The 80 Years war

[Knjaz]

Well, I was reading the wiki on the history of Rheinland, but there's 1 moment I cant understand at all.

How the hell GMG won 80 years war? How a mining organization outlasted the the militarily strongest country ? I couldnt find any information about this, only that they employed hit'n'run guerilla tactics, which actually cannot defeat a much better armed military, if it'll be serious in its effort to win the war, due to attrition.


And second question - as it seems, freelancer warfare and overall situation resembles 14-16 century wars on sea, not the modern 20th century warfare?

im asking these question because I see them extremly important for the RP flow.

[DarthBindo]

GMG is a soverign country, and is responsible for all teh fuel used in Sirius.
Thus, they are incredibly wealthy.
Also, they live out on the edge, beyond the protection of Rhein or Kusari, so they are in effect at war with teh Outcasts and Corsairs.

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gone four years, first day back: Zoners still getting shot in Theta :|

[Chev]

I think, GMG was under high protectorate of Kusari Government. And there was many times before inRL when small factions or groups overthrown much bigger governments. So, thats nothing strange about that.
EDIT: Some information taken from wikia:

Eighty Years War (589-668 A.S.)

Year 570 A.S. marked the escalation of tensions between Imperial Rheinland and it's closest neighbors. It's factories had managed to create the biggest fleet in all of Sirius, fueled by an enormous and resource hungry industrial machine. The ever increasing fuel demand of such a fleet put an extraordinary strain on the Rheinland economy, which having no fuel deposits of it's own was forced to import almost all of it's H-Fuel from Kusari. Suffering exceedingly large losses to it's treasury, the Rheinland Emperor decided to put his great military to use.

Come 589 A.S. the Rheinland Military had dispatched the bulk of it's fleet to cross the Frankfurt system into Sigma-13, and secure more gas fields for Kruger Minerals to exploit. This unprecedented event would mark the start of the first major conflict in Sirius, later known as the Eighty Years War.

Initially the invaders' progress was successful, with Imperial forces seizing much of the Sigma-13 system and pushing the GMG out of the Gas Miner Naha. Rather than opting for Kusari intervention, the Guild instead utilized Kusari's neutrality in the conflict to it's advantage by basing it's remaining forces out of Aomori Station in Honshu. Using it's knowledge of the terrain and hidden jump holes all across the system, the Guild was able to send in substantial numbers of small strike craft to engage the Rheinlanders in guerrilla warfare inside the nebula, slowly withering down the cumbersome Imperial fleet.

Several long years of conflict later the Rheinland Military had lost all of it's initiative, with it's forces stretched thin and it's H-Fuel reserves catastrophically low due to GMG sabotage. In 660 A.S. the Rheinland navy was pushed away from Naha, when a daring boarding strike by the Guild took the station by force during a massed space assault. GMG forces slowly pushed the immobile Imperial fleets into the Yanagi nebula, until reaching the culmination of the war when the remainder of the Rheinland fleet jumped into Sigma-13 in 668 A.S. for the final shot at taking over the system. This engagement would be known as the Battle of the Yanagi Nebula, and would end with a decisive victory for the Gas Miners Guild, leaving a massive trail of wreckage floating in it's wake.

With the destruction of the remaining Rheinland fleet, the long period of the Eighty Years War was finally over and the Imperial forces had retreated home to face their internal problems. Three years later, in the year 672 A.S. the Popular Revolution had began in Rheinland, forcing the Rheinlanders to finally lose their claim to the Sigma-13 system. The GMG was left to pick up the pieces and begin rebuilding in the region.

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[Knjaz]

GMG is a soverign country, and is responsible for all teh fuel used in Sirius.
Thus, they are incredibly wealthy.
Also, they live out on the edge, beyond the protection of Rhein or Kusari, so they are in effect at war with teh Outcasts and Corsairs.

So you state that they had active support from Kusari and all? Cause it looked like the only possible solution on how they could hold off, at least for a few (not 80) years. Now it seems like a huge loophole in Freelancer lore.

Incredibly wealthy? Doesn't change anything. You need infrastructure, technology and materials to build up a military force. And much more. And they didnt have anything of that, since they lost their installatons. Money dont win the wars. (except for when you buy enemy generals) Especially the wars agaist an industrial country that put it's economy on war-footing. Middle eastern nations, if all combined, wouldnt be able to defeat former USSR or USA, no matter what tactics they would use.

P.S. Sorry, got to go, so I'll continue to participate in discussion tomorrow.

[Anonymous User]

unlogical?

you know we have transports bigger than planets?

it happend that long ago inRP... who cares?

maybe the historical stuff anyone wrote down is just messed up... happens...

maybe the historical stuff was changed cause anything happend nobody should know:P

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[DarthBindo]

Middle eastern nations, if all combined, wouldnt be able to defeat former USSR or USA, no matter what tactics they would use.

P.S. Sorry, got to go, so I'll continue to participate in discussion tomorrow.

Your knowledge of history is lacking.
The entire Russian Army got it's ass handed to it in AFghanistan in the 80's.
Basicially it's actually the same scenario.

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gone four years, first day back: Zoners still getting shot in Theta :|

[Chev]

Your knowledge of history is lacking.
The entire Russian Army got it's ass handed to it in AFghanistan in the 80's.
Basicially it's actually the same scenario.

This. I approve.

And that was pure guerrilla warfare. Afghans perfectly know the battlefield, they know for what they're fighting for, plus, their hit'n'run tactics took many lives. Russia sent bunch of well-trained war machines there, and they haven't succeeded.

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[Panzer]

That's right all you uptight houses!

Piss me off enough and IMG/CR will [bleep] you up just like GMG did.

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[DarthBindo]

This. I approve.

And that was pure guerrilla warfare. Afghans perfectly know the battlefield, they know for what they're fighting for, plus, their hit'n'run tactics took many lives. Russia sent bunch of well-trained war machines there, and they haven't succeeded.

They didnt have a central base to hit. All those tanks and artillery didnt have a target until they were attacked. Same thing with the GMG, since they were basing out of Kusari.

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gone four years, first day back: Zoners still getting shot in Theta :|

[Chev]

They didnt have a central base to hit. All those tanks and artillery didnt have a target until they were attacked. Same thing with the GMG, since they were basing out of Kusari.

And nebula is perfect battlefield for such warfare tactics. When your scanners will show your enemies on list... it's probably too late to turn on all defenses. And as I imagine, that time technology wasn't advanced very well, so, probably, the ones who were under attack was like a blind chickens in the night.

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