Bill101

Attacking via Mulhouse is a very good way of keeping French forces pinned in this sector, and the effort should help out your forces advancing through northern France. Making the French AI attack all out in Alsace-Lorraine is a bit tricky because we all have the benefit of hindsight and can see that it was a daft idea unless the circumstances were right, i.e. that the German right wing had been sufficiently beaten and their left was also very weak. This doesn't mean that we won't consider it further of course. Yet the fact that the French AI was able to take Metz is quite extraordinary, or had you left it empty?

I didn't use that slot, but it certainly did help plant the idea in my head of designing a Spanish Civil War campaign for the Weapons and Warfare release. But an alternate WWII campaign where Republican Spain had won the civil war rather than Franco could change the dynamics of WWII a little. One to think about!

Italy's mobilization value will only go up again if the Entente use diplomacy to try to activate Italy. This will cost them a lot to do, but it's not impossible so keep an eye out for any mention of Entente diplomatic activities involving Italy. But it is unlikely. I wouldn't worry too much about A-H's morale at this stage, their units will have lower morale than normal for a while but that will recover, and you are right in thinking that the key to increasing A-H National Morale is to capture some Russian cities.

Hi I just thought it would be a good idea to highlight, for those of you who haven't already found them of course, that in the Manuals folder that comes with the game there are a number of useful documents. One of these is the 1914 Call To Arms Strategy Guide which has been written to provide some advice and information which should prove useful as you play, especially if you are new to the period or want to give your opponent a good beating in a multiplayer game. This guide also includes a list of all the decision events included in this flagship campaign, along with a brief description of their pros and cons, so as these decisions come up in the game you may want to refer to this guide to help make your decision. Also included in the Manuals folder is of course the WWI User Manual itself, which can also be accessed in the game (on the right hand side, fourth button from the bottom) and the following documents: 1914 Triple Alliance Decision Event Log 1917 The Fate of Nations Decision Event Log Notes On Playing WWII Games New! The 1939 Storm over Europe Player's GuideI hope you find all of these useful! Bill

Hi Dave 1. The unit will automatically entrench up to its maximum entrenchment value. In the first turn you entrench it will entrench up to 50% of its maximum entrenchment value, and in subsequent turns this value will increase by 1 until the maximum is reached. But, enemy attacks can reduce your entrenchment so if the unit is involved in combat you may find that it doesn't reach the maximum, or not until the enemy cease their attacks. The entrench ability remains so that if you wished to change the facing of your trenches then this is possible. This would be advisable if the enemy break through and start attacking you in the flank or rear, because although your unit will benefit from entrenchment, the facing is also important. Being attacked in the rear isn't good! 2. This is actually on purpose, because Germany has far more cities and mines than Austria-Hungary, so it is just a way of balancing out the economies and shouldn't be seen as anything more. Austria-Hungary has less cities so due to the industrial modifier their cities are actually worth more to Austria-Hungary than a German city would be to the German economy, so do your best not to lose any. Glad to hear you're loving the game, and please feel free to spread the word! Bill

Thanks Omegaman1, it's great to hear!

Hi Cantona That's correct, we felt that a WWI release needed to recreate the changes in uniforms worn by infantry during the war, so that the forces that go to war in 1914 are looking more like a throwback to the 19th century, while by the end of the war we're looking at troops not very dissimilar from those that fought in WWII, wearing steel helmets etc. It is the case that any of that the graphics used for any of these types from level 3-5 will be the same as the level 2 graphic. So if you are modding WWII graphics then it will suffice to put the most elite graphic in the level 2 slot.

He popped in at the same time!

Hi Worg64 Sedan was pretty empty at the start as the French were still mobilizing. I have actually tried invading France via Sedan without attacking Belgium and it was very hard because there is such a narrow frontage and any troops that break out into northern France will suffer from extremely poor supply for some time. They'll also have a very narrow funnel through which to feed further reinforcements into action against the French and British. It may of course be that we could do with helping the Entente AI deal a bit better with a German invasion via Sedan and not Belgium, so we'll definitely consider this. Thanks!

Hi Hubert is right in that I was replying more to Jestre and Crispy, apologies for not making that clear as I realize that what you're suggesting is more specific and focused, rather than being a comment on the default settings in the game itself. And it's certainly an interesting idea! Bill

I have always loved PBEM in Strategic Command, in fact I'd never played PBEM with people I didn't know before I discovered this series and have never stopped since! In answer to question 3, in the Options when starting a game you can change the graphic icons to the examples that you'll see in the AAR thread that Xwormwood has linked to above. As to 4, in the main campaigns the turn lengths vary according to the season, so as to keep the action hot in the summer while the tempo slows a little in winter. But in the mini-campaigns the turn lengths are generally shorter, sometimes covering just a day a side.

Funnily enough, countries like Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans already do have worse stats and (generally) lower starting experience than do the other Majors. This is why it can be wise for the Central Powers player to use German units (supported by HQs) to assist their lower quality allies in the Balkans, Eastern Front, against Italy and possibly even in the Middle East. Just as they did in real life!

Not forgotten. As he and Hindenburg worked so closely together with Ludendorff as Hindenburg's Chief of Staff it didn't seem right to include him separately. But you will see him mentioned once or twice during the game, partly depending on how well or badly Germany is doing!

Hi Cantona You could give a certain unit type higher Action Points. This isn't an ideal solution as it would of course also benefit them elsewhere, but if they are also given low combat statistics due to their lack of heavy weapons then this may discourage their use in other roles outside of mountainous areas. I'm assuming that you're thinking of a campaign set on the Italian front? Bill

Plus in the Manuals folder there is a document giving instructions for making WWII games.

Two new ones, and two that have different features in the WWI engine than in the WWII engine, to reflect their different and unique roles. The two new ones are Garrisons and Rail Guns. The former have a maximum strength of 5 so they aren't really suitable for front line duties, and the latter are pretty neat the way they zoom along the railways. Just don't get their escape route cut off! The two that fulfill totally different roles and therefore have their own unique characteristics in the WWI engine unlike theirs in the WWII engine are Cavalry and Airships. These use the slots that in WWII games will be used by Anti-Tank guns and Rockets respectively.

The MPP cost of your unit equates to the NM loss whenever it is damaged or destroyed. Thus a unit that costs 200MPPs to buy, will reduce your NM by the same value if destroyed. The actual starting NM figures are quite large, in the tens of thousands, so the actual % drop due to a unit being destroyed is generally quite small. But heavy casualties will have an impact, and these can only be offset by successes, i.e. by capturing resources belonging to enemy Majors, including prize possessions like Verdun, Metz and Strasbourg that are really valued. Low NM does have some impact on a unit's own morale, but not a great deal as otherwise it would prevent a country from launching successful counter attacks.

That's certainly true, but their political alignments were different. Belgium was closer to the British as they distrusted the French, and the Tsar had a strong connection with Serbia. Overall, the relevant majors have the income to pay for Belgium and Serbia respectively, while the French need every penny they can get for themselves. At least for a while until the front lines has settled, providing of course that the French haven't lost too much territory, or the front lines haven't settled down...

Too many forts would make things too easy for the French, and at the moment it is usually quite easy for the French to defend the area around Nancy due to the terrain and the city's own defense bonus to any garrison. Liege was considered as a Fortress but it didn't hold out long in the war and was blown up in the process, so it played no long term role in the war. As to northeastern France, it normally is the scene of lots of action, but this way eastern France can also see a little action too, if the Germans press that way with strong forces and the French leave this area too empty.

56 minors, so it should be more than enough. I like SeaMonkey's suggestion of the Commonwealth too.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about her. I've read and enjoyed her book on 1915 which was very good. Just haven't got round to any of the others yet, there are so many WWI books and not enough time!

How about Canada as one? We don't usually see that much of the Canadians in European Theater games, and one advantage of this would be that Britain's income would no longer see a significant jump when the USA enters the war due to Canada's resources rising in value.

Just wanted to add to the above in case it wasn't clear that resources like towns and cities provide supply to units in or near them based on their own supply value, which is why SeaMonkey is suggesting using Strategic Bombers to pummel the city in question down to rubble. Weapons and Warfare will be a good training ground for playing the more recent releases, and once you've finished playing that you'll be pleased to know that with every release lots of new features have been released. Decision Events are probably the most important, and in both the recent Global Conflict release, and in the soon to be released WWI game they play a very important role, allowing for a lot more re-playability than we had in the version your playing.

Peter Hart perhaps? Anthony Farrar-Hockley also wrote one, and no doubt there are many others. What's always interested me about this battle was the way in which the French did pretty well on the 1st July, but the British results were so dramatically different (although it wasn't all a total failure, despite the high casualties).

The British Official History is extremely useful for scenario design, but when it comes to analysing strategies and mistakes made, that's where the fun begins! The most useful single volume source I used for researching this game is David Stevenson's 1914-1918: the History of the First World War. It's also been published under different titles and in foreign translation as Cataclysm: the First World War as Political Tragedy (by Basic Books, USA), La Grande Guerra: Una Storia Globale (by Rizzoli, Italy) and Der Erste Weltkrieg (by Artemis and Winkler, Germany). It's not a light beginner's book, but for anyone wanting a good grasp of pretty much every aspect of the war it is great because it is so comprehensive and gives good coverage to the political and diplomatic aspects of the war, including the home fronts and the growth of opposition to the war. A WWI novel that I really enjoyed when a friend lent it to me a few years back was Peter Jackson, Cigar Merchant by Gilbert Frankau. It gives a really good feel for the atmosphere within the expanding British army early in the war, and the battle sections are more interesting, and probably far more authentic, than the average misconception that WWI was just about suicidal charges across no man's land.