Bill101

You're right, that will need fixing.

We put further pressure on the enemy at Neu Langenburg, battering both the 1st South Africans and the 1st King’s African Rifles. In the north east, Major Kraut decides to evacuate Kondoa Irangi as the enemy forces massing to attack the settlement are now in overwhelming numbers, and we would rather fight them again when their supply lines are more overextended than they will be now. Major Wahle is resting and refitting his forces at Ujiji, ready to oppose the British who are now advancing southwards at top speed down the western side of Lake Victoria.

Hi I agree that having a scenario of the Italian front would be great and would certainly add to the experience. I've not developed anything myself in this area, so would also be keen to see one if anyone would like to take up the challenge and work on this?

Thanks Claus, you've saved me a job and I'm happy to leave yours there, it's great.

Glad you're enjoying the AAR! The way to do it would be to advance to just within your visibility range of the objective (with infantry that is within 2, and with cavalry within 3 tiles) and that will disclose any enemy in the place. If you don't like the look of it, then you can either dig in or withdraw in your next turn.

Our levies were sacrificed in securing the defeat of Tombeur’s Belgians, but the victory was certainly worth the cost. Wahle calls off the pursuit, as we need to prepare for the advance of Crewe’s British who are undoubtedly on their way to assist their Belgian allies. Further south, we go on the offensive near Neu Langenburg, badly damaging the 1st South African regiment, and revealing that we have increased our strength in this area. Tanga, the site of a great victory in 1914 when we defeated the enemy’s first invasion attempt, has been declared an open town and the garrison has retired to the south. It will be better to concentrate our forces than to let them be defeated in detail.

We boldly decided to follow up our success against the Belgians, and this turn the Belgian Nord Brigade has been destroyed! Our victory was not without losses, and we have placed our African Levies in front of our most damaged Askari unit in the hope that we’ll be able to save it from Tombeur’s revenge. This makes us feel much better after the loss of Bukoba. All is quiet elsewhere. Kraut is witnessing the enemy’s advance from Kondoa Irangi, and he is plotting his next move. The enemy here in the north east do appear to be spreading themselves a little thinly. Maybe an opportunity will arise to inflict some damage on them?

I'm glad to hear it's been sorted. Enjoy playing the game, and have a great Christmas too!

Well, that was a surprising landing at Bukoba on Lake Victoria! The question is, do I stay or do I withdraw by sea to Mwansa? Looking at the supply levels for the enemy forces, and comparing them to my own, I’m going to stay and fight it out. Their supply is low, as is mine, so hopefully we’ll be able to resist for a while yet. Victory near Ujiji as we destroy a Belgian regiment! Had Colonel Potts underestimated our potential here? Our brave Askaris in action against the Belgians The Graf von Goetzen is undergoing repairs in port, and her crew are enjoying a well earned rest ashore. All is quiet near Neu Langenburg where the enemy have withdrawn after the bruising we gave them, and in the north east we are also withdrawing to better positions. Merry Christmas everyone!

Glad to hear you're enjoying the game and finding this thread useful. I've got a few more things I'll add, though probably after Christmas now.

Hi Mike I just wanted to say that I appreciate the posts even if I haven't commented on them, please keep them coming! Bill

Hi If they are adjacent to the enemy then they won't be able to upgrade. Could that be the case here? If not then please let me know.

Hi Gunnergoz The game comes with NATO counters already, so to switch them on when you start a game, in the Options screen just deselect the 3-D units. Nato counters will automatically appear in their place.

Hi The best way to check will be to hover your mouse over the research categories in the research area, because doing so should show the % progress for each research category. Hopefully they'll all be showing some progress, and this will show that they will with time lead to breakthroughs. But if not please let us know. Thanks

If I have my way, the Goetzen will always be sailing on Lake Tanganyika!

The Graf von Goetzen survives combined air and naval attack, beating off Mimi and Toutou and shrugging off a bombardment by the Belgians’ new bombers. Toutou is now looking in need of some very urgent repairs. The Belgians appear to be commencing their advance southwards down the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika. Fortunately Major Wahle has just received some timely reinforcements so expect a tough battle to come! Northey is still risking the lives of his men to little avail at Neu Langenburg, as the 1st King’s African Rifles learn not to underestimate our Askari. The British in the north east have withdrawn to the east of Kilimanjaro, and so as to increase the distance between our forces and theirs, Major Kraut retires to the south. We’ll take the opportunity to have a quick rest so as to be ready for further operations again very soon!

As you'll see when you download patch 1.01, 1939 Storm over Europe is now available for Breakthrough!

We avenge our artillery by giving the 1st South African cavalry a battering they won’t forget! All our units are back in supply with Major Kraut preparing his next set of orders. And here is a rare photo of our man in the north, Major Georg Kraut: All is quiet in the north west as the Belgians haven’t yet followed up their capture of Urundi, and the Portuguese are wisely restricting themselves to just consolidating their gains in the south east. The Graf von Goetzen must be successfully making a nuisance of itself on Lake Tanganyika, as the British have just provided the Belgians with some aircraft to attack it. It looks as though the enemy are preparing further offensives, so it’s a good thing our own forces are slowly increasing in size, and our new artillery will more than offset the loss of the old.

Major Kraut pulls back his troops in the north east. Our aim now is to get them back to safety and reform in a better position. The enemy really did bite off more than they can chew at Neu Langenburg, as we almost destroyed the 2nd South African regiment. We should be able to hold here for a while now. The Belgians are consolidating their position now in Urundi and Ruanda, so Major Wahle is preparing a warm welcome for them when they venture south on Ujiji. The Portuguese have finally made their move on the Kionga Triangle. We didn’t even try to defend it, but will punish them for this at a later date!

If the Germans say no to using unrestricted warfare, they will have another opportunity to take this decision once the USA has joined the war. At that point, it would be silly not to say yes, though doing it will be trickier by then because the US fleet's arrival in British waters will make unrestricted attacks even harder to launch.

As predicted, the enemy’s attack on Neu Langenburg was a complete failure. But further north in Ruanda we lost at Nyanza. We were only holding our detachment at Usumbara to provide an escape route for our Ruandan detachment, so now there is no need to remain there any more, we march on Ujiji. The next enemy target in the north west looks like being Bukoba on Lake Victoria. This is also an exposed position, hard to retire from effectively, so we will just aim to delay the enemy’s assault here. Major Kraut was a little impetuous this turn, in attacking the 2nd East African brigade. Losses were heavy for little gain, so it is a salutary lesson to conserve our strength and draw the enemy into a better place to strike them, when they are low on supply and tired from their efforts. More supplies come ashore from the Marie, and our guns are unloaded too! So far the Portuguese are quiet, perhaps fearful of what is to come?

It’s good to see that the enemy are feeling a bit more cautious now around Kilimanjaro after Kraut gave the 2nd South Africans a good beating last turn. The British have occupied Taveta and advanced on Moshi to the east of the mountain, so we launch an attack on the 1st South African Cavalry and then we retire to the south. Reinforcements are arriving at Neu Langenburg in the south west, and hopefully the British here are exhausted from their exertions and won’t be able to attack again in strength for a little while. The situation in Urundi and Ruanda is a real concern, because our Askari unit is trying to withdraw south but with the Belgians hot on its heels it’s a really tough thing to do. So this turn we’re resting in Nyanza, hoping that we’ll be able to continue our march shortly. Now we’ve got an interesting decision to make, on where to deploy some guns that came off the Konigsberg. Just as with discussing von Lettow-Vorbeck’s movements, it would be prudent for me to keep my choice quiet for the moment. Now for some good news, as a blockade runner, the Marie, has brought supplies from home, including some quinine, and better still, some artillery!

Hi Ataman If the Russians are advancing in strength and the Austro-Hungarians cannot hold them, then transferring German forces from the west will probably be necessary. Launching an offensive against the Russians where they are weaker might also be a good idea, so as to distract them from their aim. Historically the Russians did capture both Austro-Hungarian fortresses, but German led offensives into Poland took the pressure off Austria-Hungary. Conquering Serbia isn't as important as capturing their capital, Belgrade, and also Nish, because by doing so you will encourage Bulgaria to enter the war, and with their support Serbia will be easier to conquer.

General Smuts has begun his invasion with a large scale attack on our positions on Salaita Hill near Taveta, while the Belgians are advancing into Ruanda to the west of Lake Victoria. We cannot defend everything and the enemy are too strong for a passive defence to succeed, so we will have to adopt a mobile strategy. Fortunately, and unlike our opponents, we can operate on interior lines and even the railway running from Dar-es-Salaam in the west through to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika may come in handy for moving our Askari to wherever they are needed most. We currently have three headquarters units: Wahle will command in the west, Kraut can lead the campaign against Smuts’ forces in the north east, and von Lettow-Vorbeck is going somewhere on a long journey, so he may disappear from view for a while, but rest assured that he will be popping up again later… Now to battle, and we have evacuated Taveta in order to combine our forces to strike at the 2nd South African brigade to the south-west of Kilimanjaro. They are in poor supply and they take a hammering! The only other attack we launch this turn is on the 1st King African Rifles near Neu Langenburg in the south west. It was also successful. Elsewhere, detachments are moving to take up operations. We are weakest in the north-west and cannot do much except fall back in the face of the Belgian advance. We will need to strengthen our forces near Neu Langenberg, Ujiji and along the Portuguese frontier. Our aim is not to conquer and defeat our enemies directly, but instead to wear them down, to tie up their resources and inflict casualties. The longer we hold out, and the better we do, the more effect we will have on the wider conflict elsewhere. Of course, achieving our objective may involve invading enemy territory too.

Yes, getting the balance right has been a major intention of the work done on this campaign.