A Short Zulu AAR

[Evan]

In my 1.5 Zulu playthrouh, I lasted unti 1886 and became a prosperous, wealthy, and liberal industrialized regional power. I even started my own market, colonized inner Africa, and had an alliance with Netherlands and Transvaal..
.. then USA declared on me. They owned Cape Colony and wanted to form South Africa, or the wanted my goldmines, I don't know. Those racist pr***s at Transvaal can't be swayed to join me without getting some land off me.. apparently the tooltip said something like they don't like me in this war !!?? What's the point of alliance. Anyhow maybe quite interesting and realistic that your alliances are worth nothing sometimes.
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Now I have a decent defensive army, about 20 brigades plus another 55 militias against the 80 brigades the USA is sending against me. But with my Dutch allies, whom I manage to rope in, have a great force about 60 brigades and 20 militia and they're sending it to the Cape to support me.
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Note : My fleet is non existent. The Dutch have about 60 ships anchored at Netherlands.
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Indeed, the Americans land at the Cape and proceed to the border. The Dutch land at Zululand and also join the fight. I fight defensively and manage to stall them. The Dutch force attacks a US detachment, 4 to 1 battle, and routs them. The war begins to turn in my favour.
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All of a sudden, I notice the Dutch army leaving the front, to rush back to Netherlands. Why ??!!
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Well in their rush to my aid, they forgot to defend their homeland, which is now invaded by the rest of the US Army. By the time the entire Dutch Army sails back to Amsterdam, the US has captured the entire Netherlands without a fight. Their substantial fleet remained at port the whole time and made no effort to stop the invasion of their homeland.
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Back in Zululand, I defend alone, losing battle after battle against a superior 4 to 1 US force. The Dutch Army arrives at Netherlands and lands.. but they can't reclaim their homeland back, they just sit there in the middle of their country which has turned stars and stripes. It appears that once the entire province capitulates, it can't be liberated ? I don't know
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Overall wtf. Their entire fleet didn't defend against the US landin. And Their homeland was left without even a brigade to guard it against invasion. Then when their army got back from the expedition, it didn't liberate the homeland. I lost the war and was left with two small colonies and my new homeland, Zululand MK2, which didn't contain a single Zulu person in it anymore. I tanked the economy within a few weeks. My nation died, my game dies - I had great healthcare though, and people got to vote. Well some of them.
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*Fix the gddmn allied AI*