic, Rhomania can’t always be in the right. As the saying goes, if your history just makes you feel happy and proud, you probably aren’t studying history.
But I will be glad when we get to a point where I do feel the Romans are in the right.
I would prefer a more cordial Russo-Japanese relationship, especially since it could really turn out that way instead of the more antagonistic one we got OTL as they're both Orthodox powers friendly to Rhomania. As I said before, it really just depends on Japanese foreign policy as a more Pacific-focused Shimazu Japan could easily establish friendly relations with Russia since their interests wouldn't conflict and they can easily support Russia whenever China comes up.
IIRC Nicholas II did have some admiration for the Japanese before the Russo-Japanese War so it would be kinda funny to take that up a notch with a Russian prince that is a certified Japanophile (or should I say...weeaboo)?
I would prefer that too, but feel it’s something that has to be developed in order to be realistic. It’s not something that can just be assumed and asserted.
Are you sure about Nicholas II? He said some pretty racist things about the Japanese. (Although if one reads almost anything from that period, it usually comes saturated in racism, to a degree I think a lot of people today don’t realize.) And there was the assassination attempt against him in Japan while visiting as Crown Prince.
Even if he captures Baghdad, will he be able to hold it against a Mesopotamian or a Persian attempt to recapture the city? An assault is gonna be bloody, holding it with a hostile populace where supplies are stretched thin as it is will be terrible. Winter is almost there too.
Reinforcements is gonna take a while to arrive, assuming no internal Roman political drama mess that up as well.
He could hold it against the Mesopotamians, since they’re so poorly armed, especially with heavy weapons. Persians are more questionable; it would depend on how well armed the Persian expeditionary force and the condition of the post-conquest Romans. But the odds would be better for the Romans if they have Baghdad than if they don’t.
It could, but I expect it matters a lot just how big a portion of the state the military represents. How similar to OTL Prussia is Rhomania? IIRC Prussia was described as an army with a life support system. Presumably Romania isn't that bad, but how close is it?
I’d say Rhomania is militaristic, but in what would be normal for an OTL 17th century state, perhaps a bit more just because the tradition of an established standing army is older and more developed. But not a Prussia. My brain is saying that Prussia around 1700 had 80,000 troops for a population of 2 million (take figure with a grain of salt, since I haven’t checked that, but Prussia’s army-to-population ratio was ridiculously skewed). If that is true (see important caveat), for Rhomania=Prussia its standing army would have to be around 650,000.
But the attitude of the war hawks does remind me of Brandenburg post-1648, where after the horrors of the Thirty Years War, there was a strong current of ‘never again’ which helped inspire the hyper-militarism.
I would guess that the Roman society on the whole is military positive as someone knows someone serving. But I would not go so far as to say the state serves the military's aims, just that the people see having a strong and capable armed forces as Paramount to not being invaded again, again, again.
It would be interesting to see Athena, if she gets her revenge, castrate the tourmarchs ability to influence the governing of the state. The biggest hurdle is the Emperor however, as with H3 we have seen how amendable the throne is to letting the Army do as the Army wants. It would take some serious reforms in how the state is governed, to limit the Army's influence. Long is the Roman memory.
Yeah, the issue is less ‘army involved in politics’. It’s that in an absolute autocracy, anybody who can bend the ear of the autocrat can control the state. And the ear of Herakleios III can be easily bent by at least certain people.
It would be pretty hilarious if we got a repeat of Thessaloniki At Baghdad...but with a tweest:
"Shahnshah, the Romans have brought up the guard tagma! We're fucked! HOW DID THEY GET HERE SO QUICKLY"
"Yeah, it was a bit faster than I expected, but not entirely unwelcome. After all, who do you think asked them to come?"
"What?"
cue the Varangians, Athanatoi, and company slamming into the rear of Keraunos' lines
The guard tagmata are the units under the direct command of the Tourmarches…
Important Update Schedule Announcement for March: I will be traveling for the rest of the month. (Through Greece! As a sign for how weird I am, I’m most excited for the Byzantine sites. Mystras, Monemvasia, and Meteora are on the itinerary.) This is going to impact the update release schedule. I’m not sure exactly how, but some will probably be a day or two off from what is the normal release, although I am planning the regular amount of updates.