Iron Order 1919: Mech Warfare

### **How to Play**

* **Real-Time Persistence:** Games take place over days or weeks in real-time. Your troops continue to move and fight even when you are offline.

* **Expansion & Conquest:** You start with a small nation and must conquer neighboring provinces to gain resources (Steel, Food, Oil, Rare Materials, and Manpower).

* **Unit Types:**

    * **Conquer Units:** Standard infantry that are essential for capturing and holding territory.

    * **Combat Units:** Tanks and mechs (like the Light Mech or Medium Mech) designed to smash through enemy lines but cannot capture territory.

    * **Support Units:** Artillery and Anti-Mech guns that can fire from a distance to soften up targets.

    * **Air & Naval:** Fighters, bombers, and dreadnoughts provide versatility and control over the seas.

* **Research Tree:** Invest resources into a deep tech tree to unlock advanced units like the massive "Titan" or the flying fortress.

### **Strategies for Success**

* **Master the "Forced March":** You can increase troop movement speed by 50% using Forced March. Use this sparingly to defend a city or intercept an enemy, as it causes "attrition damage" (health loss) to your units over time.

* **Stacking for Strength:** Do not send units in one by one. Merge smaller units into a single large army by moving them to the same location. This creates a "stack" that is much harder for the enemy to destroy in a single engagement.

* **Diplomacy is a Weapon:** Since matches involve up to 26 real players, forging alliances (Coalitions) is vital. Use the in-game newspaper and chat to coordinate attacks. A lone player rarely survives against a coordinated three-nation alliance.

* **Economic Balancing:** Don't just build troops; build infrastructure. Build industry in provinces that produce the resources you lack most. Higher industry levels significantly increase resource output.

* **Use Ranged Support:** Before charging in with mechs, use Artillery to bombard enemy positions from a distance. If the enemy doesn't have ranged units, you can destroy them without taking a single hit.

* **Mind the Terrain:** Units fight differently in different environments. Mechs are often more effective in open plains, while infantry gain defensive bonuses when stationed in forests or urban cities.

* **Monitor Morale:** Every province has a morale level. Low morale can lead to revolts where the province flips back to its original owner or a neutral faction. Keep morale high by keeping units stationed in newly conquered cities.