Bill101

More French reinforcements are coming up to help Foch form his new army. British troops go into action for the first time, in a joint attack with their French allies, and the German cavalry division that had just taken Bar-sur-Aube is eliminated! Further north, we’re conducting a fighting retreat ahead of the German advance, and one of their infantry divisions is thrashed within an inch of its life.

Entente numbers are beginning to tell now, and the time of the decisive battle is almost upon us. Portuguese cavalry learn the hard way that you don’t mess with our Askari. You may recall that I said a few turns back that Major Kraut had gone to Lake Tanganyika to help our comrades there. Well, I must now confess that this was disinformation. He did send reinforcements to the west, but remained near Dodoma to plan a counterattack. This counterattack has been launched, and a British cavalry unit has been destroyed while in low supply south of Dodoma. It's certainly been a bad turn for Entente cavalry. We are still astonished at the lack of a British move on Dar-es-Salaam… Our turn ended with a rather nasty surprise for us, when the Wahehe tribe rose against us near Irindi, inflicting heavy casualties on some of our units!

In the first version of this game, we did have the USA joining the game regularly but it wasn't generally well received, so the factors leading to US mobilization were modified to rely more on the Germans using unrestricted naval warfare. Because it didn't happen, it is hard to imagine different set ups that could have led to a US war entry without this that wouldn't also feel unrealistic. For instance, if Russia collapses and Paris is captured, I feel that the US would have been more likely to have stepped in to broker a peace deal, than to have entered the war, particularly as it had no army to speak of (at least not in continental European terms). As to the Zimmerman Telegram, sending it is not necessarily a bad thing to do because now players will only be presented with the option to do so when the USA is already fairly close to entering the war. It isn't date specific as such, and can help avoid war with the USA. But perhaps the real issue is that Central Powers players aren't using their U-Boats and surface fleets to full effect against the UK?

Hi Yes, there are a number of guides that come with the game, listing not only all the Decisions that players are presented with during the game, but also information to help make these decisions and general strategic advice too. The many AARs will be of some help too, such as this one: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=105942 and of course feel free to ask here with any specific questions, e.g. regarding individual countries or scenarios.

We are intrigued at the British plans, because Dar-es-Salaam remains German despite being only held by a unit of African Levies. Perhaps General Smuts is more interested in events further west? It is all quiet this turn, apart from on the Portuguese frontier where Wintgens continues attacking a Portuguese Regiment. It’s so quiet in fact that many of our Askari are enjoying their first good rest in months.

The Germans are at risk of overextending themselves, for their lead divisions are easily destroyed and it is a wonder why they are advancing into the barren terrain west of the Vosges. Surely marching through the rich country of Belgium would have been a better bet? It is too early for us to reveal where Foch’s new army is forming, or where the B.E.F are heading. But rest assured that when both see action, the Kaiser will feel the shock of it all the way back in Berlin!

Look forward to it, have a good time away!

Hi Mike The only way to get a delay of exactly 2 years is if the decision will always fire on a set date within the game, i.e. 1st January 1942. That way the unit script can then be set to fire at the date you desire in the future. If the date of your decision is variable depending on circumstances, then this becomes trickier to do, but you may be able to achieve this to a degree by picking a date in the unit script that will tend to be 2 years from when the original decision is likely to have fired. It is this line that is the one to fill in with the date roughly two years in the future: #DATE= Failsafe Dates are the dates at which this event will fire if it hasn't already done so, so in most cases the Failsafe Date you set should be after the campaign's end date (i.e. if the decision isn't made to buy this unit, then you won't want it deploying by script during the game). I hope that makes sense. Bill

It’s time to make a decision on whether or not to make anti-malarial drugs as our stock of quinine has run out. I think this will be best to do, so invest the money. Wintgens liberates the village of Nyangao and hammers the Portuguese Regiment to the south of it. These Portuguese really aren’t good soldiers! The fighting at Neu Langenburg swings back our way as the 3rd South African Brigade is shattered in a devastating attack by von Lettow-Vorbeck’s forces. Reinforcements arrive at Lake Tanganyika, possibly in the nick of time! Major Kraut proves once again that the troops under his command can be relied on to save the day, time after time. No surprises to guess that the British are trying to take advantage of Kraut’s absence in the west by making another move on Dodoma. This is a key location, and the outcome here will determine the fate of our whole colony. But our Askari will fight, as can be seen by the poor condition of the enemy’s Nairobi Defence Regiment!

That is certainly true, and is the key single event triggering their withdrawal from the war, but what I was thinking was that the Ottoman collapse was ultimately the culmination of various factors. David Stevenson lists three in his book Backs to the Wall: The collapse of the Palestinian front; The Bolshevik rejection of the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and resumption of hostilities against them; and of course the Bulgarian surrender. One big problem with the Bulgarian surrender was that the Ottomans had sent their best units into Persia and the Caucasus, rather than holding them back to help defend their capital. With a different strategy, and if their Empire had still been largely intact, the Bulgarian surrender may not have triggered their withdrawal from the war, at least not as soon or with such harsh terms from the Entente. So effectively what we're trying to show with the National Morale objectives is a way to strike blows at the regime in Constantinople. None of them on their own will necessarily be decisive, but put enough of them together and the Empire will fall.

Hi Ataman What we've tried to represent with the Ottoman National Morale is the fragility of an overextended Empire. Basra's loss is factored in to the Ottoman's starting National Morale value, so that it's loss isn't a true negative on this. Though on the odd occasion that the British don't take it (and I have seen this in multiplayer) this becomes a bonus for the Ottomans. Places like Jerusalem and Damascus are important because if they, and others like Medina and Baghdad, are lost, then this means that the Ottomans have effectively lost their empire. As they voluntarily entered the war, the effect of this would be to pretty much bring down the regime, as happened in 1918 when Damascus was taken following the battle of Megiddo. The Caucasus are certainly important too, and continuing Russian occupation of places like Erzurum will have more of an effect on Ottoman morale than the one off losses for losing places like Damascus. I just thought I'd explain the reasoning behind the Ottoman National Morale set up, and I hope that makes sense. Bill

The fall of Morogoro will undoubtedly soon be followed by the loss of Dar-es-Salaam. It’s time to cut our losses in the north east and replenish our strength elsewhere. Wintgens is already making himself useful against the Portuguese, as his forces batter a Portuguese Askari unit near Lindi, while at Ujiji the fighting continues to rage against the Anglo-Belgians. It may be tough, but it’s far from all going the enemy’s way here. For once, all is quiet at Neu Langenburg!

The British are now heading south, enjoying the hospitality of the French people on the way. De Castelnau orders a counterattack against the Germans crossing the Meuse, destroying two divisions, one of them being finished off with a cavalry charge! :eek: Further north, de Langle de Cary orders an attack on St. Mihiel where another German division is removed from von Moltke’s order of battle. Intelligence reports from our agents operating in Belgium report that there is no threat to that country, as the German divisions stationed on its border are all shattered units resting there after having been bloodied on the Meuse. While we would have been happy to gain an ally in Belgium, this news will free up six French infantry divisions for service further south.

The enemy lose another unit at Ujiji, one at Neu Langenburg and yet another near Kilosa further east. The action is intense and we are severely outnumbered and under pressure, but once again our superior leadership and mobility pays dividends! In the south east, Wintgens takes command of our forces defending Lindi from the Portuguese. This should raise our potential here rather considerably.

How are these units getting there, is he landing them via amphibious transports? If so, unless the settings have been changed, this should be costing him a fortune. If it's another way then I'd really appreciate seeing the turn.

The British Expeditionary Force arrives in France! It is reported that the Kaiser has a contemptible attitude towards this force, so the B.E.F. looks forward to proving its worth in battle, and if bad tempers could win wars, then the British II Corps commander, Smith-Dorrien, would be worth a hundred thousand men. Foch continues forming his new army, while fighting continues on the Meuse with the destruction of another German division. Meanwhile, French aircraft flying over Luxembourg discover that there are five German divisions in Luxembourg, none of which could possibly expect to see any action unless the Germans are planning to invade Belgium. The question is: are these units there to distract us, or is von Moltke seriously planning an invasion?

Hi Numdydar Welcome to the forum! Both countries start unoccupied as French Indochina wasn't invaded by the Japanese until September 1940, and Thailand until December 1941. Invading is generally the best way. But be warned that invasions can cause some annoyance to neutrals like the US. For Pearl Harbor, 3 carriers should generally suffice, but check that they are in the right mode. Carriers have different settings: Combat Air Patrol - i.e. Fighters Naval/Tactical - for attacking ships and, to a lesser extent, ground targets Mixed - which is trying to get the best of both worlds. Right click on a carrier before doing anything with it to change its mode. Most attacks at Pearl Harbor should be in Naval/Tactical mode. You are generally right to spread your research, and Industrial and Production Technology are good as preparations for a long war. Don't forget to check out the Manual too, as that might help with some of your decisions!

Please can you let me know exactly where the Entente are advancing? Only the terrain and limited number of roads in Turkey normally restricts the invaders to a few routes, and it will help to gain a better appreciation of the situation. You can always post a screenshot, or email a saved turn (with your password) to me at bill.runacre@furysoftware.com. I'll be happy to take a look. Thanks!

Well, things are certainly looking a bit risky now in some quarters, and even those Portuguese are pitching in, though not without suffering heavy losses. At Ujiji we are struggling to maintain our positions, almost destroying the enemy’s Baganda Rifles in a counterattack. This is really going to be touch and go here, and losing the Goetzen is a bitter blow. Neu Langenburg rings to the sound of bullets and shells once more, as the 1st King’s African Rifles are reminded that von Lettow-Vorbeck is not a man to be trifled with. Lots of our troops are on the move, but we cannot yet reveal where to.

Hi Ataman The AI can receive some units to help garrison key places such as their capital, but the deployment of such units won't normally increase their offensive potential greatly as their essential role is to stop the AI from worrying about its rear areas (something it will tend to take care of, even when a human would know that there is little risk to them). Glad to hear you're enjoying playing it! Bill

Hi Aryaman With the scorched earth settings, any unit taking a city, and relying on that city as its sole source of supply will be severely restricted in the reinforcements it can receive for quite some time. I trust that the scorched earth settings are in place in this game, so that the resource's strength (and therefore supply values) are being reset to zero when they change hands? Also, probing enemy units cannot normally move very fast if they are low on supply, so it shouldn't really be too easy for them to do this unless they are moving with a HQ in close support. Other than that, resources that are cut off from a friendly Major's capital, Industrial Center or Primary Supply Center (the latter in Breakthrough only) will provide a reduced level of supply. This supply will be further reduced if you have 4 units adjacent to any enemy held cities or towns. Damaging enemy HQs also helps, as once damaged they provide less supply, and if you beat them severely, they can take several turns before they can reinforce to full strength. I hope this helps work out a plan to deal with the invaders. In the long run his probes should really be more of a waste of your opponent's troops, unless he manages to take a crucial location in the process, such as a city or Gallipoli.

Hi The HQ will still get some supply from that city, but it will be based on that city's supply value once it's cut off. This is typically 5, which if he is in the city, will give him a supply value of 8. This value will reduce the further he is from the city, so keep him close to it, but not too close if the city itself is in the front line. Being low on supply will reduce his ability to reinforce and resupply his units, and this will be further penalized if he is low on strength.

The British are getting very close to entering the war now, and we have more good news in the shape of the arrival of Ferdinand Foch to command a new army that is forming ready to stop the enemy’s advance. Foch: the man who will save France We strengthen our positions along the Meuse so as to better guard our southern flank, and we round off the turn by destroying a German division here too!

It’s all kicking off now, and the 4th King’s African Rifles are destroyed in a counterattack at Ujiji! Even the enemy forces in the north east seem to be in greater strength now, despite the trouncing that Kraut has given them. The progress of the Portuguese has so far been limited, and hopefully we can keep it that way for some time. Meanwhile, we have forces on the move ready to deal with one of the enemy’s incursions. We hope to inflict a decisive defeat on one of them, and then regroup and assess the situation afresh.

Hi Rankorian The Germans have only had the upper hand in some areas, particularly as Happycat has been biding his time before launching his big offensive. There are also some choke points which are fairly easy to defend, either due to the terrain or the poor supply the invader will have when attacking them, and I've been fortunate in being able to take advantage of some of these. There are also missed opportunities, undoubtedly for both sides but I can only see my opponent's. In reality the Germans steadily lost large sections of their colony after the invasion began in March 1916, but disease, logistics and their actions enabled them to remain in the field, and within German territory for much of the campaign. Von Lettow-Vorbeck did enter Portuguese territory towards the end of the war, and I've done that a few times myself in previous games, and might yet do so in this one too. It all depends really on how the defence of the colony goes, and up until this last turn it felt like it was going very well, but I can sense a change in the wind now.