Catacol Highlander

The plan... the plan. So: Belgrade falls on turn 3. Very happy with that indeed, and I got a good pop up regarding Bulgarian interest too. My AH force here is strong, and I have sent a German army too that will be strong enough to ensure the fall of Serbia quickly in 1915. Graphic here: Elsewhere a French cavalry unit that decided to sit tight next to 2 full strength corps was destroyed without loss, and Ostend and Calais both fell. My Schlieffen attack will be over soon: just need to take out the last 2 Belgian units. In the East Austria reinforced the line to the west of the Galician oil, and German units eased gently forward. Too early yet to attack, and there are a large number of Russian corps unaccounted for at the moment, so I am wary. However - happy with the start here too.

Turn 2. Schlieffen Plan underway, but very relaxed and not at all over aggressive. Here is the end of turn shot: Anything worth seeing? Well to the trained eye you will note that I am conquering Belgium and northern France relatively gently with a view to sustaining as few casualties as possible. I want to save my mpps for other operations: the war wont be won in the West in 1914! Note the UK corps has threatened to come out to play from Amiens, so I have sat one tile back so that if Marc wants to hit me with it he will suffer the penalty for move and attack on the same turn. I was happy to maul French cavalry instead. Elsewhere across the line it is dig in and drink coffee for a bit. In the East Marc hit the Galician Oil with force. I countered and then withdrew from the oil. Final shot here: What have I done here? Losing the oil (temporarily) is probably inevitable if the Russian player really goes for it, but the plus for me was that Marc did nothing to try and hit East Prussia or advance anywhere near Lodz or Krakow. That is good news. If you examine the units near the oil here and do some maths you will see that Russian units sustained high casualties for this attack. I am quite happy with that: hitting Russia is my big priority once Serbia is curtailed, and the more casualties Nicholas' army sustains the better for me. In Serbia Austrian units mass for the attack on Belgrade - more of that next turn.

Turn 1 taken. True to form Schlieffen underway, but not worth a screenshot yet as turn 1 is a fairly routine invasion on Belgium. I destroyed the 2 border garrisons there and closed in on Brussels. One change in this expansion is the ability to deploy a fraction of the German army prior to the start of turn 1. Looks like this: Essentially I had an HQ, 1 artillery, 2 corps and 2 cavalry units to position. So what did I do? Well - I split them. I dont want East Prussia to fall so I stiffened the rather weak units in that area, but also put a few down in the west so as not to weaken the fall of Belgium and northern France. In the East Austrian units closed in on Serbia as per my plan. The Turks had fun in the sand, watching the world slide to war with certain trepidation. What will the British in Egypt do??? A very good question, and one factor that the CP player needs to keep a close eye on.

Thanks Bill... but one correction: I am quite prepared to reveal LOTS of my planning. Not much fun for you readers if you cant see what is going on... but I will occasionally keep a surprise up my sleeve to keep everyone interested. :-) OK - so the Central Powers are mine. Those of you who read the last 2 AARs that Abukede and I did will know that I always go into a game with a strategic plan of sorts. To start a game without one is like walking into a room with the lights off: tripping up liable to happen and every turn! After some thought (because there are a number of different ways to approach the game as CP) here are the following priorities until the end of 1915: 1. The destruction of Serbia and Montenegro. Relatively easy to do, and it releases lots of AH units plus hopefully preventing Greece from being a nuisance later on and also bringin Bulgaria into the war early. 2. A very gentle Schlieffen. Push through Belgium and close to Amiens, but no further. 3. Resources therefore to be ploughed into an attack on Russia. Initially ensure East Prussia does not fall, and then mass for an attack on Warsaw in 1915. 4. A research strategy that prioritises entrenchment (key to stopping the French and British from doing too much that is nasty in the west too early) and infantry weapons so that Russia can be carved up. Secondary priority to artillery tech, shell tech and industry tech. Long term tech priority to sub warfare. 5. A very quiet naval opening. There will be a time and a place for a U boat campaign, but it wont be in 1914 so I will hold back resources. As and when U boat tech arrives campaigns can be considered. We will see whether any of this comes off!

Ah!!! - ok: that makes it clear now. Thanks: hadnt thought about a hierarchy of conditions.

Thanks Bill.

I think there is a slight problem with the movement of naval vessels across the arrow long distance transport spots... Specifically in a recent game as entente I chased the German fleet back towards Denmark after it had sallied forth and entered into battle. German ships hit the arrow squares and moved back to the Baltic. However my Russian fleet was lying in wait in the Baltic, ready to commit to battle. BUT the sequence of events prevented this. After the German ships hit their arrow squares they did not appear at the start of my next turn. Instead they then appeared at the start of the next German turn, and this is wrong. It allowed those ships and subs to attack my adjacent Russian vessels and then flee to port. Impossible for me to hit them first. Would it not be better if these ships had appeared instantly in the Baltic at the start of the entente turn rather than at the start of the next cp turn? Think of open water - if a ship runs away it is still there at the start of the following enemy turn to be hunted and sunk. Why should these arrow movement squares allow a ship to run away, hide for the next turn and have the initiative then the following turn???

I dont understand the victory conditions in 1939 World at War in Gold. Allied Minor victory is a long list of cities... but if the axis hold any one of 4 cities they achieve a tactical victory. Both these victory conditions can be achieved at the same time! So if the axis hold Berlin and the allies have their long list of cities then who is actually the winner???

Agreed. Subs blocking other subs, whether visible or not, is not desirable and the current use of subs as blocks is a problem. While I'm at it I would lend a vote to Ludi's suggestion of a sub being able to at least TRY and break out of an encirclement. I think currently encirclement is tactic that is widely used and actually duscourages sub use at all, becuase once spotted most subs are toast. Historically (Ludi will know more than me) this was probably often the case. However the impact of tech should surely have an effect here. If top level sub tech represents the advent of the schnorkel at least then air and sea radar becomes useless and darkness is all a captain would have needed to be able to try and slip the net. In general I think sub tech and ASW tech should have more of an impact on the spotting and ability to surround subs. If a sub has 2 more levels of tech than the ASW of its chasers should it not almost be free to roam at will? Just thoughts....

Ludi Being brief - I agree. The US in general plays too little a potential role in Call to Arms and also Triple Alliance I think. The damage to UK mpp earning from unrestricted sub warfare can be extreme, and yet the US only slowly wakes up. By the time the US is in France is probably out, unable to hold when supported by a weak UK ally. The only solution is for the entente to commit all naval forces to ensure that subs do not successfully carry out the warfare in the first place, and that just doesnt feel right. I think something needs to be done because, as you say, once an experienced player has "learned" the game it is currently too easy to win as CP. My comment here is based on pbem games and not against the AI - I cant comment on that as I dont play the AI. Cheers Al

Winter set in - Europe snowed over. I chose to take the turn to reinforce every units in Europe I could, whether that be US, UK or Russian. Such is my vast mpp pot that I have done it and still got lots left over... in the case of the Soviets 1800mpps left over. The only action was to pull the trigger in Manchuria and send the Red Army in. Wasnt an especially big invasion, but took one city and made space for more Red reinforcements to come into the area. As soon as Japanese forces move to intercept I will unleash the Chinese army that is champing at the bit. In fact localised attacks that turn saw the Chinese destroy one Japanese Army, and further west the British Burmese Army liberated Thailand.

Death throes of Hitler's regime. Several units in the East destroyed - winter likely to prolong it until Spring, but nothing Marc can do. No need for a graphic to extend his pain... At this stage worth pointing out to new players again that one of the reasons for this very swift and copmprehensive annihilation of Germany is soft builds. If you want a close game regardless of territory and mpps then do not play with it on. It has allowed me to create a Russian army that spans the entire territory of western Europe - totally unrealistic if you ask me. Keep armies to bounds set by the game, and then there is always the chance of a fightback. In the pacific I have decided to change tack - not that I had really started on a tack at all while Germany is destroyed, but a change nonetheless and one that should bring action to show you soon. British Burmese army destroyed Jap armour in Thailand and the Chinese took out a corps. Japan's misery will come...

Afternoon all OK - I have a number of games of Gold on the go. China is out or on the way out in all but one by mid 1942 - in that one I am managing to stop the Japanese Army in the north. However played properly China can certainly survive until Pearl, even if she is on her last legs at that point. My feeling overall is that it should stay as it is. Currently I assume that all players, myself included, who are putting China to bed are doing it with substantial mpp investment in infantry, motorisation tech, inf tech and very importantly Tac Air units and tech. If all this is done then I think China SHOULD fall. If she holds on under all this weight of investment then there is something wrong. The pay off for the allies is that, under the weight of that investment, Japan wont be able to build a fleet big enough to stand toe to toe with the USN. That is as it should be. It becomes a strategic choice. Therefore leave China as she is, or only adjust upwards very gently at best in terms of mpp acquisition.

OK - back on the wagon. I decided to zoom out and give you guys a view of Western Europe. This really is a classic mincing machine as the German armed forces are crushed from both sides. Start of the turn was this: And after a pounding from both West and East the German strike power was knocked back further. Essen fell in the West; East Prussia is surrounded and soon allied forces will also pour into Italy. 3 more turns could well end it. Out in the Pacific I wanted to unleash hell too, but rain everywhere and high seas made it impossible. I bagged another Japanese Special Forces unit in Burma, and did yet more damage in China, but will need to wait for better weather to do anything really significant. The end is near.

No graphics today... Hungary, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia all fell that turn as the big southern hook in Europe pushed through led by multiple armoured units. I had expected more of my armour to be destroyed - as it is 9 units remain alive and that is a huge force... made possible by soft builds of course which accentuates my mpp advantage. In the west the US made the first small dent in the Siegfried Line, but only a small one. USN repositioned and closed... and the British Army in Burma pushed on towards Thailand. If the weather holds I should have some good graphics to show as Germany crumbles and the allies close in on Japan in a big way.

Into the home straight here. Russian Front first... Forces to the north in the area around East Prussia successfully stretched the German line as a diversion, and the armoured wedge smashed further into the Balkans. Romania fell; Bulgaria was overrun but the capital could not quite be taken. Reserves pour forward... and Germany is likely to be out the game soon. In the process 2 precious panzercorps, 1 tac air and 1 fighter were destroyed along with a couple of less valuable infantry formations. Final position thus: Elsewhere the allies in the West took a breather and brought forward more reinforcements. The Chinese, now successfully with motorisation, upgraded nearly all units and will soon be able to attack properly. The USN was quiet...

I wouldnt change the attack/defence values. Defence 2 would make them impossible to shift at tech 2 infantry. It is certainly much more tough than in the AAR now in 1.01. Of my 3 allied games the Chinese in 1 are starting to struggle now - they are ok in the other 2. I would suggest simply looking at the mpps again and doing a very minor adjust to increase revenue slightly. Or do something minor to the map in the northern sector to make a breakthrough there a little harder. Or start them with one more corps? It is a tough one. For 2 years they are Japan's only enemy. Fall too fast and Japan gets mighty strong. Stand too long and Japan is really up against it (see the AAR).

I am playing 3 games in 1.01 as allies at the moment and am at the end of 1940 or beginning of 41 in all 3. In all 3 China are holding on ok. While you are right that an experienced player can probably make a mess of China every time, I think the time it takes is definitely variable. There is every chance of China herself getting to level 2 infantry by the end of 40 - I have managed it in 1 and am close in the other 2 - and once at level 2 it gets tough for the Japanese. They can do it with investment in tac air and with decent weather, but with pearl and the pacific to plan for in 1941 I dont think it is a foregone conclusion that they will be out of the game by then. The stronger they are in Dec 41 the bigger the headache for the axis player. Japan can go on and crush them through 42 I would think every time, but to do that operations in India, or futher east in the pacific will be damaged so it becomes a question of choice. I dont see it as impossible at this stage (winter 40/41). Perhaps I'll see it differently when my 3 games get to 1942. I'll post back again in this thread when they get to that stage.

Glad to get back into this, and very much the beginning of the end. Finally I got the weather I wanted, and I broke Marc's lines in the East. The beginning of my Eastern assault looked like this - awesome: My plan was simple - drive hard for the Romanian Oil and try to link up with my allied units coming across from Turkey. In this I was successful, brushing aside the 2 corps and army defending the area around Odessa and destroying the panzer corps protecting the crossing to the north. I took some casualties in the process, but having broken the line there is nothing that can stop me now: Marc can either counter with the armour he has, destroy as many as 4 of mine but then fall victim to sheer weight of numbers; or retreat further back. But there isnt really anywhere to go now. Final graphic of the penetration point is here: To the west I was happy to tidy up my lines, get a couple more armies ashore and destroy the weaker of Marc's units that had made a nuisance of themselves. My western forces now are no more than a distraction, and every unit that sits opposite them is one less for the Red Horde to worry about. Starting position was here: ... and after a few attacks and a bit of movement it finished thus: And what of Asia? Well at last Burma fell. It has been a long time coming as my forces took a while to get the supply and tech combinations right, but the South East Asia front finished like this, as British and Chinese forces look to crush the Japanese between their pincers: Finally - before this AAR comes to an end I promise a bit of USN action. I have held them back as they are no part of my plan really to win this game (at least not until the endgame) but it would be a shame not to use them, so as quickly as I can I will bring them into action now for you to see. What will be interesting there will be to see how large they can grow with very little investment: from memory I think I built 1 carrier and a couple of subs, but otherwise it is all fixed arrival stuff that comes "free" - so worth a look. Keep tuning in to see what happens there. So a happy Allied High Command!

Well - this is becoming tiresome. Having watched Marc's replay I eagerly turned to the East, waiting to unleash the Red Army hordes that are waiting - with Red Army commanders getting very excited to see so many aircraft and tanks deployed by Hitler in France. What did I find - on June 18th?? - MUD. Now as a European I can tell you that mud in June in Eastern Europe doesnt happen. As a continental land mass the temperatures are too high... and away from the western edge there is insufficient rainfall. Many moons ago I offered to look again at the weather patterns in SC... and I think I might have to make that offer again! In essence all I was able to do was capture Minsk... another mpp producing city and another dent in Marc's Empire - but even with motorisation I cannot leap forward in mud conditions. Most units will only crawl 1 or 2 hexes max - not enough. I had to satisfy myself with a liberation of Athens and Greece further to the SW after another amphibious landing. So... cursing under my breath I whipped the map over to Europe. And over the UK it was raining. I shook my head in disbelief. Now - that is much more like it in terms of realism: it rains in the UK all the damn time!!! (apart from now in 2012 when we have drought warning in force - but that is another story...) but in game turns it is unlucky. So my airforce was grounded. That was a killer, because really I should have been able to deliver a major blow. As it was heavy fighting secured the destruction of both panzer corps and some other broader damage, but my own beach head is not massively secure, and high casualties are likely to continue here.... until the Reds can be unleashed!! So: all depends next turn again on the weather. Fingers crossed the gods of war deal me some kind of decent hand as it has been muddy or snowy in Russia now for months and months on end. 1 good turn of weather on both fronts and I suspect I can virtually put the European war to bed. End of turn graphic in Europe is here, showing a very very chaotic situation. If Marc has more panzers in reserve then next turn I am going to take a big hit. In the East the Chinese basically continue to sit tight and the USN plays silly buggers, waiting for good news from Europe.

May 1944... annihilation of the Germans gathers pace. In the West a combined US and UK operation retook Paris, and paras dropped in to seize Nantes (or Brest as I think it should be!!) This now gives me 2 harbours in France so that Marc cannot use his annoying rail gun to disrupt my supply, though it will take a few turns to get up and running. There is therefore now a clock ticking in the West - in somewhere between 3 and 5 turns supply issues will be such that I can really cut loose and cause mayhem and havoc in the west, although I suspect I have enough units ashore already to cause all kinds of problems before then too. Marc has cleverly been keeping most of his key units out of the range of my tac air, but as the graphic below shows I can now start setting up air bases in France itself. The days of the Wehrmacht in the West are surely counting down... And the East? Good grief - it was mud again in May. I cant remember the last turn where ground conditions in the East were right, so sighing and cursing under my breath I had to content myself with 2 limited operations. The first was against Minsk, and the defenders held out as I wanted to keep my armour concentrated in the south and the mud reduced the attack values of my infantry formations. However further south Kiev was an easy capture with Red Army tanks rolling forward, and the Red Air force also pinged a panzer corps for 3 points of damage. Eventually, when the ground is right, I will cut loose and show you the power of massed tanks when used properly. They are irresistable, particularly when supported by artillery and air support, and the Wehrmacht's days in the East are also numbered. Final graphic below as waves of red head west. China? Did little this turn bar do some damage to some Jap armour and tentatively head into Indochina. To be honest I am not that motivated to risk heavy casualties here - all I need do now is hold the Japanese Army at bay and wait for the ability to launch Red Army tanks through Manchuria. The Jap Army will then fall like a house of cards. US Navy playing it coy still, and quiet in Burma as I rested my British units prioritising mpp spending on carrier repairs in Europe.

I dont think this will happen soon. There is no major profit in it, and the engine has been optimised and designed for the bigger 1 player market. Agree with an earlier post on pbem - of course still an option, and I may give that a go again (I play a lot of Strategic Command that way) but online gaming is increasingly about playing head to head with your opponent whether it be PS3 or PC. Better use of time, more exciting. In this regard, by eliminating the realistic ability to play effectively head to head online, BF may have missed a trick in terms of the overall direction of multiplayer gaming. Best hope is that multiplayer gaming continues to grow, and that head to head wargaming grows with it with other products. If that happens, and profit is seen in it, then I am sure it will be reintroduced - but that is long rather than medium term if you ask me. Still dont quite understand why a pause button wasnt in there from the start though. Shows just how far off the radar multiplayer options had dropped when the game was being designed.

Luke - your email address is a nightmare. Everything bounces, even simple messages. You are the second comcast player I am playing with email problems! I'll keep trying, but 4 messages have bounced in a row tonight.

Yes - it's the effect of soft builds. I'm not sure I like them really - the cost increase makes them work to a degree, but the maps arent designed to have the number of units I have on show here. Possibly I could have attacked earlier and have waited too long and built up more than necessary, but winter came at the wrong time and I was unsure just how big an army Marc had built up in the quiet periods of 1942 and 1943. Better safe than sorry seemed to be common sense...

Would you believe it? Bad weather in the East - AGAIN. But I am not for waiting now, so here are some images for you as I unleash my own version of Operation Bagration. First: the Turkish Front. I decided about a year and half ago in game terms that it would be a good idea to have Turkey onside. Turkey comes with a couple of armies, a corps, a cruiser and an air unit which are very handy, but it was nevertheless an expensive business to get them onside. However - the death by a thousand cuts method of bleeding Germany requires that she spread her forces over as wide an arc as possible... so I did it and am now on the attack. This image shows how I have blasted my way across the straights, and have Turks knocking on the doors of Sofia. Notice too the British Army here. I have been spending time slowly moving them over from their Iraqi and Persian conquests to be able to join their Turkish allies. British and US HQs can receive supplies from Turkey, so it is a good route in for them if a landing in Italy is decided against. ... and here below is the awesome power of the Red Army on the march, still hampered by poor ground and air conditions, but ready to do a whole lot of damage to Germany. I have rarely seen an army in GC as big as this, but with soft builds on the game gives an advantage to the side with the greatest mpp lead, and that is very definitely the allies in this game. If you want a closer game with mpps playing less of a role then play with soft builds off. Anyway - look at this and gape in wonder: Elsewhere Marc's decision to pull back from the Belgian beachhead allowed me to drive further into France. He took me rather by suprise - I had been planning on getting my main invasion drive underway 1 turn later so was not quite able to exploit the space he gave me, but the Red Army appearing in the East will have him running for cover, and even if he counters me here and does some nasty damage I have a host of incoming US units on the way. The end of turn graphic is here: Brest about to become another allied port, and Paris next turn may well fall. Franco's Spanish Army is no more as a tank battle SE of Paris saw them eliminated. Finally a look at China. Attacks in the north have liberated Chengchow as my increasingly elite chinese army is hard to stop. I am pushing south as well as east, and the Japanese are hamstrung by it. No need for the US Navy to make an appearance yet. So I think we are heading for the end game already. There will be a short and nasty battle in Eastern Europe somewhere. Maybe Marc will try a "Bulge" on me and see if he can throw me back, but I doubt that as the time to do that was while I was still hemmed in. Once that is done Russian units will invade Manchuria and the US Navy push forward. All good for the good guys.