The East Baktra Herald (RSS Feed)

[mrtwisties]

Displaying most viewed articles from The East Baktra Herald and sister publications:

The East Baktra Herald
Tribal Chief Refuses To Guarantee Neutrality
Reuteros
February 28, 272 BCE
GAVA-SAKA, EASTERN STEPPE. A Saka tribal chief has refused to guarantee the independence of the Yabgu Saka after a series of skirmishes in which several thousand Yabgu horsemen have been slain. "Our way will be paved with the skulls of our enemies", said a spokesperson for the chief. Antioch has threatened to respond with military force if the Yavuga have not withdrawn by the end of spring. [more]

The East Baktra Herald
Imperial Forces Redeploy
Reuteros
March 3, 272 BCE
ANTIOCHEIA-MARGIANE. In the most recent sign that levantine conflict has been taxing imperial resources, three entire divisions of phalangites have been redeployed from border provinces to a new "firefighting" garrison in Media. The engineering corps will carry out a series of state-of-the-art road improvements in the next five years to facilitate rapid responses from the Median garrison to conflicts as far west as Anatolia or as far east as Baktria. [more]

The Athenian
What Are We Counting Down To?
Xenophon the Greedy
March 5, 272 BCE
ATHENS. They're questions with which we're all familiar - what are the years counting down to, what do the letters "B", "C" and "E" stand for, and where did such a bizarre calendar system come from in the first place? A widely hailed scientific breakthrough promises us the answers. [more]

[Che Roriniho]

This is now my favourite ARR ever. Need pix though!

[Rilder]

Epic.

This actually seems like a really good AAR style, more casual then standard AAR styles.

[NickTheGreek]

Oh wow

[mrtwisties]

Displaying most viewed articles from The East Baktra Herald and sister publications:

The Marakanda Times
Man Sees Ghost
Associated Imperial Scribes
April 1, 272 BCE
MARAKANDA. A man claims to have seen the ghost of Alexander the Great after a night out drinking with his friends at The Nagging Wife. According to the man, the ghost appeared in a shining chariot, hovered in the air for a few seconds, then disappeared into the distance at an unimaginable speed. "The speed can't have been that unimaginable", quipped Constable Marakandios, "since a bit of imagining is clearly what this fellow has been up to". He then requested that the story not be published, lest residents needing an excuse for late night drinking start telling similar tales. "We'd never hear the end of it," he warned.[more]

The East Baktra Herald
Tribal Leaders To Antioch: By Your Sword Or Ours
Reuteros
May 12, 272 BCE
GAVA-MAZSAKATA. The leaders of the Massagetai and Alan confederacies have issued a joint statement, warning Antioch that continued inaction in the Yabgu matter will see them take matters into their own hands. An allied Massegetai/Alan force could be expected to number 25-30,000 horsemen. While such a host would doubtless restore Yabgu independence, an alliance of such magnitude would upend the delicate balance of power in the region even more than the current occupation by the Yavuga. "Having that many horsemen in one place is a direct contravention of the Alexander Doctrine", said a military spokesman from the Triangle. "We're just not going to let that happen".[more]

The East Baktra Herald
Our Paper Reaches 3,000 Subscribers
Patroklos Daranaios
May 15, 272 BCE
A few hours ago our paper received its 3,000th subscription request - a significant milestone in our quest to become the Central Asian equivalent of the New Babylon Times. We'd like to thank everybody who has shown an interest in our humble paper, and in particular our staff who have put so much of themselves into their work. We'll be reinvesting in our success, hiring a photographer and taking on extra writers. Here's to the 4,000th and 5,000th subscribers!

[socal_infidel]

This is wildly creative! Keep it up! Like the op-ed piece!

regards!

[Tollheit]

This is great! If only I could read, I would subscribe.

[Socy]

I simply love this one! Its a fresh and original idea thats humouros and creative. A fresh breeze amongst other AAR's. What I, personally, love about it is that I can really imagine the written text being read aloud with a 50's radio-newsreporter voice! Brilliant, please keep it up!

[Karo]

We need some awsome shots to make this perfect. But I love it even without some pics.

[mrtwisties]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

[MerlinusCDXX]

As a subscriber, I ask that this publication hire one or more photojournalists, along with the requisite war correspondents, photographers, etc., the reporting is great, but I just moved out here from Assyria, where I subscribed to the Armenian Post (basically the local edition of the Babylon Times) and am used to photos accompanying my news articles.

[Rilder]

I'm almost tempted to start a Newspost style AAR myself but I really cannot be arsed.

[mrtwisties]

Displaying one full article from The East Baktra Herald and sister publications:

The East Baktra Herald
Opinion: It's Time
Patroklos Daranaios
May 20, 272 BCE
BAKTRA. Strife between horsepeople has been a source of humour and innuendo for many years - but in time we may find ourselves taking a different view of the recent decades of fratricide. We would be kidding ourselves if we pretended that the nomad warrior of today was the same illiterate tribesman whom we used to chase across the Jaxartes, or that the prospect of a unified confederacy was anything other than terrifying.

From the use of Milesian tactics in the recent siege of Gava-Saka to the Hetairoi-like discipline of the modern Hadabara, the tribal armies of the eastern steppe have become a textbook example of best practice in modern warfare. In some areas, like the marshalling of forces and the study of Anabasian tactics, the nomad is at the very least our equal. In others, like ranged warfare and strategic scouting, he clearly exceeds our capabilities. Unchecked, their raiding parties will soon be a regular sight from the walls of Eschate, and could one day be found roaming as far south as Baktra itself.

It is time for Antioch to stop issuing hollow threats about the Yabgu incident and respond with the only language that has ever really mattered in far eastern diplomacy. Force. Within the month, a sortie should be made into nomad lands with at least one full phalangite division, an imperial or Baktrian heavy cavalry wing and as many local infantry as can be fed and equipped for a year-long campaign. The alternative is to allow the Yavuga time to consolidate their position as the pre-eminent power north of the Jaxartes. Having benefited from the Persian's laxity in allowing a strong military power to arise just beyond his borders, let us not become the authors of the same mistake.

A Saka cavalry wing on manoeuvers

Correction: this article was previously published with the date March 30. It was, of course, published on May 20. Our apologies.

[mrtwisties]

Displaying most viewed articles from The East Baktra Herald and sister publications:

The Roman Tribune
Property Prices Reach All-Time High
Fabian the Conveyer
June 26, 272 BCE
ROME. House prices in the capital have reached an all-time high relative to rental yields, a condition which many analysts believe to be unsustainable. "There's going to be a prolonged decline", says Aurumvir analyst Lucius Cottus.[more]

The East Baktra Herald
Tribal Conflict Spreads
Reuteros
July 12, 272 BCE
GAVA-MAZSAKATA. A Massagetai/Alan force has crossed into Saka Yabgu with 15,000 horsemen under arms. The largest nomad force permitted under the Alexander Doctrine, it represents a compromise by tribal leaders in last-minute negotiations with Antioch. If the reduced force fails to defeat the militaristic Yavuga, many believe the conflict could escalate into an all-out nomad war. The troop limits imposed by the Alexander Doctrine might then become a distant memory.[more]

The Eschate Bugler
Thousands Dead In Forest Ambush
Reuteros
September 3, 272 BCE
GAVA-ALANNA. The Massagetai/Alan Expeditionary Force has been defeated in a fierce engagement three miles north of Gava-Yabgu. Several thousand tribesemen lie dead on the slopes, slaughtered in a forest ambush. None are thought to have escaped.[more]

The Eschate Bugler
Thousands Dead In Forest Ambush
Reuteros
September 3, 272 BCE

Heavily armoured Hadabara overwhelm Alan Nobles

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I love the style of this AAR

[MerlinusCDXX]

Wow, ask and you shall receive. Great reporting folks, I remain a faithful subscriber. Nice pics. First-Rate publication mrtwisties.

[Laevex]

This is awesome. Is is an AS campaign? Or Baktria?
I agree more pix though, because I have very short AARtention span.

[paullus]

Praise for the East Baktra Herald:

"hilarious and innovative!"
-Sisyphos of Rolling Stone

"*****"
-Hanno of the New Carthage Times

[Mediolanicus]

mrtwisties, I applaud you!
Your AAR is original and great fun to read!

I love it!

[Dutchhoplite]

I´ll join the people above me ;)

Great job!

[mrtwisties]

Cheers, guys. Anyone got an unmarked EB map - no text, no borders, etc? The paper is working up a feature on eastern steppe politics and the personalities behind it.

[Tollheit]

How about RADAR_MAP2.TGA from EB/data/world/maps/campaign/imperial_campaign?

[Rilder]

Cheers, guys. Anyone got an unmarked EB map - no text, no borders, etc? The paper is working up a feature on eastern steppe politics and the personalities behind it.

If you have the recruitment viewer installed (came with 1.1 thoug mine doesn't work for some reason) use the showmap.png in the main folder (C:Program Files/Recruitment viewer)

[Ibrahim]

will there be compitition from the othernewspapers?

[Ludens]

I hope you haven't given up on this AAR.

[Megas Methuselah]

Indeed.

[mrtwisties]

Not dead, just learning GIMP. Also, strat consulting job can be intense hours.