#which is where the whole problem the DUR has with Espala comes up

[theprissythumbelina]

Hello, hello!

Been having some thoughts on our conversations about the conflict in Mortal Sparks, and I've had some thoughts!

You see, you've described your existing plans as "War starts. War does not go well", and I think that actually gives us more to work with than you'd think. A good place to go from there would be to come up with the 'why' that explains these strategic failures. The Great War, being the prototypical example of 'war gone wrong', might be a good place to get some inspiration from, and if you'd like I'll try and condense some of the factors that played into that like I did with the naval incidents.

Speaking of the Navy, reading your WbW reblog was a pleasure, and gave me some ideas! Assuming things went as poorly for Espala as it did for everyone else, it presents an angle which we could pick apart this whole issue from. What were the 'War Plans' for the Espalan fleet, what shaped them, why did they fail, and how were they adapted, if at all, in light of that?

ok but first did you like my posters I spent over an hour figuring out how to make them and I need someone to praise them pls I love them so much

So from our chats I have figured that there are sort of two wars going on, of a kind. There's the sea war, and the land war. Espala is primarily an ocean power, and so went into the war with the idea of, I would say, proving their dominance over Ritania and Sag Nel. Bresia is primarily focused on the land war, and at least for the start of the war, facing off against the Royal Republic and The Gresian Republic.

I think the first movements would have been on the sea powers parts as well, as the ships were ready to go before land armies were fully gathered. Looking at the geography, if I was Espala, I would first and foremost want to seal up the strait and prevent any enemy movements through it. I would then try to cut off shipping and trade up both east and west coasts of the Northern Continent, and isolate the enemy states from each other. I have included a rough drawing below.

This was immediately prevented by the Empire of Hadria, which claims the strait as neutral waters, and resisted Espala's attempts to move warships through the strait. As a result, Gresian Republic shipping lanes remained free, while Sag Nel raiders began harassing the eastern end of Bresia's coast.

Similarity, the Royal Republic and Ritiania were able to agree on something for once, and were able to move a combined fleet of ships down the western coast, slowing Espala's movement northward. So in the first few movements of the war, this is what ended up happening.

I have no idea of anything that I have just made up with my best attempt at realism makes sense so I will wait for feedback before looking at the next movements/adaptations to the plan. Also this hurt my brain.

#I'm not made for battles and war plans #the big pink blob is half the fleet just hanging out while the negotiators tried to get passage #and then the black xs are minor ship attacks #I think #and this is my world so this is how it is #Bresia and Espala were sort of just expecting Hadria to be on their side by default #so when Hadria refused they were completely caught off guard #But it turns out that Gresia is a big market for ores steel minerals ect #and so Hadria is really just looking out for number 1 #themselves #and their bottom line #The Ritanians are good trading partners too but the Nusas deal with getting around Espala that direction #and Ritania can always trade across the sea with the Western continent #which is where the whole problem the DUR has with Espala comes up #the DUR has a lot of weapons #the Ritanians need the weapons #the Espalans do not want the weapons sold #hence #warship reminders on the horizon