Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 5 (1951 A.D. to 1975 A.D.)

The Heart of the West is redeemed

Winter, 1961 A.D.: A Greek Great General trying to lead a force past the Norse lines to capture Graz is killed in an air raid. Norse artillery and bombers begin weakening defensive positions at Vienna.

1962 A.D.: As Norse forces close in for the final push to capture Mytilene, Greece proposes another peace treaty. They ask for no cession of territory this time, only requesting that peace be made with their allied city-states. The Norse parliament considers this, and decides they have much more to gain by pressing the attack now, before Greece has time to recover.

Later in the year, Norse scientists finally perfect nuclear fission. Construction of Brightstar I and the SB-62 bomber that will carry it begins immediately.

And it's all over but the mushroom cloud. Next, I'm looking to grab Rocketry, which will give me better anti-aircraft guns and artillery, on the way to Satellites, which reveal the whole map and put me one step closer to winning the space race.

Summer, 1963 A.D.: The NDU captures Vienna, once called the Unbreakable City. Austria is reinstated as a member state of the NDU, along with Westerland, the Stormlands, Sweden, and Denmark. Many families who were separated by the Vienna-Graz divide over the years are reunited, and the Norse premier expresses his wishes for great Vienna to one day be restored to its former glory.

I had a unique opportunity here: I could have actually returned Austria's capital and brought them back into the game. Unfortunately for them, if I'm going to compete with the other superpowers, I can't afford to be that nice right now. I set it up as a puppet instead, and while being twice conquered has reduced it to only a shadow of the Heart of the West it once was, it's still a very valuable location to hold.