Spires of Aeldrum/Side Story: War Games

Korinth was a fairly brutal campaign: the final tally is 30,000 Aeldrum Dragoons killed or wounded beyond hope of recovery and 60,000 Parliamentary guard killed or maimed, with a further 30,000 lost ATC auxiliaries and the loss of some 6,000 Parliamentary and 2,000 ATC air and ethermen. Total casualties are thus 8,000 air/ether and 120,000 ground from Korinth alone, with perhaps 10-20% more lost in mop ups and elsewhere. That means that, counting the Dragoons' "reserve" division on Aeldrum, they've lost about a quarter of their fighting force, and the Guard has lost about 15% of its active force. The Dragoons took by far the worst of the casualties, proportionally.
Sigvald's fresh cannon fodder gives Aeldrum 200,000 men to feed into the enemy's guns. The Shantine Emperor has committed to raise 500,000 men. The Alusians are raising another 300,000 for the Front. But so far Aeldrum is bearing the worst of the fighting by far, in both blood and treasure.
The Fialta are almost certainly preparing a counter-offensive. Where they'll hit, however, is an open question. They could try to keep grinding you on Korinth, or to hit one of the "platform" worlds off the Korinth route that gives you a launchpoint into the Fialta Empire. They might also try going around Korinth to hit the Shantine or the Alusians. Korinth, though symbolic to the Shantine and of major strategic value, is not a particularly productive world, and the Fialta may decide to let Aeldrum have it and essentially pin their forces there.
If they can overwhelm the Coalition elsewhere (Aeldrum can also expect another 50,000 or so partisan volunteers to join up with the Coalition armies in Korinth and its hinterworlds), the Fialta have a million men at least in striking distance of the Korinth front and can keep bringing in more. With the Shantine and the Alusians on Aeldrum's side, the numbers look better and better for a matchup. But Aeldrum is still going to have to take the lead on major offensives and also to keep track of its allies to make sure they don't get taken out of the war by a lucky Fialta strike.
The problem is the same as before. Aeldrum has superior ships and commanders, but cannot spend limited ground troops idly on every little engagement, for that is how the Fialta will wear them down. They've bought time with the Nippon States to keep them out of the war, but that may be only temporary. A major opportunity is still available to open up new fronts against the Fialta, drawing their men away. The best candidates are the Thalranese Marches lords and the Orcish Directorate (but of course the Marcher Lords and the Directorate hate each other bitterly).
Category:Session Summaries