Bill101

Clydeside has opened up to trade again a bit sooner than expected so we're going to launch some more unrestricted attacks in the North Channel to shut it down again. Hopefully the US won't get quite as annoyed as the last time! A fairly quiet turn in the Balkans, as most of our forces are resting and consolidating their new positions as we advance into Serbia. In Mesopotamia, here is the situation as our forces encircle the beleaguered British forces in Qurna: It's time for Hindenburg to make his move into Poland, with troops marching on Warsaw from the north and north east. The Russians do appear to have more forces in Poland than we would have liked, but most of them are around Lodz to the south west of Warsaw. I'm hoping that they will react by leaving their positions, opening up some opportunities for us. In France our line held last turn and hopefully now that winter will soon be upon us we'll be able to consolidate and better prepare for the action to come in 1916. Time to invest some diplomacy into Norway to prevent the British from cutting our imports from there to Germany.

I've recently read that, though in the UK it's been published under the title Bloody Victory. I liked its perspective as it's about time the French part of the battle was added to the story. Too much of the focus has always been on the British role, with very little coverage given to the more successful French attacks. There's also Jack Sheldon's book on the German Army on the Somme which might make a good follow up. I've not (yet) read it, but it looks pretty good.

You can, if you make a copy of the original campaign and amend it to add a Fortress. To do this, open up the editor, open up the relevant campaign, choose File and Save As. Give the campaign a new name. It will then take a few minutes to make a copy, and now you can add a Fortress. When you hit Save the editor will ask you to update the scripts. This is essential for the campaign to run properly. Once done, close the editor and you can now play!

I was looking into this and in August 1914 Rupprecht thought that he could break this line after having defeated the French thrust into Alsace-Lorraine. Now, he could of course have been over optimistic, and it is also true that the thrust he proposed was between two fortresses, but I thought I'd post this anyway to provide a little food for thought.

The USA has got rather upset with our U-Boat captains, so it's time to call off our unrestricted campaign for the time being. But they have done well as all UK ports are currently clogged up with merchantmen, and British income has been pretty much halved by this. We're continuing to hammer away at the Serbs, and our Rail Gun is on its way from near Trieste to add a little extra weight to our attacks. Germany is also sending its Zeppelins to help out. We're also attacking some Russian Cavalry in Hungary, as it's about time we drove them out and their supply level is very low so now's the time to strike! The situation near Konigsberg looks quite stable at the moment, especially now that we've deployed a second Heavy Artillery unit there, so let's take a look at the western front. Here, the French have some rather depleted Corps to the north and south of Amiens. Never one to turn down an opportunity, we launch into the attack. This turned out to be somewhat of a mistake because although we destroyed one, our own losses have been heavy. More reinforcements are arriving in the west, and it sure looks like we're going to need them there!

Well, it looks as though I wasn't the only one planning an offensive in the west! Far from having won the initiative from the enemy there, they've blown two clean holes in our line, and also booted us off the Chemin des Dames! :eek: Fortunately we've got enough reserves to plug the gaps, and with a further seven infantry Corps deploying for battle this turn, we'll send two to the west. The remaining five are positioned in East Prussia, hopefully out of sight of the Russians attacking Konigsberg. The Russians lose another Corps this turn too. Our U-Boats caused panic in the UK last turn, effectively shutting down imports to Liverpool. Now we need to see if we can have the same effect on merchantmen sailing to the Clyde and Bristol. Some British Destroyers tried to attack us but with little effect. The Russians are stepping up their attacks in the Caucasus so we'll have to ensure that we don't let them get too successful while we're conducting our reconquest of Mesopotamia. I am currently considering a move into Persia too. In the Mediterranean, British transports carrying VII Corps to Egypt sailed right into U-21's hunting grounds. Ouch! The Bulgarian advance into Serbia last turn has paid off, as the Serbian commander has left his forces to the south of Belgrade in poor supply. Not one to miss such an opportunity, Potiorek orders an attack which, despite heavy casualties, succeeds in reducing the nearest Serbian Corps down to half strength. Hopefully we can finish it off next turn. This turn ends with Germany getting Trench Warfare level 3. This might be the life saver we need!

It's September 1915 and Central Powers units are now advancing in strength into Serbia, with a diversion into Greece too. The mass Russian assault near Konigsberg has forced us to withdraw our artillery, perhaps prematurely as our counterattack was a total success and we have repaired the hole in our front line. Our reconnaissance has discovered that the Russians have 8 Corps in the Konigsberg area. This will be a good battle, and I'll probably have to revise those plans I outlined last turn! Austria-Hungary unveils its latest weapon: a Rail Gun, which promptly starts pounding the Italians. The Italian front is still an area of concern, though less so than before. The Ottomans win another great victory by seizing Basra. Townshend's Force D were totally outmaneuvered and are now trapped in Qurna. Once Liman von Sanders has arrived, we should be able to finish them off. Now to the naval war, where our U-Boats are now commencing their campaign of unrestricted warfare against the UK. Let's hope it hurts! Finally, to the west where our Chemin des Dames offensive is a complete success! The French defenders are destroyed and our infantry move forward to occupy their positions. Their will be no follow up, this is just a "bite and hold" operation because a breakthrough at this stage probably isn't possible. Though the French lines in this area do look a lot thinner than we'd expected.

It's time for our U-Boats in the Atlantic to get to work, so one is going to start raiding this turn, quite far to the west of Ireland. Hopefully it will distract the Royal Navy while our main force moves into position to launch an unrestricted campaign against merchant trade to the UK. Our Ottomans are now at the gates of Basra. Let's hope Dan either doesn't notice, or can do nothing about it before we move in to occupy the city next turn! A victory for our arms on the Italian front where the enemy bridgehead over the Isonzo has been eliminated! Austria-Hungary is deploying some new weapons in this area too, a Rail Gun and some Fighters to counter the Italian Recon Bombers that are based at Venice. Konigsberg is under attack, but the Russians in front of our fortifications are suffering heavily. Our plan is to open up a new front under Hindenburg's command, either to relieve Konigsberg or to march on Warsaw. This will depend on the force balance and how the enemy's attacks against Konigsberg are faring. Below you can see the two main options: Now that Bulgaria has entered the war, the time has come for Serbia to leave it. Operations start with Bulgarian forces moving towards both Uskub and Nish, while Austria-Hungary launches a heavy attack on Serbian forces to the north. Purchases this turn include two new Recon Bombers for Germany, and we're researching Ground Attack Aircraft. This should hopefully prove useful when it comes to targeting enemy artillery behind their lines. Here is the area of our planned offensive in the Chemin des Dames:

All is fairly quiet in the east this turn, apart from in East Prussia where our newly arrived artillery carry out some range finding shots. There is more action on the Italian front as our newly arrived Germans hammer the Italian Corps that had broken through our lines. Our Ottomans are now moving in strength into southern Mesopotamia, and are hopefully now closer to Basra than the British forces that had advanced on Baghdad. British forces are now besieged in Aqaba on the Red Sea. So far the war's not gone too badly for the Ottomans, though the Russians are starting to get a bit troublesome in the Caucasus so we'll have to consider sending some reinforcements there. Conquering Belgium has freed up some reserves for service elsewhere, but it will take a few turns to prepare either an attack in the west, or to send them to the east. It is actually tempting to send some by rail to Palestine, but an offensive on the Chemin des Dames is also looking like it could have potential.

It's time for Hindenburg to evacuate Memel, and to take his place alongside Mackensen in defending East Prussia from invasion. Of more concern at the moment is the Italian front, and we are sending more reinforcements there, including some German units, because otherwise this could turn into a catastrophic defeat for us. Things are looking far more positive in Mesopotamia where we've really outmaneuvered the British forces here. Hopefully Dan won't get any reinforcements to Basra before we march in! Ottoman forces are also busy driving the British out of Arabia. It's hard to believe but the British and Belgian forces have evacuated Belgium, apart from one British Corps left behind as a rearguard. They didn't last long. With the improving situation in the west, we've sent one artillery unit to East Prussia and the other is going to stay in France for the moment, deploying near Cambrai. A new Zeppelin unit became available this turn, and I've stationed it near Saarbrucken along with the other one. They might come in handy should we decide to go for Verdun. Speaking of Verdun, we celebrate the fall of Belgium by ordering some more heavy artillery! The Sultan thinks that's a good idea so he orders some for his own army too, and finally, Bulgaria is about to join us in the war. After a year of war, there are some positive areas and some where things are a bit difficult, to say the least. But with the large scale mobilization of German industry and manpower, coupled with new weapons of war, we still have very good grounds for expecting victory.

It's between 20 and 30% which should only take a few turns to wear off. Best not to attack in the following turn unless the odds look good.

If you hold down the shift button before moving it will enable them to carry out a recon flight.

Von Bohm-Ermolli launches a moderately successful attack against Serbian positions to the east of Belgrade, but then receives news that he is to be transferred to the Italian front to stabilize the situation there. In the Baltic it looks as though the Russian navy has come out to party, so let's give it hell and sink as much of it as we can. Two enemy Cruisers are sunk, a Dreadnought badly damaged and a sub chased off. Zeppelins continue to bomb Ostend, while at long last our great offensive against Ypres has begun. Under a barrage of shells, our glorious infantry assault the Belgian positions and then, with the enemy in disarray, our cavalry go through. Ypres is ours! Barring any surprise enemy moves, we should now have enough forces in the west to hold out for a while, so that we can send the majority of our new units to the east. In September and October 1915 the Kaiser will be deploying ten new infantry Corps, so these should be enough to knock the Tsar for six. U14, our Austro-Hungarian sub, has survived its encounter with British Destroyers in the Ionian Sea, but it is now returning to harbor for repairs. In its place, a German U-Boat that we'd sent to Pola, U-21, is now heading out into the Med. The Sultan is celebrating the destruction of a British cavalry unit in Arabia, while in Mesopotamia things will soon be moving to a head as Liman von Sanders has just arrived there. Von Sanders will take command of a large body of troops that we've been slowly assembling in the area, including some cavalry for mobile operations. The enemy only have one Detachment here that we're aware of, and it is currently outside Najaf begging our garrison for food and water. Our great Wolfpack of U-Boats is now north of Faroe Isles, looking mean and ready for business.

Hi Ludi Forced March is still in the testing stage at the moment, but I realized that I'd better mention it in our AAR as otherwise it might look as though some of our soldiers were zooming much faster around the map than anyone else can do! I really like it and it is very easy to use. When it's released I'll post a screenshot here in the forum showing how to do it. Bill

As I'd hoped, the British Cavalry in the Middle East are paying the price for their poor logistical arrangements, and will be having to resort to sucking on pebbles now that we've cut them off from their supplies. More Ottoman units are moving into Mesopotamia where we also hope to cut off and destroy some British forces in low supply. Hindenburg is really in a pickle now, so evacuating the Memel peninsula seems the most appropriate next step. Even our reconnaissance flights are being intercepted by Russian aircraft! Further south, all is mainly quiet on land. At sea, an Austro-Hungarian sub manages to sneak out of the Adriatic, only to bump into some British Destroyers just to the south of Italy. The Emperor was not impressed. The French front is really quiet at the moment, an uneasy calm before the storm, but our new artillery unit has just arrived for deployment in Belgium. We should very soon have such a superiority in artillery here that we should be able to raise Ypres to the ground. Our mass of U-Boats are now NE of the Shetland Islands, ready to head out into the Atlantic...

In the Middle East, the British seem to have forgotten the importance of bringing a packed lunch with them. We'll have to think of a way we can take advantage of their appalling logistical arrangements before their situation improves Hindenburg destroys a Russian Corps near Libau. Like the British we'd just mentioned in the Middle East, it was also running short of supplies and therefore an easy target. But we are going to have to be careful here because the Russians are gaining in strength, and if we have to evacuate by sea we'll have to make sure we don't lose the port of Memel. The Kriegsmarine have been put on standby in case the Russian navy tries to intervene. Speaking of the Kriegsmarine, a large number of U-Boats are currently sailing out into the North Sea. It's time the navy played a role in the war rather than sitting in port and moaning about their food. Austria-Hungary is busy sending more reinforcements to the Italian front. In Flanders, our newly improved Zeppelins launch their first raid to interdict British supplies arriving in Belgium, and a British Corps was caught in the open by our artillery and then destroyed in a swift infantry assault. Things are looking bad for Belgium! Oh yes, German Production Technology is now at level 3, so we can start concentrating on other areas of research now.

Hi Drew Is it the case that the French are leaving the area unguarded? Only it seems that the obvious German strategy is always to go for the poorly guarded north of France. Perhaps launching a diversion in the south to help, but launching an all out offensive in this area early in the war probably won't work without considerable reinforcements, and/or a weakened French right. Later on in the war the Germans could launch an offensive here, but by that time the French should have had time to improve their defences. If you were referring to my AAR with Dan as one example, his French unit that I destroyed in the area was actually on German soil at the time as he'd left his defensive positions. It was just an opportunistic attack on my part that had no chance of being followed up. I'm not yet convinced of a need for any change in this area, but I am open to persuasion if there is a consensus on this subject! But what I wouldn't want to do is to close this area entirely to possible German offensives during the war, as the terrain already favours the defence, and if the French feel too secure in this area then it will have a negative impact on German chances elsewhere too.

Hi I seem to recall that early in playtesting we did have some there, but their ability to easily prevent subs from leaving the Adriatic effectively stopped the Central Powers from getting a good submarine campaign going in the Med. Because the U-Boat campaign in the Med was very successful, it felt more appropriate to have the Entente start with no DDs in the area. This allows the CPs to get a head start in their U-Boat campaign, to which the Entente have to react.

Oh yes, in case you're wondering, it's now the end of May 1915. Been having so much fun playing this and then writing it up that I'd forgotten to keep you all in the loop with the dates!

The Russian navy have been operating off the coast near Trabzon in the Caucasus, so we're sending the Yavuz Sultan Selim (formerly the Goeben) and following behind will be the Torgud Reis once she's finished her fitting out. An Ottoman Detachment is now on its way through Mesopotamia to Baghdad. We hope to catch the British forces there by surprise by capturing his supply line back to Basra, as if successful this could really make him panic! Our position near Gaza is now much stronger, but we do need to invest in some artillery, both for here and the Caucasus. An Austro-Hungarian offensive into Serbia was called off after our artillery and the first infantry attack failed to make any progress. We're also having to reinforce the Italian front so it doesn't leave us with much room for attacking the Russians at the moment. Mackensen's forces destroy a Russian Corps in East Prussia, but Hindenburg doesn't seem to have realised that helping out might have been an option, so instead of moving south, he's been busy launching unsuccessful attacks on a Russian unit to the east of Libau. No action at all in the west this turn, though we are moving our artillery behind the lines, to bring it into a position to shell Ypres as we hope that our line on the Somme is secure for the moment. In terms of reinforcements and research, Germany will have three Heavy Artillery units by the end of the year, and we are working on improving our Zeppelins yet further (they will be used to damage the Belgian ports, thus preventing the British from sending reinforcements to Belgium). We now have Production Technology level 2, and our income is above 500 MPPs a turn, so we should be able to replace our losses and improve the quality of our troops in time for a major 1916 offensive in the east or west.

I've had to reinforce the front in Palestine as the British are making a big push here. That is annoying because my Ottomans haven't really got the initiative anywhere at the moment, and if Dan is about to land at Gallipoli then things could get worse still. All is quiet in Serbia as we reinforce our artillery and prepare for action there. Against the Russians we can celebrate a successful attack near Lemberg which has destroyed one of their Corps. Mackensen is moving units forward, ready to break through to Hindenburg who is just resting his troops this turn. In France it is mainly quiet, with just a small attack on the Somme. Reinforcements are starting to arrive at the front, in the nick of time too, but without more artillery it will be hard to achieve much. On the diplomatic front we have good news and bad news. The good news is that Franz Josef's diplomatic efforts at the court of the Tsar of Bulgaria have paid off and the Bulgarians are getting keener to enter the war. The bad news is that the Italians are about to stab us in the back by joining the Entente.

Ah, that is true because against the AI it will be different as it needs a helping hand, but in Multiplayer such units are very rare indeed. Essentially I've left it pretty much to us the players to plan ahead, and if we leave places open then it's at our own risk.

What better way to celebrate spring than by launching an attack and destroying a Russian unit? At least that's Hindenburg's way. The Austro-Hungarians attempt to follow suit but don't quite succeed, the targeted Russian Corps just surviving. Against the Serbs we've just deployed a new Corps supported by some Heavy Artillery, so we hope to soon be able to go on the offensive there. A surprise German offensive in Alsace-Lorraine smashes a hole in the French line! New German formations are deploying for battle, with most of them being sent to the western front. When we get our new artillery in June we'll then see about wiping out the Belgians and BEF in Flanders. The turn ends with new entrenching equipment being delivered to our front line soldiers, and some new improvements to our Zeppelins. So far they have launched a number of raids against French targets, including Paris, but without any great success worth shouting about. This should soon change!

Hi Actually the Entente do get some activated units too, the Paris Defence force being one of them. The UK will deploy a Territorial Force unit if invaded, and the US have their National Guard. The only free German unit that deploys in response to any Entente advances is the Berlin Landsturm Detachment. What's probably more at issue here is that the Russian ones only deploy at a limited number of locations, Finland not being one of them. The Russians start with a Corps there but if it's moved away it's best to replace it with a newly raised Detachment. Overall I think the number of free units like this should be limited, especially in a country like Finland which owed wasn't overly keen on remaining part of Russia, and would be the first to break away from the Empire once things started to go wrong. That's why while I did consider having one in Finland, I decided against it. Bill

Snow at last! The break from active operations the winter brings gives us a good opportunity to strengthen our positions and await for reinforcements in the spring. The enemy are getting rather aggressive in Palestine so we'll need to do something here in the near future to either drive them away. Kaiser Wilhelm is busy training up lots of replacements for the front, and also some new Heavy Artillery, but don't tell Dan, let's not spoil the surprise! The Emperor Franz Josef decides that it's time to start winning some allies in this war. So Austrian emissaries are sent out this turn to the Bulgarian and Dutch embassies. The sooner the Tsar of Bulgaria joins our cause the better, and the latter is simply to counter some diplomacy the Entente appear to have been conducting to cut off Germany's food supplies via Holland.