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WWI Breakthrough - 1914 Call to Arms AAR!


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Okay... lots of action this turn. The French struck back hard in the West eliminating 2 German corps. German morale fell to 87%. In the East the Russians pushed forward in the North against German lines supported by arty. The Rusians also launched a major offensive against the Turks and pushed as far forward as Trabzon with several corps supported by arty and HQs. With luck Trabzon will fall next turn. Russian forces also liberated Oltu. In the Middle East The UK pressed forward on the Jerusalem front and moved forces adjacent to Maan. I expect things to get very bloody across the map next turn. All in.

My only real worry lies with the Italians who are not doing so well agains the A-H and I had to send British reinforcements to assist for the first time. :(

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Cry havoc! ... and the CP juggernaut continues. Marc threw forces into the fray last turn in an attempt to turn the tide, but I dont think it will succeed.

First the Eastern Front: Russian forces poured out of the Minsk area and approached the prepared German line. Battle zone here:

minsk3.jpg

My lines here are not as strong as they might be, but I had expected a thrust in this area and left one artillery unit in support. This proved useful as the Russian spearhead was blunted, one corps destroyed and one damaged. Marc may well be able to hit hard enough next turn to destroy a corps in return, but note my forces further to the North West: these are in better supply and are able to move to threaten Marc's flank. Could be interesting... we will see just how many Russian units have been massed here.

In Palestine British troops finally moved forward out of Jerusalem. Battlefield graphic here:

palestine4.jpg

A couple of my units are in strange positions here: this is because for the 3rd time I had to sally Turkish units out of their bases and hit irritating partisans that pop up in the hills, but otherwise you can see where a British cavalry unit was counter attacked and destroyed and the lines prepared to defend. As with Minsk Marc should be able to bombard and destroy a corps from this position, but it isnt a quick operation advancing through this desert territory where supply is tough, and I can easily move forces down to assist Turks and Bulgars together if needs be.

Marc also moved in the Balkans. Here I have only a skeleton defence, but unless he has supporting artillery (which is possible as the Greeks are able to purchase a single unit) he is unlikely to get very far, and Greek units are expensive to reinforce. You can see my detachment screen defence here:

balkans1.jpg

Finally to the centres of my main operations: the west. In the Alps as I expected would happen British troops were stripped from France and sent to Venice. Another Italian corps fell this turn and as you can see below, once I stop for 1 turn to reinforce and redeploy, I am close to breaking out into more open territory. Graphic here:

alps5.jpg

Note also the sneaky landing of a corps on the Italian mainland, popping a few more NM points for Austria. Her NM is now screaming upwards: 113 at last count, and with big economic resources too she is able to conduct major operations without difficulty.

Finally France. More attrition; more bloodshed. I am wearing Marc down as you can see here by the visual arrival of detachments behind his lines busily preparing trenches. I destroyed 2 corps and nearly got a 3rd; I dont think the French can sustain this for too many more turns, and before summer is out the front will crack and break. Graphic here:

france5.jpg

German reinforcements are coming thick and fast; Brits are going to have to go to Italy. It is a hard French defence from here, and the NM gap is now 87 to 61.

Elsewhere? A bit of naval scouting in the Baltic to search out a Russian ship or two (when the revolution comes Finland will declare independence and Russian vessels will find themselves in open water and easy meat...) and around Basra Turkey seized back the oil and will try and reduce the British garrison over the next few turns.

So overall happy with the progress of the 1916 grinder...

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Lots of fighting this turn.

On the Western Front the French returned the favor and destroyed 2 German Corps. Additional UK forces moved into position taking up additional frontage, which freed up additional forces. The French also deployed 2 corps this turn. I think I have 3 more deploying next turn. No pictures this turn of the Western Front… operation security.

On the Italian Front… the Italians are getting their butts handed to them. For the moment they are holding. I have 5 additional Italian corps deploying over the next two turns so that should help with losses I have taken.

On the Eastern Front the Russians continued to push forward. They destroyed 1 German corps.

Russian forces in Turkey began a major offensive on Trabzon. Al is spread very thin and as a result the Entente was able to take advantage of that… particularly against the Turks.

TrabzonAss.jpg

This is the image after the offensive finished:

TrabzonAss2.jpg

The Russians also began a second offensive drive Erzerum. I expect that the Russians will now converge on that city from 2 directions shortly… front and behind.

On the Jerusalem Front the UK offensive continued with the destruction of a Bulgarian corps anchoring his line. I also got to work on the Turkish corps holding the end of the line and softened him up. This was the result after my attacks.

JerusalemFront.jpg

I also moved up additional UK forces against the city of Maan.

Over all… fairly pleased with my progress so far. Germany dipped to 85% this turn. The French are at 60%, however with things heating up on the East, Russia should be out of the war shortly… probably in the next 6 turns or so… perhaps faster if I send out my navy or just attack with everything I have. Once she’s out… Al’s morale should plummet like a rock. I also got a hit on diplomacy with Holland this turn bringing her further into the Entente fold… now at 19%. One more good hit and she should begin supplying the UK 65 a turn.

Fun game so far… Al’s still in the driver seat, however Turkey is now clearly in trouble. Unless he sends help fast she will collapse like a house of cards. So on one hand I am torn… keep Russia in the war and finish turkey or take Russia out early and move Turkey out of the war in a slower manner? Also… if I take Russia out of the war early it frees up a lot of forces to help out the A-H in Greece, and the Turks in the Middle East. Decisions… decisions…

Here are our losses to date. I think all told last turn the CP lost around 5 or 6 units. You can see from the last time I posted the Germans have lost a number of units:

Losses.jpg

Russia also got this interesting decision event:

Message.jpg

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You have to understand that Al held back in the West and put his entire focus on Russia and Serbia during the first year and a half of the war. It took a heck of a lot of work to keep Russia in the game to this point... a lot of bluff, feints, falling back... gamesmanship essentially to keep him as occupied as possible. What hurt me the most was how rapidly Serbia fell. If Serbia had clung on another 3-4 turns Turkey would already be out of the war. :P

The other factor is that with Al our games tend to be like chess matches... few casualties but a tremendous amount of strategy. Whoever makes the first major mistake loses. :P

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Put the focus on Serbia and Russia is the usual way... but the curent state of your game is really amazing for me. Al expects Russia to leave the war in a couple of turns. Currently Russia is conducting a succesful offensive in Turkey and fights the German troops in Russia without sacrificing too much ground. I would say Russia is performing well, and they will leave soon.. what a pity.

So I really wonder how this game might end.. I thought Al is gonna make it, but Turkey is not looking too well.

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I think Russia was at 36% or below as of last turn. Al hold a lot of Russian territory, however with the capture of Trabzon and other towns last turn the bleeding of NM is slowing. I could drag Russia out longer but I am not sure I wish to... as once Russia is out Al should bleed NM fast without Holland. I actually feel that Russia is on a potential upswing power wise at the moment... so I am torn. :P

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Interesting posts here. Russian NM is down to 28 now, and though Trabzon boosts it by 25 Briansk fell last turn countering that by 12. It is indeed a bit of a chess match, but the Russian position is not good. Turkish NM is on 61. It is not yet in crisis.

Anyway - back on task. Let's begin this time with my main thrusts. First to France where 3 more French corps fell, 1 was reduced to strength 1 and an artillery unit was damaged from 10 down to 4. Graphic here:

france6.jpg

There really isnt any fancy stuff going on here: I am just using a sledgehammer to gradually crack the nut which is the French southern front, and it is reducing French NM slowly but surely. Besancon and Dijon are my minimum targets to reach before winter comes.

Elsewhere the Italians are struggling. Here is the final graphic:

alps6.jpg

Venice will probably fall soon now, and the more open ground in northern Italy will soon be reached also. Austria is on NM 115 and looking very strong.

The Turkish front is interesting. Credit where it is due - I had not expected Trabzon to fall that turn, and it has caught me exactly 1 turn behind where I wanted to be in my defence in the area. I'll say no more than that in terms of my defensive strategy, but the final front position is here:

turkey1-1.jpg

It is quite an unusual front to attack on because it is so easy to defend, but the danger for the CP player is that complacency regarding the ease of the defence catches him out as rail links are poor and it takes time to get reinforcements to this sector. Marc is strong here, but my overall assessment is that Russia will not survive long enough to ensure that conquests here are critical.

On the more usual Turkish front down in Palestine the final image is thus:

palestine5.jpg

As expected Marc took out one of my defensive units in return for the loss last turn of his cavalry, but I have fast moved some detachments to the area to get building trenches, and this is still a tough ask for Entente forces to make a big thrust here. I am much happier seeing British units here than massing on the Western Front in large numbers.

And as mentioned in my opening paragraph Austrian cavalry were surprised but pleased to find Briansk unoccupied. Near Minsk I chose a tactical withdrawal to better supply: Marc destroyed a corps there last turn though his own losses in doing so were high: units only 2 hexes from their HQ had dropped to supply 5 and that is not good, so it seemed wise to search for a better position. I must admit that, at times, I still find supply tough to calculate and work out. But.... I actually LIKE this. It adds uncertainty to all situations and I think gives the game a more realistic feel. What commander in the field has EVER been totally sure of full supply? Good to have to adapt to conditions.

As a postscript I have just begun to crank up the naval part of my game. In the adriatic German and Austrian ships destroyed a British and French cruiser, and in the Baltic subs reduced a Russian cruiser to strength 1. Actually I have been rather lazy in the Baltic: I could and should have hit the Russian navy a lot earlier. Sinking some Russian tonnage over the next few turns should help speed the Tsar's exit.

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Tough decisions for me in the West… I seriously considered counter-attacking the German advance, however the French have taken a number of losses in the last few turns and after careful consideration French forces in the south fell back to new positions. This really stung me as I have inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans… the problem is there are too many Germans. I left a couple entrenched blocking positions forward. It was time to regroup. UK forces have continued to flow into France and now occupy a large part of the Front.

On the Italian front the Italian forces have been faring poorly. I was forced to abandon an NM city to reform a better line. Not good.

On the Russian front I noticed German forces fall back and I took efforts to bring my two armies in the North together. On the Turkish Front Russian forces continued their offensive damaging a number of Turkish units but no knockout blow. I brought up additional forces and expect the action to continue next turn.

On the Jerusalem Front the UK mauled a Turkish corps fairly heavily. The UK also assaulted the NM city of Maan this turn mauling that corps as well. British cavalry moved north and cut the rail line… so repairs are limited.

On the Greek front not much of any action. One turn left of summer and we move into the Fall. Incredible game so far.

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OK - this turn felt as though Entente resistance noticeably creaked, and the dam threatened to break. Lots of CP attacks and ground gained.

In the West the Germans destroyed one French corps on the flank of their main attack and otherwise flooded through the gap vacated by Marc's retreating units. Besancon captured = more NM. Final graphic here:

france7.jpg

In Italy too a breach was made and Austrian units flooded through. I want to take Venice with my Germans - no detachment was available and I was 1 turn behind in my thinking, so I had to move a corps from the west and will take the city next turn with it. Graphic here:

italy1.jpg

In the East I increased the pressure on Russia via attack on her navy. One cruiser sunk and as you can see several other vessels under siege:

russnavy1.jpg

In the East my forces in Palestine grew bored of waiting around and went onto the offensive destroying a unit of British marines:

palestine6.jpg

... and in the East Austrian forces maintained pressure in the south of Russia, seizing another town. Large scale graphic here:

caucasus1.jpg

Only in mainland Turkey am I scrabbling to regain position, and I chose to withdraw a little while starting to rush units to the area.

So very happy all in all. Apologies for the speedy update as I am in a real time hurry... but I think you get the gist of where this game is going. NM continues to be my focus, and it continues to swing in my favour. :-)

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Gonna try to get a turn in here tonight. We have a hurricane coming tonight and my wife has kept me busy preparing for it all week. :P Finally have everything done. At work at the moment. Heavy rain and good strong gusts of wind blowing out there right now. The real nasty stuff should begin tonight. Lets hope I have power when I get home!

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Managed to get a rushed turn in. The power is flickering as I type. Al has really done a number on the French… I was able to reestablish a line but he is putting tremendous pressure on me in the South. I made the decision to put Russia out of the war and went on the offensive. I expect lots of casualties on both sides. In Turkey Russia continues to hammer the Turks. I took the city of Maan this turn, hammering Turkey’s NM. Also mauled a Turkish unit on the Jerusalem line. Italian front is in trouble. Need bad winter weather quick. :P Gotta run before I lose power.

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OK - I think the game is entering the final quarter...

In France I maintained the pressure, destroying another 2 French corps and damaging a detachment. The image below shows the French line fracturing: winter will stop me eventually, and this will give Marc time to rebuild, but by then the NM gap will be so big that 1917 will see the end of the French Republic.

france8.jpg

The pressure is extended by the collapse to the Entente front in Italy. One more Italian corps fell, and Austrian troops moved through the gaps.

italy2.jpg

Out East the Russians are coming out to play. I destroyed another cruiser in port and locally countered a number of Russian corps. The final image is below: my front here is not as strong as it could be, but I suspect it is strong enough with the ability to move more corps to the area and taking into account that 2 Russian artillery units are in the Caucasus:

Russia3.jpg

In Turkey I juggled and moved a bit. My position here is not great, but Turkish NM is still on 55 and not in crisis, and I have more units every turn entering the area.

So Sept 1916 and Germany and her allies hold all the cards. Germany has stabilised on 85NM and Austria is up to 119NM. These are winning numbers with the Russians tumbling and France getting close to 50NM.

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I survived the hurricane... lost power for a while but we finally got it back. After watching the replay of our last turn I am going to concede this match to Al. He has completely broken the Italian Front wide open. Even though I think I could continue to hold and fight with France and England... Italy is doomed and I do not have the troops to spare to send them reiforcements.

I think that had I been able to hold Serbia a few turns longer the game would have been very different... unfortunately I made a couple mistakes with the Serbs that Al was able to take advantage of which really hurt me down the road.

Yet again Al has played a masterful game and I would like to congratulate him. Now I am off work on a super duper extra special secret project for Hubert that I know everyone will love! :P

Thank you all for following the AAR. I hope you enjoyed us beating each other up. Honestly, I think I am going to be a bit black and blue for a while.

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Thoroughly enjoyed the AAR of you both, the demo is available now so I can make my own decision now... still used to hex maps see, don't know if tiles is my style..

Thx again. And good to hear you survived the hurricane, it was pretty bad to say the least.

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Played a full game(without a breakthrough)with 1.06 than read your AAR. I must say it is fascinating game . I hope it will get what it deserves. Ä°t is wonderfull game with very good AI. And I still struggle in the beginner level AI in the full campaign. :confused:

Thanks for writing I hope no more storms.

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