Bill101

Hi Xenon! This looks interesting, and you can make the flags disappear by setting to Neutral those Majors you don't want to appear in the scenario. I must admit that making a Tsingtao scenario is something I've toyed with, but as I haven't, it's good to see that one has been made! Bill PS Will you be updating this to the Breakthrough engine?

Hi SeaMonkey Perhaps the problem is that the ship's Naval Defence values are too high, rather than the ineffectiveness of the Strategic Bombers themselves? Therefore if we could lower the bomber casualties things might not seem so skewed against the bomber, as I agree with Mike in that this type of bomber wasn't on the whole very good against shipping. How does that sound? Bill

Pskov is surrounded as the Red Army continues its advance into the Baltic! Our manoeuvres had confused the enemy, causing them to leave this key position poorly guarded and without support. Our feint over the Narva to the north of Lake Peipus drew White forces away from the crucial area. Meanwhile, as starving White troops approach Moscow begging for bread, Bolshevik partisans take up arms in their rear, depriving them of any further hope of food. Great news comes in from the Caucasus as more Bolshevik supporters take up arms in the region, causing the enemy even more trouble. Finally, we have just improved some of our weaponry in the nick of time before the battle of Moscow gets underway. Whatever happens, the autumn of 1920 is going to be a hot one! PS Trotsky has escaped the White clutches and he is currently planning our next move.

Hi Mike That is correct, the liberator takes control. Bill

The USA has left the war and the Northern Whites aren’t too happy about it. The fighting in the Baltic heats up as the White forces near Narva are hammered, and the German Freikorps suffers a set back further south where it was trying to impede our advance near Daugavpils. The White forces advancing on Moscow are suffering from severe supply difficulties. Reports of starving soldiers literally dying on their feet have been reaching us. Does any sensible person really want the people responsible to be running Russia?

Have you tried following up the Territory script with a Mobilization script? Not necessarily to bring them immediately into the war (unless that is your intention) but at least to ensure that they have an allegiance to either side. I'm not sure that this will resolve it, but you never know!

Hi Just wanted to say that I've just finished David Stevenson's new book on the war in 1918 and I can thoroughly recommend it. Like his previous book 1914-1918: The History of the First World War, which was a very useful guide for designing the main WWI campaigns in this game, he takes a high level view looking at all aspects of the war. With Our Backs to the Wall provides in depth coverage of pretty much everything that was a factor in deciding the outcome of the war in 1918, from the military campaigns themselves to the home front, diplomacy, economics, naval warfare etc. Given the scope of the book, it still leaves room for reading more about the actual military operations on the Western Front, while providing the framework within which to view these events. It will certainly be providing a lot of inspiration to forthcoming improvements to the 1918 Ludendorff Offensive campaign! Bill

Hi Yes they can. There's a setting in the editor which we use to determine whether or not a Major's HQs can command units belonging to a friendly Minor power, and the US HQs can command Australians.

Hi The Free French are under British management, so they require British upgrades. The problem being that the US is rarely in the war when France falls, so the Free French - being founded by De Gaulle in the UK - have to come under British control.

The Narva is crossed! Our Red Army crosses the river and now has a bridgehead to the north of Lake Peipus. Maknovists engage White forces in the Ukraine, while Stavropol in the Caucasus and Buguima in the Caucasus also remain in our hands. But best of all, White Political Standing is falling! The people of Russia are starting to see that good government by the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party is preferable to the faction ridden misrule of the White hordes. The US forces will very soon be withdrawn from the war, as their commitment to remain in Russia has plummeted to zero.

It is May 1920 and to celebrate International Workers’ Day, the siege of Daugavpils has begun! The enemy’s Freikorps are to our north and will undoubtedly try to interfere, but our artillery pounds the enemy positions and we now have two Armored Trains in action here. Petrograd is no longer under threat, the enemy having fled back west beyond the Narva. The Southern Whites are now advancing on Moscow, and the Ural Whites are pressing forwards too. Expect more action here in the coming months, especially as the Makhnovists have taken up arms and re-entered the war! Makhnovists plotting their next move

Hi Just wanted to bump this thread as Rabelesius mentioned it in his post about the Russian Civil War. One thing that does change this campaign from being a purely historical refight is that the Ottomans get to purchase some units right at the start, and deploy them where they wish. The aim of this is to increase the replayability and give the Ottomans a chance to catch out their opponents. So, it might mean that some Ottoman objectives are harder to capture early in the war than historically, but it shouldn't change the overall balance. Which may be too much in the Ottoman favour, and that can be changed. I also want to revisit the campaign's end date, as my understanding is that the war ended when it did because the Ottomans felt beaten. This is really the reason for having the campaign end later, so that there is a chance for a clear winner to arise, as having a game end before such a point can cause frustration and disappointment. Having the turns slightly shorter might be an answer, but I'm still inclined to keep to the same ultimate end date.

Hi Michel Temporary entrenchments were being dug all the time during the 1914 campaign, but trench warfare as we know it really stemmed from the exhaustion and inability to keep successfully attacking after some months of conflict. Once the front had stayed still for a while, the trench systems developed and the chances of a return to mobile warfare decreased dramatically. You're right that trenches save forces, as there is a saying that sweat saves blood, i.e. dig in and you might stay alive!

Hi It's funny that you mention the Franco-Prussian war because some months ago I started work on a Franco-Prussian campaign. It's not yet ready, as getting Breakthrough ready for release ate up my time, but it's possible that I might be able to find some time in a few weeks to continue working on it. This isn't planned as an official release, and if you have the time and fancy creating a Franco-Prussian mod you're more than welcome. I'd be happy to make my initial work available. You can always email me at bill.runacre@furysoftware.com if you'd like to discuss it further. Bill

Hi Rabelesius As Ivanov has suggested, some changes are coming and the most essential thing will be to make the Bolshevik attack on the Ukraine a more attractive option than it is currently. I also agree that a bit more offensive power to the Bolsheviks, or slightly less for the Whites, especially the Southern Whites, would be a good thing, but without taking it too far. Bill

Hi Micha6162! There are some factors on the unit facing, such as the presence of enemy units and the natural facing of a country (i.e. east or west). So, if your unit moves and an enemy unit is to its flank, then it will automatically turn to face in that direction. Bill

Hi Michel Welcome to the forum! The solution to strong attacks is to Entrench units and research Trench Warfare, while also using the terrain (rivers, cities, forests) to best advantage. Until then, attacking is a viable option for the Germans to advance on Paris, and the Russians into Galicia, but ultimately entrenched units and advances in Trench Warfare will slow and then (hopefully) halt the enemy's attacks. One point is that if attacks didn't have a good chance of success, costly as they are, then there would be no incentive to entrench. Bill

Thanks for keeping us informed on your game, I love reading things like this.

Our counter offensive near Petrograd is now well underway, the enemy are retreating at top speed and we are advancing in strength to the west! Our own advance into Latvia clashes with White forces near Daugavpils. To strike a further blow at White hopes in the north, we have recognized Finnish independence. Now we won’t have to worry about a threat to Petrograd from the north. Meanwhile, White forces are beginning their advance in the eastern Ukraine, as we continue to retire in front of them. Denikin will struggle to win his decisive victory here!

Hi Steel32 We did test this strategy out a bit during beta, and surprisingly it didn't always work out well for the Germans. Partly because the concentration on France and the lie of the land around Belfort meant that a) the Russians could mobilize in strength and that Belfort could be retaken. It's good to have a chance for something like this to succeed, but not if it's a game breaker, so I'll be very interested to hear more on this, and if we do have a gamey strategy here, then some further tweaks can be introduced.

That is so, because when you liberate a country, you have to liberate it town by town, city by city. It would cause lots of problems were it otherwise, e.g. when France is liberated, were all locations held by the Germans but not currently occupied by their units to transfer to allied control, then the problem would be that these could include some to the rear of the German front line, and that would look very odd indeed. Essentially liberations have to be by armed bodies of troops, and although they can include uprisings by partisans, generally it is regular forces who have to do the dirty work.

This would be great, and it would be good to start something that can then be refined through practice over more games. Please do!

I'm back and ready for battle once again! Time for a decision near Archangel, to stand our ground or withdraw? In line with the New Military Policy, we do the latter as soon the British and US will leave the war and then we’ll be able to retake all the ground we’ve given up. Trotsky has some good ideas! Our relief force breaks through to Petrograd, bringing relief to the city! Meanwhile, our advance continues into Latvia, liberating Polotsk and threatening Daugavpils. The game is definitely afoot now, as the Whites are advancing from the Ukraine and the Urals, but our reserves are massing, the 1st Horse Army is moving into place, and we are preparing to deliver a devastating blow at the forces of reaction. We still hold the area to the east of Kiev. Could that be where we will strike next? The time has come for the workers of Russia to take power, for the Priest and the Kulak to be consigned to the dustbin of history, and for everyone to be guaranteed bread, peace and freedom. Let us fight for this just cause!

The White advance on Petrograd provides us with an excellent opportunity to achieve a decisive victory in the north. Red Army units are already launching the counterattack, Polotsk will fall to our forces next turn, and our lead elements, led by an armored train, have entered Latvia. Watch out Yudenich, you may lose all in your foolhardy venture on Petrograd! As if to show that the true situation in Russia is not how our enemies would paint it, workers in Stavropol in the Caucasus have taken up arms and formed a Red Guard. They are as confident of ultimate victory as we are in the north. The Central Committee is about to embark on a short holiday, so this will be the last Bolshevik turn until early next week. See you then!

Hi, no, it will continue fortifying until it is either destroyed, forced to retreat, or you decide to cease fortifying that location. The only downside is that the enemy will probably be hammering away at the unit to prevent it finishing its job, so it's not an enviable situation for your engineers to be in!