Parthian tales and other things

[Kaiser Kirk]

The Royal Military Reservation at Nisa was the training ground of the Parthian Army and home to a Royal Military Academy for field grade and general officers.  The Separate Marches for the Byzantine, Horde and Rajasthan borders had their own training commands, while the various branches had their own schooling centers. The ever increasing ranges of artillery, and the expanding size of armies that could be logistically supported by railroads, had led to a desire for a location where large scale formations could conduct live maneuvers, and artillery could be fired freely.

The Amphitheater was hushed as the Inspector-General of Military Education turned the podium over to the Chief of the General Staff (Parthian Army). The assemblage included not only the officers of the Educational staff, but also the officers attending as students, and the officers of the formations rotating through. The  Chief displayed 2 lanterns and announced that The Aztecs are Coming, The Aztecs are Coming. The assemblage was somewhat confused and did not get the joke at all. This sort of reaction is why the  Chief had not pursued a career as a stand up comic, but rather sought high military rank, where people would be forced to listen to his jokes and still applaud..

The Chief then announced that a treaty was being finalized and as part of the terms, an Aztec Combined Arms formation with attached Air Assets would be sent from the Azteca Domains to Tis, and there take train for Nisa.  Traditionally, the individual marches facing Byzantine, the Horde and Rajasthani developed their own doctrine and tactical wrinkles, and aggressive sought any manuals and theorists from the other side of the border, so that they would not be surprised by new practices.  As a result, several competing theories of the "proper" employment of Armor and Aircraft  fought for attention within the Parthian armed forces, which was in part the reason for a higher level centralized Academy where they could all be evaluated.   Here, at Nisa, a somewhat broader approach was taken, with not only the ideas of the neighboring powers, but far wider ranging, as well as testing those tactical and strategic theories Parthian officers devised. However, the world was a large place, and the further from Parthia, the less detail. As such a new set of courses and manuals on the Azteca practices would be prepared.

The Chief explained that once the Aztec formations had reached Nisa, they would be garrisoned here.  Equipment of the two nations would be evaluated and demonstrated. The Azteca equipment was an evolution of their battle experience, and the choices made should be carefully considered.  Take an infantryman's pack as an example. It is well known that in peacetime, what gear is considered critical for the Infantry to carry ever creeps upward in weight. Yet in every war, much of it winds up dumped by the roadside as the infantry discards it. The details of what is considered valuable and what is excess should be very interesting.

He closed with – our temples, the Zorastorian ones, hold the sacred flame, symbolizing knowledge, and the neverending quest for it. The Nestorians have a saying 'pride cometh before fall'.  Defeat and failure in exercises is an opportunity to learn a better way. There is no shame in realizing one is wrong, rather the strong person can admit error and embrace the better way when it presents itself. It is the hope and expectation that we will discover flaws and failings in our tactics and approaches, as well as discover new and more effective approaches to such things. Understand why you were defeated, and you can adapt and overcome in the future. and so much better Now than against the Horde later.

About the facility :
The Academy and the small town around it abutted the ancient ruins of the city of Nisa on the banks fo the river Atrek. The ruins had been under excavation since the 1880s were part of the opening on tours on 'why we fight'. The nearby fortified town of Denghil sieged and sacked by a massive Horde raid in 1881 during the last Parthian-Byzantine war, was also used for the the end of such tours when the battle and massacre were discussed.  The older histories have it that the Parni tribe entered the Satrapy of Parthia and by 247BCE had overthrown it's Satrap and legendarily were granted the lands for peace and the hand of a descendent of Cyrus the Great. There may have been an earlier settlement, but it is said they founded  Nisa, the first capital of Arascid Parthia (near modern Ashgabat).  Located on the Steppe Route and later Silk Road, tied to Empire by the Royal Road, the city was prosperous and renowned for it's horses.   The city was leveled by earthquakes in around 10BCE, and while the Capital was moved the city was rebuilt. Fought over in the Sassanian revolt, it was the founding of Nishapur to the South that gradually stole it's glory. Later sacked by the Muslims around 660CE,  the city rebuilt and persisted until 1221CE.

While the Arascid dynasty had unified the nation and led the Reconquista against the Muslims by 750, by 1200 they had become just figureheads for Parliamentary Monarchy.  In 1219 the Prime Minister sent the head of Ghengis Khan's ambassador back to him. The subsequent the Mongol invasions not only destroyed that Elective body, but also depopulated the northern 1/3rd of the lands. Nisa like the city of  Nishapur to the South, or Merv to the East, was sieged and sacked by the Mongols. The male population killed, the rest marched into slavery. Sacked and depopulated, the quanats that brought it water abandoned, the city fell to dust. The City was not rebuilt. Early Parthia had been decidedly feudal, and those ownerships and obligations had persisted so the deaths of the fief-holders meant the lands reverted to the crown. As a result, vast areas of ancient Parthia reverted to the crown. While most areas had since been given as fiefs to Nobles, several large Royal Demesne had been carved out, the largest holding the ancient city ruins. When the need for a large training ground arose, this Royal Military Reservation then became home to a new Royal Military Academy.

The Reservation had two main portions. The Southern main portion around Nisa extended from the rugged snowcapped peaks of the Kopet Dag mountains, through the grassy woodlands of the foothills, and out onto the oasis-strewn plains to the North. Nisa, at the base of the foothills was connected by road and rail in the cardinal directions. To the North, the road and a heavy quadruple track passed nearly 200km across the plain and connected to the Northern portion of the Reservation. This Northern section encompassed part of the same plain, but extended into the sand dunes of the Karakum Desert.

As a training facility, the combinations of terrain made for excellent training and wargame opportunities, and had lent themselves to the demands of modern equipment. The size allowed large formations maneuvering and flanking room, as well as for operations in depth. The edges of the desert lacked inhabitants to complain about artillery practice, the plains made for easy airfields, while the  four terrains allowed for strenuous testing of vehicles- armored or unarmored.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Port of Abbas, Parthia.

Loading of disparate pieces of military kit took time. Gathering the documention on it's design and performance, and the technical experts behind it took more. Gathering trainers in it's use was..actually pretty easy.  Activating Merchant Marine clauses allowed mercantile Cargo-liners vessels  to be taken into service for the purpose. Calling into service one of the few dedicated ocean liners proved unneded,   as the new Royal Mail Cargo-liner "Bountiful Sea" was available, and could be trusted to provide the VIP transport for Prince Vache and his family. Once again it underscored the lack of a suitable yacht, but the Bountiful Sea was fast, had both 1st class and VIP quarters, and a torpedo defense bulkhead, and so was deemed 'safe' for such an exalted personage, and so much nicer than the Admirals quarters on a warship.

Arms and vehicles small and large were taken on board the vessels, at least 4 of each. From fighting knives and pistols to service and sniper rifles, machine guns, pack and field artillery, to cars, trucks, half tracks, tankettes and tanks. 



Four copies of the engines, naked chassis, and weaponry of each of these vehicles was carefully loaded as well.

For completeness, a single example of the older tanks were included, though they were rapidly being phased out of service.  The twin machine gun armed little tankettes (AH-IV), meant to be little more than mobile machine gun posts had been replaced with larger, turret equipped "Caracel" tankettes (T-40). The 'Caracel' featured the first all-cast  hull and turret, lighter than riveted. As an amphibious tank, having the underhull in a single boat shaped casting was seen as beneficial. It also fielded the heavy 15mm MG and a vision-block equipped cupola. The 15mm was also used for ATRs, and allowed the vehicle a close range anti-armor ability. These however were already being phased out as they did not have room for radio or operator, rendering them less useful for reconnaissance and group employment. The 'Caracel' chassis however had been used as the basis for an entire series of vehicles – a small tank destroyer with a turreted 45L60 gun (T13b3), an artillery tractor, a personnel carrier, and a lightly armored front line transport.

The old 'Unicorn' 10t tank (T1E2) had been the front line tank, but was being rapidly replaced by the new 'Spahi' (Landsverk L-60) 12ton light tank and the new 16ton "Dragoon" (Souma S35/ PZIIID). The "Spahi" was designed for 'heavy reconnaissance' and equipped with a 23L60 autocannon. While the "Dragoon" was to be the all-round tank and was armed with the 45L60. As coordination of tank formations had been a colossal difficulty in the original tanks and had led to a designated "observer/signaler" for the older "Razorback" and "Unicorn" tanks. This led to the radioman being embraced as a crucial element to allow the vehicles to operates part of larger formations, despite the space penalty for the crewman and gear.  The old 37t "Razorback" (Mk VI/Saint Chamond) was reduced to essentially an assault gun with it's spinal howitzer. The newer "25 tonner" "Rhino" (Souma S40/T-34)  was still in development, to be the breakthrough tank. While the turret ring could support the new 60L60 if fitted with a simple muzzle break, there was no current need for such a weapon, so the 45L60 was fitted. The real problems were with both the larger engine and the debate on how to build the chassis. The Earlier prototypes where a steel frame with RHA plates riveted to it, but not only did the rivets weigh a great deal, but had a tendancy to shear off and ricochet inside when hit by a non-penetrating shot. At this time, thicker castings were having problems with quality and welding anodes were having great issues with the armor plate, and so the "final" prototypes being tested featured two-part construction. A 10mm hull was cast with flanges extruded 200mm. These flanges both gave additional locations to bolt (or later weld) the hull together, but also a location to bolt either RHA or – if drilled prior to hardening- face hardened armor onto. This was proving complex and costly at this stage, but very effective in testing, and so the "Rhino" was very close to full production.

The newest planes were loaded on the broad hanger and flight deck of the new Waxsendag Kaman.  The larger bombers had to be carefully arranged and strapped to the deck. They were not expected fly off, but once lifted off, would be quickly flyable. The largest bombers though simply had to be disassembled.

Most Parthian aircraft engines at this point were sleeve valve radials.  The gearing of the sleeve valves introduced production costs, but they were more reliable and effective at cooling. The early twin row radials, especially boosted by the new two-stage superchargers developed, were proving very good, but the higher cross-section of the radials was still limiting top speeds, despite continuing improvements on hubs and cowlings. The engine manufacture had taken to a 'pod' design where the entire engine module could be detached and replaced with a new one while the old was overhauled, greatly helping serviceability. The variety of these included the general purpose fighter (Hawk 75A-2), dive bomber (BA65 L14m) , light bomber (Beufort), heavy bomber (Halifax), trainers and a number of distinctive twin-boom aircraft including the fighter bomber (Fokker G-1/P-38), the reconnaissance plane (Fw 189), a transport plane (earlier, smaller C-1119).

Parthian inline engines were sleeve valve models, expensive and slightly heavier. The sleeve valve used more oil and was more complex, but very reliable and ran cooler than poppet valves. These powered only two planes, both intended as interceptors with a premium on lower air resistance. The new propeller hubs and cowlings on the radials vastly improved them in that regard, but the inlines were still somewhat superior. Intended to intercept Byzantine bombers, the first had a 23mmmotor-canon nestled between the cylinders and firing through the hubs (MS406), while the second had the engine buried in the fuselage behind the pilot, and with a 30mm cannon firing through the hub (Fokker57/P-39).  There was even a push-pull prototype included, attempting to use two engines for power, but with the forward cross section of one (Fokker D.XXIII → Dornier 335 → Saab 21).  Originally fitted with two equal sized poppet valve inlines, cooling was an issue this prototype has reverted to sleeve valves.


The Expeditionary Fleet also gathered at Abbas, bolstered by not only by the new Barsuc  class armored carrier, but the new Waxsendag Kaman carrier on loan from Home Fleet.  SST-14 had departed already, to make her own way to Veracruz.

The Expeditionary fleet, which was commonly moved to bolster the Atlantic or Pacific fleets, was the logical choice to send, well if one decided to send an actual fleet. While it was in fact unnecessary to do so, the Parthians disliked sending Royals floating around undefended, and it was always a useful exercise to "reinforce" the far corners of the Empire. Lastly, demonstrating one can send 56 warships and supporting to the other side of the world with ease was useful for strategic purposes. The 4 battlewagons and 4 flight decks of the Expeditionary fleet could easily be added to the 3 battlewagons and solitary flight deck of the Atlantic or Pacific fleets to create a combined force.

Once loaded, the route the fleet took was simple. Steam out of Abbas, a 2600nm jaunt to Zanzibar. A port call and quick top off of fuel tanks. 2,300nm took them to the natural harbor of Ikapa on the Horn. A 5,300nm hop to Liere (Trinadad) and another port call and top off. Then 1000nm to Jamaica for an overnight stay in it's glorious harbor. 530nm took the fleet to the strait between the Yucatan and Cuba, then a mere 600nm to Veracruz. A mere 12,330nm, or 37days at 14 knots, not including port calls.
 

[Kaiser Kirk]

Veracruz

The month had been a busy one for Prince Vache, First Heir.  The Treaty of Veracruz had been signed, The Royal Visit to the Aztec Throne concluded,  the end of the trip allowed Prince Vache and family to visit his sister's new home. Returning to Veracruz, the Parthian equipment, instructors, and technicians had been unloaded, while the Aztec forces had gathered and embarked. The Bountiful Sea's VIP quarters would host both Vache and Ali for the voyage back. A destroyer squadron and Barsuc would remain behind for months more to better demonstrate both the technical challenges of Armored Carrier construction and allow comparisons in the two navies carrier aircraft handling practices.

1,000nm took the Expeditionary fleet and it's attached vessels across the Gulf of Azteca to the Straits of Florida, steaming down the Windward passage a further 600nm to the Caicos "Iron Botttom" Lagoon.
A brief Royal port call is followed by a resumption of the journey, passing through the Mona passage and then proceeding to Martinique and it's fine harbor. A second port call is followed by the 2900nm passage to the Cape Verde islands and then to Freetown.  The port there was a giant riverine estuary, established centuries ago as a trading city. Now part of the Parthian Protectorates, the port was home to  riverine gunboat squadron 11,  coast guard division 6, and destroyer division 10- consisting of 4 modernized Pangajan destroyers of the Atlantic Fleet.  A 48 hour port call allowed fresh stores to be taken aboard and fuel tanks topped off. The 1900nm trip to Luanda culminated in a port call at the African Aztec possession.  This allowed Prince Ali to make a formal visit to this far flung city. The next leg was a long jouney, passing in good weather by the Parthian port of Ikappa on Cape Horn, and Sofala near the Southern mouthes of the Zambesi delta, passing through the Mozambique channel and to the port of Mombasa.  This 4000nm trip saw the merchant vessels drawing their fuel bunkers low, as well as their food and water supplies.

Mombasa was recorded as being founded in 900CE by Mkisi and Mvita, Rulers of the Thenashara Taifa (Twelve Nations ). While trading with the Parthian state dates from the earliest days, with the "Swahili" coast referring to the pidgin of Parthian and native languages stemming from that trade. Mombasa had first come under Parthian rule temporarily in the early 1300s, but the Kilwa Satrapy had become independent during the 1381-1393 Horde (Timur)-Parthian War, remaining such until absorbed by the Omani Sultanate in 1696. A later successional split saw the Swahili coast and Oman separated. Oman came to Parthia by marriage, but until the Parthian Expansion of 1910 the Mombasa area remained separate. By the Declaration of Stonestown, the Parthians claimed rights to the crown, and have reasserted control over Mombasa and surrounding area.

The travelogue will continue in the next post

[Jefgte]

...Sofala near the Southern mouthes of the Zambesi delta, passing through the Mozambique channel and to the port of Mombasa...

During the night, TGB84, while patrolling in the Mozambique Channel, sighted the Parthian squadron.
The ships were sailing with all lights on, as was TGB84.
The squadron was making 14 knots and heading north.
TGB84 followed the squadron for a while on a parallel course, then disappeared in the night.

[TacCovert4]

About half a day steaming out of Martinique, the RAN executes a training strike. 

Beaufighters from Martinique, burning in at low level in a simulated torpedo attack trigger "scramble" warnings from the Aztecs.  While HMS Unicorn is "just" a support carrier, she does come fully equipped for her own fighters.  Parthian officers observe as the Aztec aviators on deck alert quickly start the engines of their Hurricanes and the landing gear squats as each plane is catapulted into the sky. 

From the Revenge, a Vindicator floatplane is put up for airborne fighter spotting.  As each individual Hurricane rides the elevator up, her engines start and the deck crews are efficiently marshalling them onto the catapult tracks. 

"Scramble drills are about putting a half squadron in the air as quickly as possible without the carrier maneuvering or accelerating" Ali explains to the Parthian observers.  "In the Caribbean, ground based aircraft are death to ships, they're bigger, longer ranged, and can deliver a lot of ordnance. So in Naval aviation, it's all about moving fast to get a combat air patrol aloft, or reinforce one, without taking the time to turn a formation or worse, break a formations anti aircraft screen up to get the carrier into the wind."

As the last Hurricane gets aloft and moments later the beaufighters fly their simulated torpedo runs with Hurricanes dropping in on them to count coup for the exercise, Ali continues "That's also why the navy fighters have stuck with the 7mm MG.  The action will be close and our pilots may have to fight extended air combats with far more targets.  So maximum fire volume to make hits and force aircraft off, and the lightest ammo to maximize the time a pilot can fight is vital". 

He points to one of the 40mm rotary mounts, a hideous slab sided box of thin armor concealing the four barreled gun.  "That's also why we use so many lighter guns.  A 40mm does not have the reach of a 90 or 120, but the stream of tracers is likely to force off a plane or flight of them before they drop their torpedoes or bombs."

As the vindicator is picked up by Revenge,  he notes "when we had the Blackburn Blackburn, we had a proper air direction plane.  A radio operator and spotter in the air is just going to be better than even three or four on a ship.  I've ordered a requirement for a new carrier aircraft for that role, the floatplanes are just not nearly as good, and planes like the Catalina can't operate as a cohesive whole like a carrier air group."

The exercise concluded, the beaufighters fly by, wiggling their wings before returning home, the last Hurricanes catching the wires before being stricken below decks and a fresh pair of alert planes being prepped and armed brought up on deck.  Even out in the Atlantic, the Aztec borderline paranoia about being surprised......continued.

[Kaiser Kirk]

The Parthians observe the Aztec practices with great interest, as it is core to their purpose here. Parthian planes mix their standard 7.5mm MG with either 15mm or lower velocity 23mm cannons meant to shatter bombers. The point about the tracers is one of particular interest, sparking an internal debate about the desirability and cost of more tracer proportion. For the Aztecs, they demonstrate the rapid surge launches of fighters they train hard for, launching rapidly and forming and streaming towards the target vector. 

As the voyage goes on the two sides have more opportunities to compare and contrast, as the two forces have many differences of practice and doctrine.  The Parthians in particular attempt to emulate the Aztec concepts, so as to better understand the conceptual elements, and how the parts work together, and which might then replace or be incorporated into the Parthian doctrine.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Departing Mombasa for the final journey of only 2200nm, the route would take the combined fleet past the Ethiopian coast and their island of Socotra and the Parthian Home Fleet Base, at Tis, on Chabahar Bay. The straits of Abbas (Hormuz) guarded the Parthian Gulf, but lay 250nm to the West, while the Omani shore lay to the south, across the Sea of Oman. Muscat itself was just 160nm to the SW of Chabahar.  Aerial reconnaissance covered most of the route from Socotra onwards, with Parthia sentry cruisers and coastal patrol appearing well before Chabahar.

The Southern coastline of Parthia facing the Sea of Oman was a forbidding one. Much of the shore was dominated by rocky cliffs plunging into the surf.   Behind these cliffs, an arid plain was backed by mountains crowned with a forest of widely scattered junipers sheltering low grasses for grazing. Tracks of rivers, swollen during the monsoon, much diminished the rest of the time, traced down from these rivers to carve nicks in the coastal bluffs. In these places, the waves had carved coves into the coast, each faithfully marked by a fishing village and a Zoroastrian Lighthouse.  A coastal highway and railroad  linked these and ran along the plain behind the coastal bluffs, with scattered branches winding inland. The plain between the coastal bluffs and the  low mountains should by rights be nearly barren, but intensive management meant it bloomed.

The monsoons delivered the water, but if left to nature it would rampage down the mountain and across the plain to the sea. Reservoirs high in the mountains could store some of that, and deliver it later, but by necessity, much of it had to flow downstream.  The rush of waters down the river channels was slowed by weirs of boulders, or of juniper pilings woven with logs. These weirs were simply overtopped in floods, but much of the time backed the water but were leaky, letting through water, sediment and nutrients by design. The deeper water between the weirs fed the groundwater and kept the adjacent alluvial terraces supplied with water year round, allowing crops to flourish – row crops on the rich soils near the river, and orchards on the higher ground. While floodwaters would cover the fields in the monsoon, the villages were safely beyond the floodplain, with deep wells connecting to the clean groundwater. The larger towns were fed by quanats, deep underground aqueducts running kilometers under the plain to the mountains, where they were fed cold water year round from the shattered rock horizons that fed the mountain springs.   

Chabahar bay was Northeast across the Sea of Oman from Muscat.  Four great bays studded the coastline along a 130nm stretch.  Gwadar in the East had once been a coastal island, but an isthmus had long ago formed in the lee, creating the Easternmost Bay between Gwadar and Pishkuan. While two smaller ports lay to the East, this deepwater Bay, and the shelter of the former island bay made Gwadar the primary commercial port in this region.  The next bay west was home to the Port towns of Pasa to the West and Jiwani to the East. The bay is a bustling fishing center, with it's shores cloaked in mangrove forests, rich in fish. A coast guard station and an airstrip mark a military presence beyond the typical coastal fortifications.  The Western most bay was Pozim bay, with the town of Tyab, and the scenic mangrove forests, but also served as part of the Parthian Naval Gunnery ranges, and largely the anti-submarine and anti-mine training grounds. 

Chabahar bay itself was nearly 80 square nautical miles in expanse, reaching 9.5nm deep and 11.5nm wide. The mouth of the bay was 7nm wide guarded by two great spits of land jutting out. As home to the Parthian Homefleet, the Coastal defenses are unusually heavy and so these headlands both hold lighthouses and coastal guns. Several batteries of guns and torpedoes are mounted on the lee side of the headlands, to bring passing ships under fire from the rear. The path through the mouth is marked by buoys and home to command controlled anchored minefields. This marked path takes the arriving vessels first to the west, passing for 2nm behind the 100ft cliffs of the headland there. The ships then either arrive at the town of Konarak, Home to the Royal Naval Gunnery School, or turn to head across the Bay to the Naval Base at Tis. Ships can also engage on the gunnery and torpedo ranges in the Northern parts of the Bay.

Three nautical miles in the the great bowl of the bay is indented in the East by a rocky mesa looming over the bay. This has been fortified for time immemorial, now with gun casements commanding the mouth of the bay. The shining structures of the Parthian Naval Academy and other illustrious buildings crown the mesa as well, while tunnels beneath serve as a fortified holdfast.

South of this mesa is the town of Chabahar, on a cove tucked behind the Eastern headland, stretching to a rocky beach on the Sea of Oman. This serves as 'naval housing' with officers stately and more prosaic barracks. Metro rail connects this to the mesa.

To the North of the Mesa is the ancient fishing village of Tis.  First appearing in the literary record as a place Alexander the great passed through, Tis was chosen for the Parthian fleet base after the Rajasthan war.  The deposition of rivers had created a large alluvial plain with small abandoned pools, some still reaching the groundwater level. Extending from the Mesa to the Northwest and the current mouth of the river Parak this alluvial had been incrementally excavated to create a tremendous naval base, with rubble used to extend a breakwater out from the Mesa into the bay, creating shelter against monsoon-driven waves in even the rare storm that drove them NE in the bay. A grand lighthouse at the end of the breakwater controlled floating booms extended to the North, creating a cordon carrying torpedo nets across the base entrance and to a smaller tower at the edge of the Northern Mangrove forest.

Common to most Parthian Naval bases, since the claiming of Kalifern, giant cedar logs had been driven as posts, forming sheltered berthing areas for the major warships, as well as serving as potential torpedo barriers to air launched weapons. While torpedo nets still protected anchorages, these formed a second layer of protection for the major fleet vessels, as the more modern no longer mounted the nets. Despite being still somewhat effective, this had diminished as torpedoes got heavier, and between the slow speed mandated by their deployment and the danger to steering and propellers they represented had reduced their deployment.

Elements of the Training Fleet and Coastal Patrol called the bay home, but Tis was the official host to the Parthian Home fleet, so of the 164 vessels normally based here, 132 were part of the latter. The Parthian Home Fleet was spread among several bases, from Salahal to Bushere, with a considerable force in Muscat, but the majority of it was here. If not out on training, scouting or deployments, 84 primary combatants were based here, including 10 dreadnaughts, 4 flight deck carriers, a seaplane cruiser, 7 armored cruisers, 13 other cruisers, 3 frigates, 4 sloops and 43 destroyer-types.

With the arrival of the Expeditionary fleet and the Aztec forces, the bay held close to 200 military vessels. Extensive arrangements had been made previously. Ships were allocated berthing appropriate to their needs, allowing unloading at both Tis and Konarak, and then transit by rail or road to the Marine and Aerial bases and Depots on the plain. There housing had been arranged, as well as marshaling yards. The Tis-Duzdab  (aka Chabahar-Bampur-Zahedren) railway, served by geared locomotives, wound its way inland from here, and would take the combined force North after a rest period.

...and thus ends another installment of the travelogue.
Tune in next time, same Bat Time, Same Bat Place,  for a scenic railway ride through the interior of Parthia !

[Kaiser Kirk]

While the fleet steamed its way towards Tis, a separate mission had been ongoing.

The Parthian 'Ghozier' "Dragon Sign (of) " bombers* were ungainly looking, a blunt cruciform with twin tail fins carving through the sky, but carefully constructed. Expensively built they paid high attention to detail. All the rivets were flush and the panels joggled to avoid drag inducing edges. The aluminum monocoque frame, supplemented by a dorsal stringer, was flush skinned with aluminum sheeting as well.  The chin, tail and dorsal twin 15mm turrets were all streamlined in molded perspex...at least if faced fore/aft, while the waist blisters had perspex teardrops. The ventral mount originally fitted had teething issues and had been quietly deleted, replaced with an MG firing through the escape hatch position.  The four large supercharged two-row 14 cylinder radial engines were surprisingly quite from the front, a testimony to the sleeve valves. While requiring fine engineering, complex gearing, and slightly more oil, the sleeve valves were very reliable, handled heat-particularly in the rear row of the radials- extremely well, and scaled up well. These four engines were designed in monocoque pods which could be entirely removed from the plane, allowing another to be fitted while repairs and overhaul were occurring.  The long 12m central bomb bay allowed for torpedo storage or a variety of bombs, and was supplemented by 6 wing cells for 250kg bombs. A massive 5800kg bombload could be flown a fairly short 1000km, but a more modest 2500kg bombload could be flown 3000km. While normal loads such as these relied on self-sealing tanks within the wings, there were fittings for additional ferry tanks to fit within the 6 wing cells, extending the ferry range to just shy of 5000km. .

The Parthian crews were older than might be expected, as the Parthians moved their older flight crews into the larger planes, on the theory that reflexes and high risk tolerance were greater among the young and of greatest value to fighter and dive bomber pilots, but skill sets were expensive and best put to flying larger aircraft, or being an instructor...  than a desk. The crews had spent months learning to speak passable Azteca, while their planes had been fitted with radios possessing Aztec frequencies, while cargo pods suitable for spare parts were fitted for the bomb bays.  The pilots were provided with an autopilot to reduce burdens, and both a beam approach indicator and DF visual loop indicator. The flight engineer had a cabin just behind the flight deck, while the radio operator and navigator had a small cabin near the wing root, and included a rest bunk. The rest of the crew had their own stations. Crew comfort for long flights was viewed as vital for efficiency, while combat locations were far more cramped.

These planes had come to Azteca to serve as pathfinders for the Aztec contingent. While many planes were slowly wending their way by ship, the Aztecs were keen to bring some of their newest and cutting edge planes, and the Parthians were enthusiastic about helping.

The Parthian bombers were to serve as the Pathfinders for the joint flight. The Parthians were familiar with transiting their Aircraft from base to base from Eranshar (the homeland) across the Pacific to Kalifern, or through Africa to the Mericas. These experiences and protocols were to serve the joint force in good stead.  Once in Azteca, the bomber crews met and mingled with their Aztec counterparts. Briefings covered the planned flight plan.  Detailed maps of the landing strips, and typical weather conditions, beacons and radio protocols were briefed. 

The flight itself was timed for the visual conditions at arrival, and aided not only by weather reports from the target airstrip, but the radio beacons active there. The first leg takes the planes winging Northeast, and then Southeast, passing above the Yucatan channel. Mayan fighters make a brief appearance on the horizon, then turn for home. The joint force of fliers continue on to the island of Xaymaca, we would know as Jamaica.  Seized from Pirates, the grand bay (Kingston Harbor) has thrived since the opening of the Erica canal by Wilno. One of the world's larger natural deepwater harbors, it's position at the crossroads of the Caribbean has made it magnet for merchant ships. The typical gleaming lighthouse marks the mouth of the bay, sheltering behind the long stoney spit embracing the south side of the bay. The surface of this spit had been graded to create a long airstrip and the island's civilian Airport.  The typical Parthian territorial city – a generally circular planned town with an autarkic array of basic services, lays 10km to the West, with the Military airstrip west of the river, with two crossing airstrips allowing more windage choices, while being far less exposed to the sea than the civilian airstrip.

The next leg was a simple one, hopping across the Caribbean, to Liere (Trinadad). A prosperous and verdant territory, Liere is at the South Gate of the Caribbean and produces substantial amounts of oil, making it a natural refueling point for merchants prior to venturing across the Atlantic. Home to the Orinoco 'squadron', the vast bay is key to Parthia's holdings in this part of the world. Flying boats from the Seaplane base find the combined flight hours from Liere.  With favorable topography and several Air wings assigned, Liere is host to a number of military airfields, as well as a refinery capable of high octane fuel. An additional day is taken to carefully overhaul the engines, and prepare for the next flight. 

The flight across the Atlantic to the Cape Verde islands is long at 2200nm, but the African coast and the Parthian protectorates were only 400nm further. This was still a long reach for some of the planes, and the Navigator's abilities to get them in range for the radio equipment to allow them to home in on the airfield.  The Parthian naval base and it's associated airstrip were in the Northwest islands, by the town of Mindelo, on the expanse of Porto Grande Bay. Founded by Iberian traders in 1793, the town had long been a trading base for the West African Coast. The Cape Verde islands had a footnote in history as home to the farthest  flung Roman colony, established for the same purposes. In the 1st century the early carvel built vessels had allowed the Romans to venture down the West African Coast, following the path of Carthaginians. The colony had sustained trade with the African coast and progressively improved the vessel, leading to exploration and limited trade with the Brazilian coast. The contact had the disasterous side effect of transmitting the Plagues of Antonine and Cyprian to the Mericas and the African coast. The collapse of trading populations combined with the slow fall of Rome after the Division of 276, led to the abandonment of the colony in the late 300s, but the ship designs and legends would later lead to Mansa Munsa of Mali restablishing trade with the Mericas in 1311.

From the Cape Verde, the flights turned South,  the flight to Ascension island was not as long, but still nearly 1600nm, and should a plane 'miss', there is not another spec of land for over 900nm.  The 'DragonSign' would make the direct 3000nm flight TO Liere, as errors in navigation were correctable, but for the return trip, the stop at Cape Verde was viewed as prudent.  Originally a nearly barren volcanic island, it had but two watersources originally. A harbor on the western shore first served as an emergency refuge for maritime traffic. With the advent of airplanes, this became a flying boat stop, but with the growing range of aircraft, such as the 'Dragon Sign', a long airstrip has been ground from the volcanic shingle and graded. The Parthians, accustomed to the harsh environs of their homeland, saw opportunity and have planted a variety of trees from their tropical holdings in the past 20 years, as well as dotting the island with cisterns. The shaggy greenery has transformed the island, as the many leaves allow fog to condense and precipate, leading to the island to sometimes form a donut shaped lenticular cloud around the main peak. 

The next flight could have easily made the Azteca capital in Africa, but the Parthians preferred the normal route, flying to Ikappa on the Cape of Good Hope.

*The DragonSign is primarily based on the short S29, with some Halifax descriptors and details fitting Parthian headcanon.


...more travelouge to come - next stop...Ikappa !...

[TacCovert4]

The Liberator crews sat back, par for the course, as they winged over the water, following a chain of Aztec and Parthian island possessions.  Navigators were sweating a little, checking and rechecking their calculations.  Not necessarily for the big four engine birds, the Liberator was most oft used as a maritime patrol aircraft and with half her bomb bay given over to a fuel blivet, she could outrange even their Parthian companions by a considerable margin.  No, the meticulous concern for navigation was for the Lightnings and Beaufighters flying above and behind them, the smaller twin-engine aircraft having just enough range to make this mass transit workable, festooned with external fuel tanks, and leaning the mixtures to a razors edge to stretch every possible mile.  In the belly of the Liberators, instead of the gunners that were riding ships to Parthia, extra mechanics and pilots sat, ready to rotate with their counterparts to give them much needed rest off of the controls, and to check over each of the birds during the fuel stops. 

For the Sultanate, this was not just an exercise or an excuse to attempt a feat.  This was a means of showing that despite the Sultanate being on the far side of the world, the Royal Air Force could and would be able to support the Parthians rapidly if called upon.  Another hint towards the possibilities of a closer alliance between the two peoples.

As the Liberators circle,  the two seat Beaufighters, the land based torpedo bomber and medium strike plane of the RAF, touch down, quickly exiting the active as the single seat Lightnings come in to land, more than one of the fighters in the two squadrons drunkenly staggering as the exhausted pilots line up and land.  Once the Liberators shut down the spare pilots and mechanics dash over to the smaller planes, doing maintenance checks on the Beaufighters radials and Lightnings merlins, while the spare pilots literally help drag their counterparts from the cockpit, putting hot coffee in their hands as they swap, the first round of pilots having flown 3800nm in formation with only a short fuel stop.

The Beaufighters simply switch seats, giving the primary pilots a rest in the hot seat as the last checks are completed and first the Liberators, then the Lightnings, then the Beaufighters fire up engines and roll down the runway in a tight stream for takeoff, the formations aligning behind their respective Parthian Pathfinder crews before continuing on towards the Cape.

[Kaiser Kirk]

The Khoe name for it varied by group, but the earliest Iberian traders seeking a route around Afrika bequeathed it with the name "Cape of Storms", later redubbed something more optimistic "Cape of Good Hope". The weather reports had been cabled to Ascension island to inform the the fliers of what couple be expected, fortunately the forecast was good.

The Southwest tip of Africa, it was dominated by Hurioxa, a mountainous ridge stretching nearly 28nm long.  The range forms the western edge of two bays, the North bay set 12nm across a plain from the larger South Bay. The northern section of the range has a magnificent plateau soaring 1km in the sky and overlooking the North bay (Table Mountain). Tucked behind it is a second, smaller plateau, and then the mountainous ridge sprawling to the South.  East of the range, hard on the shores of the North Bay was the merchant town of Ikappa. This was the merchant port, founded centuries before by the Iberian explorers, a sprawling collection of buildings..  On the South bay, tucked against the mountains, was the Naval Port,.. The ridge provided shelter from Western storms, and A breakwater, quarried from the mountain, jutted out into the South Bay, shielded the port from the Southern storms.  East of Ikappa, set 10nm east of the mountains and the turbulent winds pouring over them, was the Air station. While limited civil aviation did pass through, that trade was still primarily the flying boats, making this a way station for military flights.

The Parthian aerial route next led inland, an 1000nm 'hop' to Bulamayo.   Founded as the capital of the Ndebele Kingdom in 1840, after they had invaded the area and crushed the local tribes between 1827-1832.  Powerful and prosperous, by 1914 the kingdom had fielded a small elite guard armed with breechloaders, and a much larger force still relying on percussion cap muzzle loaders. The Parthian advance from the coast conquered the neighbors, and by 1916 led to a cease fire, leaving the core of the Ndebele Kingdom intact. In 1922, with the Parthian Army having been locally drawn down and restricted to patrolling their domains, a High Priest, or Mlimo preached war, and a substantial faction of the Ndebele warriors launched attacks on the neighboring Parthian territories. The second Ndebele-Parthian war was a six month affair, with the Ndebele attacking the Satrapy of the Zambesi,  as the dispersed Parthian forces in Zambesi and  Rozvi mobilized. The mobilized Parthian force was reinforced with Marines from Sofala, and soon combined superior numbers and superior firepower, supported by a stream of trucks to the nearest railheads.  The fall of Bulamayo and the Ndebele Kingdom saw substantial damage to the city.

In the years since, Bulamayo had been rebuilt with broad boulevards, and a new city center.  The Cape-Mombasa Railroad was not complete yet, but the Bulamayo-Mombasa section was, as was the link to Sofala.  Typical civic clusters of a school, library, court and clinic dotted the town and surrounding villages. The Ndebele fields covered the broad plain on the watershed divide, with the headwaters of the Limpopo and Zambesi extending near the city. The widespread introduction of machinery had improved productivity, while the introduction of better transport had provided markets for that surplus, and now many richer farmers had their own windmills to generate power, while those in the city benefited from the power plant.
 
History relayed tales of Alexander the Great, who founded fortified cities throughout his conquests, filling them with Greek settlers and ex soldiers. The cities of Alexander became commerce and education hubs, and blended the Greek ways with the local ways, hellanizing the Empire. That model was the one the Parthians tried to follow, to ensure their Empire became a unified nation.  The typical Parthian practice was to establish a town, frequently within a simplified star fort layout, on a standardized pattern. Within the perimeter, the circular town was laid out. Buildings were typically rammed earth square 'insula' with courses of wood framing, completed with tiled roofs and colorful plaster walls. The town would have it's own essential services, and serve more than just a military purpose. The duties imposed on the territorial populace was light, but included a requirement for the children to attend the schools built by the Parthians, the teachers for which lived in the town. Surveyors would provide formal recognition for existing land rights. Scientists would study the local ways of doing things, so the best aspects could be copied, and shared across the Empire, while the Empire shared to the locals. The Parthian engineers would build roads, aqueducts, dams, and other infrastructure to make transport easier, and the engineers would live in the towns. The infrastructure would tie the country together, and allow markets established outside the towns to flourish. Left to their own ways, but with the plain evidence of prosperity if they blended with the Parthian way, the locals were given opportunities if they wished them.

Here, the Parthian town by Bulamayo was located about 10nm to the south, halfway to the Matobo Hills. Road and rail linked it to Bulamayo, allowing easy access to the market and road & rail hub. Here the plain was drier and further from the creeks, the brushy and less desirable highveld, and so where the city could be founded while less impacting the existing city and fields.  With gasoline tractors to brush rake, and construct aqueducts funneling water from reservoirs built in the hills, the highveld had blossomed as well.  The town had sprawled out from the original fort and now stretched out.

Located South of the Parthian town, the  Aerodrome mixed both military and civil usage. Built after the war, there was concern that should there be an uprising, it would be among the first targets. So while much of the aerodrome was conventional in appearance, at the south end, where a small granitic mesa – (a kopje typical of the hills to the south) loomed above the military buildings. Tunnels bored into the mesa held fuel and munitions, while thick walled buildings served as machine shops and hangers and square insula provided housing.. A low ramparted star fort was laid out about this area, while a small blockhouse fort and tall observation tower commanded the top of the mesa. The civil facilities were at the other end of the airstrip, nearer to the Parthian town, while scattered around the entire facility were 8 small blockhouses anchoring a perimeter of two rammed low walls, set only 10m apart, running parallel around the entire facility.  The strip between was salted, and burned out yearly to ensure sightlines were clear. While these precautions had proved unnecessary, so far, they were maintained.

The flight from Ikappa was among the shortest of the trip. On landing routine maintenance tasks took first priority, but towards the evening, the flight crews boarded the train for a trip into town, where they were treated to a banquet hall filled with local dishes and dancers. Bulawayo was far enough from the Zanj (the Swahili coast) that the dishes were unfamiliar not just to the Aztecs, but also the Parthians. While the Ndebele people wore garments elaborately adorned with patterns of colorful beads, and painted their homes in bright patterns. Their food was largely boiled to a brownish texture with scattered bright vegetables. The fried caterpillar snacks 'Amanchimbi' were surprisingly good, but some were disquieted by the concept. The Matumbu was not nearly as bad as some expected when the combination of tripe, intestines, testes, liver and kidneys was placed in an oozing pile before them, the brown ooze disturbed by the bright reds and greens of spices.  The cocoyams were little brown discs which proved to be a weird looking root vegetable, but universally found delicious. The same could not be said for the fermented sour milk.

The next day saw the flight to Mombasa. 
At the Northern end of the Zanj (the Swahili Coast),  Mombasa was an ancient but pretty town of painted blue & white, a nautical trading center for Parthian, Arab, and Indian traders at least a millennium, having supplanted older centers.  The key to Mombasa's success was the large Bay to serve as port, a Bay with two arms like a Y.  Mombasa was also sited on an island at the junction of the bay, a situation which left little room for an airport.   The airstrips were located on the peninsula jutting into the bay, relatively undeveloped, but now served by a railroad and macadamized road, connecting Mombasa to the inland areas.  The Airfield served as an important base for the Parthians, and so in addition to the planes stationed there, there was substantial dispersed parking and several empty hangers for maintenance work.

On arrival, the news was received that the Omani coast was experiencing thunderstorms and high winds which were expected to continue for two days. While Parthia was on friendly terms with Ethiopia, the latter had backed off an alliance and resumed strict neutrality, forcing the flight to fly over the Gulf of Aden, Enter Parthia at Salahal and continue along the coastal plain to Muscat. In the meantime, the aircrews were allowed to explore Mombasa. As a trading center that had served African and Parthian traders, in addition to Byzantine, an merchants from the Indian subcontinent, and even the  occasional Thai, Sumatran, Javan and Chinese trader, the architecture, food and goods on offer were wide ranging.

Finally receiving the all clear two days later, the planes took to the air, tracing the Horn of Africa to the West, then crossing the Gulf of Aden. While still at sea, Parthian 'Reaper' fighter bombers, similar to the Aztec Lightnings with their twin booms, but having a much heftier central nacelle that combined heavy centerline fire with a bombadier and tailgun. Powerful supercharged radials gave them respectable performance, and their commander had decided intercepting the incoming flight would be a nice exercise, particularly if they managed it well before the Early Warning Chain picked up the incoming.

Like the Southern shore of Parthia, the coast of Oman featured a plain backed by mountains, and relied on intensive infrastructure and water management to make it prosper. The moutains themselves receieved enough rain to support light forests as well. The flight followed the coast to New Muscat. Old Muscat was the ancient walled town around the harbor, but had grown beyond the mountain bowl that contained it, and onto the plain to the West. Landing, the combined group was finally in lands that had been Parthian for centuries, and intermittently for millennia.  From Muscat, the flight to Nissea was only 900nm, first crossing the Sea of Oman, then the coastal plain and the Southern Zagros, but flying over parched Kerman and the ancient citadel of Bam at the edge of the Lut Desert. Turning more northerly, the flight would fly over the interior of the plateau, from Bam to the tiny town of Deyhuk, then heading to Sabzevar -morbidly known for it's "Place of Heads Square" where pyramids made of the skulls of the 90,000 inhabitants had been constructed by Timur. Using Sabzevar as a reference point, they would pass over the lofty Kopet Dag mountains to the aerodrome North of Nissea. Despite leave well after the waterborne flotilla, they would arrive before.


(I do somewhat apologise for the length, but I have a fair amount I never get around to writing about - like the Cape->Mobasa railroad- that's why I've built/building IC in Harsh/Poor Kalahari desert provinces, for that darn railroad. If you map it out, there's one almost built from Nebraska->California as well.
Anyhow, one more train trip travelouge and onto wargames.)

[Kaiser Kirk]

While peoples had long written tales and speculated about those before them, with the Pharoh Thutmose IV around 1400BCE seeking answers of those that came before, while King Nabonidus conducted a systemic excavation in Sippar as  early as 550BCE. Interest in systemic archaelogical investigations caught the popular imagination internationally in the early 1800s, but despite a century of investigation, a tremendous amount was not yet discovered. Even in Parthia, with a continuous existence, much had been lost to fires, quakes, civil wars, and cities razed by invaders, but most of all by simple time.

Chabahar Bay was most likely on the trade routes between the Mesopotamium city states and the Harrappan (Indus River civilization), with the Westernmost outpost of the Harrapan type being found in 1875 at Sutkagen Dor, just 75nm to the East. The ruins of these cities had been noted by the chroniclers of Alexander the Great, who withdrew from the Indus along this coastal plain, then called Gedrosia, now a long region combining coastal areas into the singular "Makkran" region. This was also the first time the village of Tis entered the historical record. The links to India were such that as late as 1000CE it was regarded as the Westernmost reach of India.

The coastal road was ancient, and the coastal railway dated to the mid 1800s. Likewise the cartway, now autoroad, route inland to Bampur was ancient.  The railway through the coastal mountains had required substantial quantities of blasting, but despite all the tunnels still featured grades of up to 15%. Most locomotives needed grades of 2-3%, but geared locomotives could manage 8-10% grades, but beyond that the simple friction of steel wheel and steel rail was not sufficient. This was made worse by the Parthian idiosyncrasy of using Bronze wheels, which were tough and did not spark, but had less friction with steel. As a result, the inland rail route both terribly expensive and was not practicable for locomotives until rack railroads, featuring a geared wheel and matching 3rd rail, became more mature in the 1880s. This also coincided with matching the steam engine and iron hull, which liberated Parthia from a reliance on large wood beams for crafting ships and allowed the rebirth of a Navy. The 1896 war with Rajasthan made it clear a naval base  East of the Straits of Hormuz, preferably on the Sea of Oman was desirable, and so the inland railroad to Tis became a strategic consideration, and so the hugely expensive 1.8m wide broad gauge railroad was built through the mountains, with the steepest sections featuring the 3rd 'rack' rail, suited for the 'Lamella' system, invented by the Romans for use in the Alps, the Parthians always being eager to adopt better ideas from elsewhere.

It was on this railroad that the Aztec contingent was reloaded onto. With each railcar, a Parthian translator and guide was stationed, to both answer questions and ensure that communications were smooth, despite some challenging accent issues.  The railway left Chabahar and wound it's way up the riverside, departing from the road to gain grade, as it had to punch it's way 115km through the Makran Mountains. The mountains are a band running West to East, with four high 1500m mountain ridges rising from the 200m foothills.  These ridges were what challenged the railgrade construction.


As the grade wound through the foothills and clambered over the shoulders of the mountains, the countryside sprawled around them. The Makran mountains caught the little moisture than came up from the Indian Ocean, but the area was semi-arid by nature.  Over thousands of years, a mixture of traditions and laws, coordinated by central authorities created and maintained the water infrastructure, allowing towns to thrive in the valleys, while orchards and grazing graced the foothills around, while higher grazing and forestry were conducted in the uplands. Had this coordination failed (i.e. the process that started under the Arab conquest, who focused more short term, and came to fruition after the Mongol and later conquests in the real world). , the slow growing forests would have been overcut, the grassy woodlands overgrazed, the young trees eaten by goats, while the quanats, dams, wiers, cisterns and other features would have slowly decayed. Modern medical concepts and the bounty of food from new crops and especially new fertilizers had led to a population boom in the late 1800s. The population here had long ago reached the limit the water allowed, and many immigrated to cities when National Service was Indeed, contacts made during National Service often allowed the residents to move to an assured job elsewhere. Of course, the massive expansion of Parthia to overseas territories had provided a vital outlet for this population.

After the 4th mountainous ridge, the trains descended down towards Bampur (Iranshar) Bounded by by the Makran mountains to the South, the Zagros to the West, the Kapet Dag to the North, and the Hindu Kush to the East, The interior of Parthian plateau was arid and home to endothermic basins, where the river never reached a sea.  Northwest of Bampur, the Dash-e Lut desert was one of the hottest dryest places on earth. Rivers that flowed in the spring and seasonal lakes. To the East, the Kerman range met the Makran mountains in the South and marched 1000km to the North. 

Located at a trade route crossroads and with the Bampur river as a source of water,  Bampur had been founded in the mists of history, with archeaologist linking the oldest finds with the Helmand River finds, and the same period as the Harrapan civilization,s with the ruins of an ancient citadel still looming over it. The citadel had long ago become militarily obsolescent, and had been surpassed by House Suren with a proper Manor House.  Bampur had slowly grown along the Bampur river to merge with Pahura to the East.  Historians still debated if Pahura was 'Poura' where Alexander paused.   Like Yazd to the West, Bampur houses each sported a windcatcher, which used evapotranspiration and wind to keep the homes cool.  The troops were to be pleasantly surprised by the provision of fresh ice from the yachels, which used the cool subterranean air of the quanats to make ice in the desert.  Shaved ice with fruit juice was served in bowls to the Aztec troops, while the swamp coolers on the train cars were given fresh blocks of ice.  A natural hub for troop movements, an airfield and army base where here, with designed spare capacity to allow mustering. The troops on the train were allowed to disembark and sleep in the cool barracks.

The railroad northeast of Bampur wound it's way into the Kerman mountains, emerging at the valley where the railhead at Duzdab (Zahedren) split into an Eastern and Northern route. While at 1300m in altitude, the desert clime led to an average daily high over 32C for 5 months of the year.  The valley was known for it's flash floods only corralled by wiers and checkdams, with overflow channeled to settling basins to recharge the ground water table, allowing for the valley floor to sport trees and vegetation while the countryside was far more bleak outside the seasonal rainfall period. The town structures were the typical Parthian arid structures – thickwalled square 2-3 story buildings with a central courtyard, with cisterns to catch scare rain, heavy timbered layers for earthquake stability, windcatchers for cooling, and brightly plastered exterior walls facing the world. Interior plumbing and substreet sewers had been common in the region since the Harrapan era ended 4,000 years ago. While not part of the mining regions, Duzdab was home to many light industries, weaving local fibers, milling rice, processing hides, crafting leather goods, and creating bricks and ceramics. Home to a University, and known for it's medical courses, Duzdab was, like Yazd, a prosperous and large city in a very hot and dry area.

The railroad road East led to Quetta, and North to Zranka (Zaranj).  Coming from the South, the drying waters of Lake Harmun reflected a basal massif rearing 150m higher named Mount Oshida (Khajeh), on which an ancient Zoroastrian citadel and fire temple of Ghaghar-shar kept the the flame alive. Rostam castle was the seat of the Surena Family, hereditary rulers of  Sakastan (Siestan). A Princely Great House, at times an Kingdom, founders of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom and the Gondapharids. House Mihrin was prominent in the Navy, but House Suren tended towards Army commands. Indeed it was Suren Generals which crushed the Romans at Carrhae in 53BCE, sacked Laksmanavati in 1206, prominent at the sack of Delhi in 1739, and fought in hundreds of battles between. The House has long been the most combative, with portions rebelling on three occasions.

Still in the harsh arid part of Parthia, the Dasht-e Margo desert was to the East, the Kerman mountains to the West, but Zranka was on the Helmand River which emptied into Lake Hamun, which seasonally was a lake and the remainder of the time a wetland.  While wiers and low dams retained waters in the upper reaches of the Helmand, the spring floods from snowmelt still spilled out on the floodplains and filled small seasonal lakes. The third version of the city, the ruins of the two earlier being slowly lost in the desert, it was still at least 1000 years old. While the oldest homes were located on higher ground, the lower levels of town were protected by levees. At this time, the lake was slowly waning, leaving the wetlands behind, with expanses of reeds and tamarisk, but only small stretches of shimmering water.

Zranka was a fairly large and, thanks to the perrineal Helmand River, relatively well watered, but still boasted the Parthian desert architecture.  Orchards and fields surrounded the town and extended up the river plain.

Departing Zranka, the railroad speared north 450km, following the Eastern slopes of the Kerman range. Passing through several smaller towns, small areas of greenery bright against the arid backgrounds. The macadamized high road paralleled the railway for much of the route, but to maintain a low grade, the railroad would veer away for kilometers (this portion was not racked rail), while the road ramped up and over. Lonely telephone lines followed the railway. Electric power was not universal yet, but where towns had power, the utility lines followed the roads, not the railroad. The outer areas frequently had windmills powering the persian waterwheels, and the more recent ones had small generators, allowing the odd sight of richer farmhouses with light deep into the night, while the nearby small village still had gas lamps.

The crossroads town of Taybad was a provincial capital, and had a slightly more moderate clime, giving the passengers the opportunities to indulge in fresh local melons.
The road north followed the river towards a moutainous ridge- an Eastern extension of the Kapet Dag range, and then snaked it's way over the ridge. The railroad departed from the road, arcing to the NE, climbing the valley's sideslopes at a constant grade, before entering a 20km tunnel under the rocky ridge. Dug by steam powered boring machines in 1906, it was one of the longer tunnels built and exits in the watershed of the Kashfarud River, winding its way down the foothills to deliver the travelers to the city of Sarakhs.

Only 320km from Nissea, the City of Sarakhs was named for it's mystical founder, which would put it at close to 4,000 years old, but archaeologists were calling that into question, placing it at closer to 2,500 years, something most of the local populace was dismissive of.  While the Karakum desert was to the North, this area was somewhat better watered as storm picked up water from the Caspian Sea  and were pushed south into the Kapet Dag mountains. The Aztec passengers were given a 3 day pass, allowing for baths and laundry, as well as well deserved rest. In that way, they would arrive at Nissea in best appearance, and well rested. For the officers, local dinners were arranged, as were tours to Merv. Until 1221, Merv had been a magnificent city on the silk road, one of the largest and richest in the world, famed in both East and West. The city was packed with refugees from the East, as the Mongol Horde advanced. Then after the siege the city was razed and it's people put to the sword ,with estimates of the time ranging from 700,000 to 1,300,000.  The Mongol invasions depopulated the Northern 1/3rd of Parthia, and were followed by the Black Death, and then Timur's invasions, and then the intermittent wars with the Horde. The natural advantages that led to it's settlement in the first place drew people back, and in 1505 the dam breached by the Mongols was rebuilt and after 3 centuries, fields and towns blossomed about the ruins. By then it's place on the Silk Road was replaced by Sarakhs, only 150km to the WSW. Like Nissea, the choice was made not to rebuild the old core of the fortified city,  or the ruined Kyz Kala palace. These two cities become mandatory tours for Parthian officers, serving as great mausoleums to answer that recurrent question of "what is the worst that could happen ?"

The final 450km of track were along the Northern foothills of the Kopet Dag range. Rivers ran North onto the Nissean plain, flooding dotting it with small lakes, and then eventually fading in the North into the sandhills of the Karakum desert.  The arrival of the Aztecs at the the Royal reservation that was the Nissea Academy was greeted with first refreshments and a brief pause, and then the pomp and circumstance followed by quarters and then dinner and entertainment. Unloading the trains took more days.

Ok, that's all for the exhaustive travelogue.
A fair amount of all this has been living in my head for quite some time, and I've been wanting to find time to put it down. So, it may just be a wall of text to everyone else, but it was nice to do from my perspective.

Next : Wargames.

[TacCovert4]

Chief Warrant Officer Metzli pulled her coat tighter in the cool air.  "Why I agreed with Princess Shirin to take a promotion instead of retiring I'll never know".  The now fifty year old had been there from the beginning of Queen Fatimas Light Cavalry, getting shot by a Roman rifle, through the Caicos war, the Comanche wars, the Mayan resurgence, the Comanche Fall, and now on the first foreign expedition of the Aztec army.  "At least I don't have to ride a horse anymore, and the engine of my greyhound will probably not be baking us in this cold", She remarks to herself as they ascend far above the height of Flagstaff.

CWO Metzli and the Parthian translator carry on conversation for hours, the translator pleasantly surprised that the diminutive chief with a cane had spent the past years in company with Princess Shirins honor guards before taking the reassignment to duty on the QFLC Brigade staff as a parthian expert to help bridge any disagreements or misunderstandings.

[Kaiser Kirk]

I am sure that it will shock all to know this got a great deal longer than anticipated.
...and that was just the precursor to the wargames.
...which I barely got started on.

Nissea Military Academy & Training Grounds, Royal Reservation

The Academy served Officers of Field Grade and above, teaching the theory and practice of formation command. The adjoining army base and national service bases provided labor and troops, but the palatial Academy buildings were the teaching facilities for 

The extensive grounds of the Reservation also  served as testing facilities for equipment. The sand dunes of the desert to the North, the flat fields of the Nissean plains, to the the forested foothills rising to the the jagged peaks of the Kopet Dag mountains to the south,

Airfields on the Nissean plain allowed for a substantial training presence, practicing not just fighter dominance, and long range bombing raids, but also coordination with army units.  An evolving art, the widening presence of vehicle radios had not been the solution expected, as translating the ground scenes on a steppe or desert or rolling hills to a visual depiction that would allow aerial assets to be allocated, arrive at the correct location and engage the correct targets was very much an effort in progress. Fighter control relied on vectors, now augmented by the large RADAR towers,  for a search pattern followed by visual acquisition and engagement, but this was not proving sufficient for locating and engaging the correct ground targets.

The initial months of the Aztec presence were one of orientation and acclimatization while equipment was tested and doctrine and tactics shared.  Guns were fired at targets, armor penetration was measured, vehicles were run on varied terrain, maintenance needs and time noted, fuel and oil consumption and logistics load evaluated. Classrooms hosted sessions by Aztec presenters explaining the lessons of the Roman and Mayan wars, doctrinal changes and tactical implications for eager assemblages of Parthian officers.  This was a two-way process as the Parthians reciprocated by presenting their equipment – both the older being replaced and the newer entering service.

Testing of the equipment was an essential element of this. Differing doctrines required different equipment to implement it, and the Parthians very much wanted to see how a peer nations equipment performed. In the case of the Aztec they had held their own against the Romans, who were treaty bound to the Byzantines, so this was seen as particularly valuable.  Artillery ranges, shell burst diameters, and damage to plywood cutouts of soldiers could be linked to relative rates of fire and mobility. Vehicles could be tested for endurance, maintenance load, and for the armed ones accuracy both on the move and at rest. Small arms were evaluated at various ranges, as well as the difficulty and time required to accurately place multiple rounds on target. Anti-armor crew weapons were evaluated for penetration, accuracy, rate of fire, and destructive potential of penetrations, in addition to mobility. This carried through virtually all the kit brought.

The airplane evaluations introduced all new parameters, as a fast climbing interceptor may have minimized fuel tankage to reduce weight, but then what was given up. The old biplanes had substantial drag merely from the wing design, which had limited potential top speed and so phenomenal agility had been the answer. With limited engines, minimizing structural weight and relying on doped skins was the best course.  The new monoplanes with their metal skins relied on much more powerful engines, were decidedly faster, and early testing results had already shown them more resilient to rifle-caliber machine gun rounds, which appeared even more true of the larger structural members of bombers. Arguments for heavy machine gun, or even light cannon were made. In reaction, the most recent designs also incorporated armor around critical elements and self-sealing tanks, but both added weight. Destructive testing of old planes thus did not suffice and additional examples of more recent Parthian designs had to be placed on the range.

This relentless increase in weight was offset somewhat by the newer engines, with better power to weight ratios. The Aztecs had focused on the lower frontal cross-section inline designs and their versions were more reliable, with better power to weight ratios, but relied on a single stage supercharger.  The Parthians struggled with their inline V12 designs, restricting them to the interceptors, where the lower frontal area and demand for performance were primary. Elsewhere  advanced research in cowling and both increased cooling and less drag, which had allowed the Parthian twin-row radials with their complex but advanced sleeve valves to compete with their inline V12 designs.   Parthian two-stage superchargers, that allowed efficient engine operation at higher altitudes where drag was less restrictive. These altitudes also imposed less penalties on the larger frontal section radial engines. 

Indoor wargaming at the Academy relied on the 'Kriegspiel' concepts developed by Wilno in the 1800s,  dispersed over several conference room tables. Tactical officers were typically the ones trained as judges, with the  ongoing real world experimental testing allowed the theoretical units to be given attributes approximating their real world counterparts. Held in spread out conference rooms, with judges assigned to different subsectors, the results of the subtables were added to the central table after a 'communications delay' subject to some randomized errod. These games also allowed the various commanders to learn to communicate, and explain in detail their choices.  Ideas for new and different uses of both Parthian and Aztec equipment could be put forth. While the games took a great deal of time, it was considered crucial to both setting up the later full scale skirmishes, and working out the difficulties of the making the rulekeeping and judging transparent.

For interested Aztec officers, Parthian experts on Horde, Byzantine and Rajasthani practices and equipment.  Observation, textbooks, and published information gave substantial insight on the Byzantine and Rajasthani practices.  Similar information on the Horde was supplemented by direct information. The differing terrain of the various borders has substantial tactical and strategic repercussions. For example, the border with Rajasthan was roughly 1200km along the Indus and then rising into the Himalayas, but the alluvial plain was backed by the jagged Hindu Kush, this was similar, but different to the situation existing along the border between Wilno and Rome which was primarily defined by the 700km Rhine and then nigh-impassable mountains. This contrasted to the 1400km from the mountains of Georgia, through the hilly terrain of the Armenian Highlands down to the fertile plains of Euphrates to the deserts of the Empty Sector, almost demanding  different formation types. The Northern border, sprawling roughly 1800km along the plains, woodlands and bogs of the Steppe, was again different, but had substantial seasonal challenges with hot summers, snowbound winters, bounded by seasons of mud.

Important changes in the way battles were fought challenged commanders. In the 1800s the telegraph and railroad allowed rapid concentration of troops, as well as vastly increasing the logistics ability and allowing much larger armies reliant on the railheads. During this period the range of engagement was still just a few thousand meters for the largest pieces. This rapidly changed with improved metallurgy, propellants, and shell design. Machines guns redefined infantry firepower while lighter and more powerful field artillery with quick firing breeches changed the weight and depth of artillery fire.  The introduction of vehicles such as steam traction engines allowed heavier artillery to be transported, rendering older masonry forts vulnerable until reinforced. Later internal combustion engines allowed vehicles to be faster and more mobile, and then carry armor.  Vehicle borne logistics freed forces from railheads, and again increased the potential artillery weight of fire. Vehicle born troops could shuttle around the battlefield. Armored vehicles offered a way to reduce strongpoints. Communications remained a crippling factor, rendering coordination difficult, and nigh impossible in the midst of combat operations.


Communications being such a barrier to coordinating mass vehicle movement. Small units cooperating directly with Infantry were a logical response, resulting in armies adopting the 'penny packet' approach, where armored vehicles became a sort of 'regimental gun'. The Parthians had tried to address this in their earlier vehicles such as the 'Razorback' in two ways. The first was to define a formation and objective and leapfrog towards it, with the command vehicle in the rear group of vehicles. This was coordinated with a topside dedicated observer/communicator position in their 'armored chariots'. Screened by an armored shield with viewports, but open in the rear arc with access to signal flags and flares, this observer spot allowed the formation to slowly communicate. A clunky and limited method, it allowed small unit coordination while multiple small units advanced on predetermined axis towards predefined objectives. Changing these predetermination was excessively difficulty and relied on messengers, originally on horseback. Communications with rear areas could be by pigeon.

Early theorists had largely endorsed this penny-packet arrangement, postulating a combined arms arrangement where armored vehicles moved at walking speed, clearing strongpoints for infantry, who in turn kept the foe away from the armored vehicle and brought opposing anti-tank artillery under small arms fire. This demanded a lighter machine gun and a mobile mortar to allow the infantry to move and then split into fire base and maneuver elements. Artillery fires would have to be preplanned, as field communications would not keep up. Air warfare concentrated on local air superiority, while tactical planes roamed the rear interdicting artillery and logistics efforts. These otherwise independent efforts These efforts the Parthians tried to coordinate, by fitting the 'Command' vehicles with colored rockets to mark targets. However in wargames that led to 'shoot the funny stuff first' being far to effect at taking out the command vehicle as it was the only one with rockets.

Other ideas for employment focuses on different ways of bundling fast moving armored vehicles, either in a grand cavalry style force, disrupting the rear areas and logistics, or in a more mixed force, puncturing the enemy force and forming a pocket. Early on vehicle reliability was simply insufficient, while the communications issues made large formations impracticable and the longer operations went on the worse it became. There was also the matter that on the long borders, much of the front was thinly held, so slipping stealthier, more reliable and logistically independent cavalry through continued as a viable option for disrupting the enemy rear.

As the first decades had churned onwards, engines grew in reliability and power, while radio sets had shrunk and become far more effective. First reliant on specialty radio-equipped vehicles, and now with the current generation able to be built into each 'armored chariot', the opportunities of larger formations coordinating with infantry, artillery and aerial assets was a matter of eager exploration. The early theorists concepts of large formations were being trialed, with different combinations of forces. There were ardent theorists that insisted that a force of pure 'armored chariots' would concentrate a relatively scare asset into a force that maximized firepower. They disputed those that advocated for adding motorized infantry and artillery, as those 'soft' units would be more limited by terrain and far more vulnerable, limiting the entire force.  Experiments with Dragoons mounted on halftracked vehicles seemed to answer the mobility issue, but so did simply using mounted infantry, ironically also called Dragoons. Experiments with machine guns and howitzers vs. halftracks seemed to indicate a level of vulnerability and potential to loose an entire squad at one time, so armored variants were being explored.



The Parthians, like most powers, field a formation distantly rooted in the Roman Legion and later Byzantine Tagma.  A 'square' infantry force was supplemented with organic auxiliaries supplying artillery, pioneer, strike  and reconnaissance elements. Frequently attached was a round out formation providing additional artillery, heavy support, communication, medical and quartermaster elements. Corps and Army level Headquarters had additional attached elements, including command staff for Combat Groupings. Parthian doctrine provided for standardized Combat Groupings, where auxiliary formations would be detached from their Legions and be assigned to the Combat Grouping along with appropriate Corp/Army auxiliaries. These combat groupings had predetermined TOEs with defined chain of command, roles and missions, providing substantial flexibility. 

The Aztecs had also been exploring these issues of vehicle coordination, and had from their twin wars developed formations seeking to harness the benefits while addressing the limitations. The formations sent to Parthia were specialty formations, prototypes of heavily-mechanized formations fielding more armored vehicles than a similar sized force elsewhere might. This theoretically would allow concentration of mass and firepower at a decisive point. Reliability combined with speed and firepower allowed them to engage and disengage as desired, and rapidly shift  forces so as to present a superior force at the actual battle location.

The Aztecs overall had developed their own military tactics and strategy, substantially independent of Eurasian influences. But the tactical level, there were drastic differences in the two societies  in military traditions, clothing, "standards". To alleviate this, the first months were largely given to familiarizing the two groups of soldiery.  Even something as simple as foodstuffs would be vastly different. Parthia had long puzzled out that feeding troops (and even national service members) hearty staples helped keep them healthy. While rice was certainly cheap and plentifully present, along with a  The Aztecs undoubtedly found themselves eating more mutton and chicken, supplemented by hefty portions of grains and vegetables, spiced in a manner that would familiar on the Indian subcontinents. Each day also had periods of physical training, rotating from hikes to strength and flexibility to close combat to runs or rides. Firing with live ammunition was also a common activity. Scramble drills, gas practice, spike camps, and days just digging trenches are all part of the event list.

Firing ranges for heavy artillery and bombing ranges for aircraft were at the outskirts of the desert. This was also the location for AA practice on towed targets and mine/demine practice.  Smaller guns, mortars and small arms ranges were in the foothills.  Parthian small arms ranges came in four types.  Skeet ranges were popular, and felt of value for swiftly moving targets, with some showoffs eschewing shotguns for rifles or pistols.  There was of course the a basic classic range where targets could be cleanly engaged at a variety of ranges. Crews in the slit trenches could actuate a panel to block the associated shooting bench while they attended to targets. The mid level course required the participants to move quickly between ranges, typically jogging and then taking a prone position prior to engaging. The targets at different ranges on hidden cable trolleys being activated once they arrived, to be successfully engaged as fast as possible. The goal is to place the shooters under time and competition pressure, while physically tiring them. A new range for armored vehicles had recently been completed with scattered shooting positions in the hills separated by rough tracks that challenged running gear and jarred and tired the occupants. The last type of range also now had a vehicle version, in both cases short valleys a couple kilometers in length had been turned into ranges.  A squad was to move through the length of the course, with the rangemaster activating targets that will swing into position on either flank, or sometimes both or rear,  while a blanks fire nearby.   Judges then grade the reaction to the emerging threats, both the rapidity of engagement and the effectiveness of unit coordination. The success rate of engagement is also a factor, as quite simply partial failure is expected, and if not then the range is too easy.

Exercises start as demonstrations as the Aztecs show off their concepts in land and air. As communication difficulties continue to ease, Parthians embed in the Aztec units to shadow their practices and coordination work for full scale war games is implemented. Key to the games will be judges in radio-equipped tricars clearly marked with call letters. Seating the driver plus 4, the tricars are highly mobile and can carry the judge, radio operator, and the signaler. The signaler is equipped with a pintle mounted light rocket launcher, firing colored smoke signals out a hundred meters or so. The 4th seat being taken by different colored rockets and signal flags. The rocket allows quick communication across the company-level formation, and supposedly the rest could be done by flag or radio. While practices had established typical engagement success rates, a curious gadget – a bakelite and perspex  device looking like a snowglobe with dice inside, allowed the judge to 'roll' when a particicularly unlikely event was tried.

Wargames


The first live action wargame was to be held on the Nissean plain, well North of the Academy. The chosen scenario was three Parthian legions trained in the 'Horde Aggressor' legion, would face two comparable Aztec units. The Parthians would emulate the known tactics of the Horde. The Horde still considered much of the population to be lower caste, while the ruling Hunnic descendents formed a warrior caste. The lower caste was relied on for sheer manpower.  Conventional horse cavalry had it's place for penetration raids, but often was deployed in independent formations. The higher caste considered itself the 'warrior' caste and took the positions of leadership, but avoided walking. Serving as commander of an armored vehicle was considered a very desirable posting, and Horde turrets normally featured the Commander as Gunner, supported by a loader and a single driver (BT-7). 

 A curtain of artillery fire would walk over the opposing position, while infantry would advance relying on walking fire to suppress defenders. Once launched, maintaining the forward momentum until the objective was reached was considered valuable. Advancing with the infantry were infantry tanks featuring a hull-mounted casement large bore gun firing HE, and a smaller turret with an lighter AP firing gun (Char B1),   In the rear were large numbers of lighter tanks, with the lighter gun, accompanied by truck borne infantry, pioneer, artillery and quartermaster vehicles This was the 'Charge' force, held in reserve to exploit a breach. Once on the move, it was expected to keep moving, relying on machine guns for soft targets, and the AP gun for the limited hard targets as it rampaged through the enemy rear areas and destroyed their artillery, maintenance and logistics hubs, while cutting the lines of retreat. As Parthian forces were accustomed to retrograde actions, frequently using them as traps, inserting a tank force behind them robbed them of the sufficient space to engage in that.

.... out of time.