Dan Fenton

The Entente in France destroyed three German infantry corps, captured Aachen and the fortress of Metz (National Morale Objective). UK forces in Syria/Iraq destroyed two Ottoman detachments and captured Islahie. Norway swings another 10% to the Entente. With the capture of Metz, German National Morale dropped to zero which ended the war at the end of my turn with a major Entente victory. Ottoman morale had dropped to 20% and the Austrians had dropped to 47%. I really enjoyed playing this game with Bill. I thought at several points when the early French lines were cracking and when he snuck Ottomans into Basra, that the Central Powers were going to win. I saw the decisive game points for the Entente as being: 1. The unmolested complete Entente occupation of both the far and close naval blockade lines. This was the core that destroyed German National Morale which won the game. 2. The establishment of an early hard French defensive river line at Amiens. 3. The early Russian attack, encirclement and then occupation of German cities in Germany. This was not my original plan. My plan was to establish a hard but peaceful defensive line. The deep German offensive by better quality units mandated that this be a win big or lose big Russian operation. I used Russian numbers, entrenchments and cutting off supply by taking enemy cities behind the lines to counter quality. 4. Russia staying alive by being mostly cautious, mostly defensive, building up forces, tying down large numbers of Central Powers units and being a general nuisance. 5. The safe sea evacuation of Belgium/UK forces which sea transported to Greece/Palestine. The Belgiums help hold Serbia. The additional UK units broke through the Ottoman lines in Palestine eventually causing the lost of all Ottoman cities and units there. This was not planned. I had planned to create a hard defensive line in Belgium which would be a springboard for a later game attack. It worked well in our last game. When I realized that my defensive line in Belgium would be easily crushed by Bill, I decided to sea evacuate out all of the units. Once they were on transports, I thought that I have already paid for the sea transportation. I will need more units in Palestine. I may as well send them there now. 6. Investments by all Entente nations in Industrial Technology which provided the MPP's needed to fight. To my knowledge, each technology advance is worth an additional 20% MPP's. My Entente powers had each advanced to Level 2 or 3. Level three is very nice. 7. The winning of the U-Boat convoy war by outnumbered UK/French destroyers. The destroyers carefully picked their U-Boat battles and made the most of the qualitative UK ASW 1 advantage and of location ambushes. Generally three destroyers would concentate on one U-Boat to totally sink it. I was only concerned with sinking U-Boats, not protecting convoy lines. When the U-Boats were gone, the convoy lines would all repair themselves. No destroyer was lost during the war. 8. Diplomatic efforts by the Entente which shut down Holland food shipments, Swedish convoy lines and Norwegian convoy lines. It appeared that the effects of the naval blockades were doubled when Holland switched sides. 9. The successful hard late game push by Entente forces into Belgium/Germany backed by upgraded French infantry and by upgraded French and UK artillery. This could have failed. I almost ran out of Entente units before cracking the German line. Thank you all for sharing our game experience. I have learned a lot from playing with Bill. Bill and Hubert have created a wonderful game.

The generally bad weather made attacking difficult. In France, the Entente destroyed one German corps and damaged another down to 1 strength. Petain is trying to stretch the German line as far as possible to the South. The Entente has superior numbers and quality over the Germans. I moved artillery forward for next the turn's attacks. France invested two more diplomatic points into Norway. Norway swings another 7% to the Entente. The Norwegian convoy line to Germany has been diplomatically shut down. I now want to open the convoy line from Norway to the UK. Italy bombarded and attacked the Austrian coastal corp. A new Italian artillery unit arrived. Italy invested one point in Advanced Infantry. The UK purchased two more Greek detachments. One new detachment arrived this turn and the Greek HQ arrived. Greece should hold now. In Palestine, the Ottomans are retreating to the East. Allenby is pursuing them at top speed and has re-established HQ contact with the five UK corps. One Ottoman artillery was destroyed and other units damaged. Ras e Ain and Deir ez Zar were captured. The bad weather is helping the Russians defend in Poland. They repaired, formed better lines and entrenched. The two new cavalry units were sent there to reinforce. Russians in Germany moved forward stretching the German lines and entrenched. The new Serbian Russian infantry corps forced marched from Moscow towards Germany. German National Morale is down to 4%, Ottoman 22% and the Austrians are holding at 49%. I estimate that there are two more turns left before the game is over.

In France, the Entente attacked all along the line with artillery support. Four German infantry corps were destroyed. Others were damaged and Luxembourg was liberated. France repaired ground, air and ship units. France got a Gas/Shell Production advance. The UK rebuilt a Greek infantry corps and built a Greek detachment. The UK marines transported to Greece for defense instead of preparing for a landing. A UK cavalry unit conquered the Turkish city of Konia. A UK seaplane carrier on a recon mission noticed an Ottoman infantry corps near the French marines. The marines are digging in instead of exploiting. Other UK units attacked in Palestine but due to low supply and/or lack of HQ support, the attacks damaged but did not destroy Ottoman units. Russian lines in Poland are solidifying a little. They got another rebuilt infantry corps as reinforcements. Russian units in Germany attacked, did damage and repaired. They also got a rebuilt infantry corps as reinforcements. Russian units in Turkey repaired. Serbian and Romanian units could not fully repair for lack of Russian MPP's. Romanian units attacked and damaged a Bulgarian border detachment. Italian units bombarded and attacked an Austrian detachment. Italy repaired some ships. Italy got an advance to Gas/Shell Production 2. Norway complained about UK sub attacks then the UK got a 9% positive diplomacy hit. Political doubletalk? German National Morale is down to 6%, Ottomans 25% and Austria 49%.

The Entente in France went on a half offensive in the West and a full offensive with Petain in the East. There were still too many damaged French corps left to repair in the West. There will be a full Entente offensive next turn with artillery support. The Entente captured the Briey mine, destroyed two German infantry corps and a German Fighter level 2. France invested one point in aerial warfare to catch up. France got an advance to ASW 1. The UK cavalry in Turkey captured Karaman. Allenby's UK corps outran his HQ support and did moderate damage to the Ottomans. French marines stormed ashore and captured Smyrna, in Turkey. There were no MPP's left to put UK marines on assault craft. French destroyers are being redeployed to the English Channel. Russian units in Poland destroyed a German cavalry corps and an Austrian detachment while conducting a fighting withdrawal. Poland got both rebuilt Russian infantry corps as reinforcements. Russian units in Germany damaged German units and advanced forward. I ran out of MPP's and could not repair many units there. Air cover is down because the lone fighter has been damaged down to strength 4. Italy shore bombarded, ground attacked and damaged an Austrian detachment. Italy built a new infantry corps.

The Entente in Western France destroyed a German infantry corps and liberated Antwerp which liberates all of Belgium. Otherwise the Entente there mostly upgraded to Infantry Weapons 1, Artillery 2 or repaired. I really need another turn to repair that Western group. In Eastern France, Petain launched his offensive destroying another German infantry corps and captured Mulhouse. France built a recon bomber. The UK in Palestine assigned the five best infantry corps to Allenby and force marched them East to meet the Ottomans returning from the Basra area. More UK forces in Palestine upgraded or repaired. Haig continued north with the rest of the forces and captured Adana and Aleppo. Entente naval forces destroyed an Ottoman destroyer. The French marines will land somewhere in Turkey next turn. UK marines unloaded into their friendly Med port to embark next turn. Russian forces in Germany destroyed a German detachment and advanced into its former location. One entrenched Russian attacking corps was badly damaged and may not survive a German counter attack. I reinforced this area with the new corps as I may be able to continue attacking here. Russian forces in Poland destroyed an Austrian infantry corps and a detachment. Otherwise, they are entrenching, repairing or falling back. I plan to give ground here as needed. For every city the Entente loses here, the Entente is capturing three or more in other locations. It is a long ways to St. Petersburg while Berlin is getting closer with each turn. Russian forces in Turkey attacked and again badly damaged an Ottoman infantry corps on the coast. Other Ottoman forces there are falling back. Serbia surrendured as a nation and two Serbian corps vanished. I had moved most Serbian units out of the country to safetly just in case this would happen. That lesson was sadly learned in my last game with Bill. Romania is in the war and will hopefully draw off some Bulgarian units. The UK built another Greek detachment. I am concerned if the Central Powers makes a hard drive into Greece. The Entente tried by decision event to sieze the Greek Navy. They got only a destroyer while the prized battleship defected to Austria. I am sending a Med French destroyer back to the Atlantic as the sub war seems over in the Med. Italy is shore bombarding and nibbling at an Austrian detachment on the coast. Italy built a rail gun. The new artillery units will start arriving in December. The French advanced to Trench 5 and Intelligence 2. The US advanced to Intelligence 2 and invested one point in Industrial Production. The Russians advanced to Industrial Production 2. German National Morale is down to 14%, Ottomans 28% and Austrians 51%.

The Entente in France liberated Brussels and Namur while destroying two German infantry corps. The advancing French units in Belgium are both significantly damaged and need to be upgraded. I may have to pause and repair next turn. French units lead by Petain are now in position for an attack next turn by the German/Swiss border. France did a few repairs and upgrades and built a new fighter unit. UK units in Palestine liberated Beirut and Alexandretta while destroying an Ottoman rail gun. The other half of UK units either upgraded or repaired for the eventual attack on Turkey itself. The UK rebuilt an infantry corps. A French marine unit embarked onto landing craft. Italy built a Fighter unit and is waiting for its new artillery units to arrive to go on the offensive. It is so peaceful in Italy. Serbia's last capital is trying to survive against Austrian/Bulgarian units, well equipped with three artillery units. Romania joins the Entente. Bill took Warsaw. The remaining Russians in Poland nibbled at the Central Powers or entrenched. Russia can fall back a long ways if needed. The war will be over soon. German National Morale is down to 16% and Ottoman is 29%. Russians in Germany destroyed a German detachment. Russia rebuilt a destroyed infantry crops and repaired two lightly damaged Baltic ships. There are no screen shots this turn.

A moving seriously damaged U-Boat in the North Sea is ambushed by a UK destroyer near the close blockade line. Other UK destroyers sink it. More UK ships upgrade to ASW 1. UK cruisers now equipped with ASW 1 are moving back to relieve destroyers manning the close blockade line. Entente forces in Belgium/France liberate Lille, Maubeuge and Ypres and destroy a German cavalry and an infantry corps. New French reinforcements lead by Petain, including artillery are forming up on the Swiss border to open a new front on Germany. France rebuilds two destroyed advanced infantry corps. Entente naval forces in the Adriatic sink an Austrian sub, one battlecruiser and two battleships. Again, no Entente ships were lost. French marines disembark in a Med port to prepare for an amphibious invasion of Turkey. UK marines from England are still sailing to their disembarkation port. UK forces in Palestine destroy two Ottoman detachments and liberate Hiafa. Half of the UK forces there get badly needed repairs or upgrades. The UK rebuilds an advanced infantry corps. Badly stretched Russian forces in Poland destroy two German infantry corps and damage an Austrian corps. One unoccupied Russian city was taken by the Austrians. Warsaw may fall next turn from attacks by Bill's German infantry, tanks, artillery and railguns. The Serbs must hold their last capital or the Serbs will surrender. Russian forces in Germany repair and rebuild a destroyed infantry corps. Russian forces in Turkey damage an Ottoman infantry corps down to one point. Italy builds a second artillery unit and invests another research point into Gas/Shell Production. The US advances to Intelligence 1. German National Morale is down to 20%, Ottoman 29% and Austrian 54%. The war should be over sometime in early 1917.

Two U-Boats attempted to break through the North Sea close blockade line but ran into destroyers manning the line. Both U-Boats were badly damaged. If the main German surface fleet had been with the U-Boats, they could have caused terrible damage. I have been rotating my normal cruiser blockaders back for ASW upgrades. I dislike putting destroyers on the close blockade line because they can be sunk so easily by heavier surface ships. Crusiers are the best blockaders because they have some ASW defense and defend well against most surface ships. Subs do well also as blockaders. However if the German surface fleet doesn't plan to sail, destroyers are ideal blockaders. In Belgium/France Entente forces Ostend and the Loos Mine. My Entente forces were too damaged to press much harder. I mostly repaired and upgraded this turn, included two French Fighters to Level 1. Italy is saving MPP's for a second heavy artillery unit. It is so peaceful in Italy. I am now missing the sea plane carriers in the Med which are far away in the Atlantic on the far blockade line. I can only spot with one UK carrier, either for future marine landings or for the Entente fleet in the Adriatic. So the Entente fleet is carefully creeping blindly forward one square a turn in the Adriatic. UK forces destroyed an Ottoman corps in Damascus and a detachment, liberating that city along with Tripoli. Russian forces in Poland destroy an Austrian infantry corps probing my lines. My lines are really thin. The Central Powers evacuated Syedlets (thank goodness) and the Russians reoccupy the city. The Russians damage a German infantry corps down to one strength. The Russians rebuild two badly needed infantry corps. Warsaw still holds for now. German National Morale is down to 25%, Ottoman 41% and Austrians 59%. The lowest Entente morale is France at 65%.

The UK navy upgraded many ships to ASW1. I suspect that there are only three U-Boats left in the North Sea. Three UK subs are now damaging convoys from Norway to Germany. The Entente diplomacy to Norway should shut down this convoy line soon. The Entente completely broke through into Belgium. Arras and Calais were liberated. One German infantry corps and one artillery unit were destroyed. The new current German line in Belgium is very weak. France sacked/replaced a 5 HQ with Petain 8. Russian units in Poland and Germany mostly repaired. Russian Baltic naval units returned to ports in hopes of having MPP's to repair them some day. Bill may take Warsaw. The Serbs are being compressed but are still holding. Russian forces in Turkey badly damaged an Ottoman infantry corps on the coast. I am sailing a French and a UK marine to the Med looking to take advantage of so many unoccupied Turkish cities on the coast. Entente destroyers sank an Austrian sub. There may be only one Central Powers sub now left in the Med, now trapped in the Adriatic Sea. All my Med Entente destroyers, except the Italian one, are seriously damaged. Entente naval forces sank an Austrian battleship and destroyer in the Adriatic Sea. Entente ships are sailing into the Adriatic in force looking for enemy ships to sink. UK forces in Palestine mostly repaired and upgraded this turn, now that they have better supply. The Ottoman infantry corps in Damascus was damaged again to keep it from fortifying. The city of Homs was liberated by cavalry. Italy invested one point in heavy artillery. France gets an advance in Advanced Aircraft 1. German National Morale is down to 29%, Ottoman 42% and Austria 60%.

Entente forces are taking losses and being strained in France but the Belgium front is about to be cracked wide open. Entente destroys three more German infantry corps in France and damages a German an infantry and a cavalry corps. France rebuilds two destroyed infantry corps. All UK North Sea destroyers are repaired and ready for round two with the German U-Boats, if the U-Boats sail out again. All convoy routes are running again. Entente destroyers damage two U-Boats in the Med. The UK invests a point in ASW. Russia sinks another German destroyer in the Baltic, allowing three cornered Russian subs to escape after they do three points of damage to a German battlcruiser. The second battle of the Baltic is a Russian naval victory. Russia destroys German infantry corps in Germany. Russian units in Poland destroy an Austrian infantry corps and a cavalry corps. The Austrian invasion forces of Poland are almost destroyed. Then I can concentrate on the German invasion forces. It will be very hard to drive out Bill's Germans, if they choose to stay in Poland. Russia rebuilds a destroyed infantry corps and repairs two ships in the Baltic. The Serbs are buckling. I hope that they can hold out long enough for the Russians to mount an offensive against Austria to save them. UK forces in Palestine destroy an Ottoman HQ and damage three other units. Italy is peaceful again. Italy puts two diplomatic points into Norway. Italy advances to Industrial Production 2. German National Morale is down to 32%, Ottomans 43% and Austrians 64%.

The Atlantic UK destroyers go back to port for badly needed repairs and supply. The strength 2 U-Boat got away. I estimate that the Central Powers has four U-Boats in the North Sea. All left the area with battle damage. I have not occupied the far East close blockade line square in the North Sea until now. I felt it was too vulnerable to German ships and I didn't want to attact attention to the North Sea. I din't want a sea battle with Germany. I could lose so many ships that I couldn't fully man the blockade lines. I now put a UK sub there. With so many German U-Boats sunk or damaged the risk is reduced. Also, German National Morale is down to 37%. Now losses from a sea battle could badly affect German morale. Entente diplomacy has stopped food imports from Hollland. Holland swings another 9% to the Entente. Ottoman National Morale is down to 46% and Austria is down to 67%. The Entente destroyed another two German infantry corps in France. I am still pushing forward to gain ground but I am almost out of units to continue the push. France gets a Trench 4 and a Gas/Shell Production 2 advance. Italy buys an artillery unit. Italy invests in Gas/Shell Production and gets an advance in it. Serbia pulls back. I should have let the city go and stayed in my entrenchments. Russia destroys another German infantry corps in Poland and damages other units. Russia is getting thin in Poland. However, the Central Powers have taken a lot of damage. Bill still holds the two cities that he took. Last turn Russia subs damaged a German cruiser on the coast. I put Russian surface ships in port in ambush positions near my subs. Continuing the previous sea battle in the Baltic, Russia sinks a destroyer and damages a German battleship down to one point. Russia has not seen Lenin and his communists for the entire game. I suspect that Bill did not send him to Russia. Entente destroyers damage U-Boats in the Med. I estimate that two U-Boats are left in the Med. UK forces in Palestine liberate Amman. The Ottoman infantry corps in Damascus is again damaged down to one point. UK forces are coming back together, but they need to be repaired and upgraded to Infantry Weapons 1. The USA invests one more point in ASW and gets an advance to ASW 1.

UK has cornered and badly damaged a U-Boat in the North Sea. The German Fleet could have made a real mess of things if it had joined in with the U-Boat fight. The Entente destroyed two more German corps in France and liberated Abbeville. I am pressing hard hoping that the German lines will crack before I run out of units. The French advance to Heavy Artillery 2. The new French artillery unit is now in position. The Entente sinks a U-Boat in the Med. In Palestine, the UK takes Maan and attacks Damascus, damaging the Ottoman infantry corps to strength 1. The UK gets Advanced Infantry 1. The Serbs hold, but barely. A Greek infantry corps now defends a Serbian city. The Russians attack, destroy an Ottoman infantry corps and take Rize in Turkey. In Poland the Russians destroy a German HQ, 1 infantry corps, 1 cavalry corps and damage other units. The Germans take and hold two Polish cities. I am glad that I had concentrated on building numbers of Russian units instead of researching in qualitiy. Holland swings 25% towards the Entente. The blockades will bite much harder now.

The UK damaged three more U-Boats in all. The Entente destroyers are getting worn down. A badly damaged UK destroyer in port was repaired to full. The UK is still suffering from convoy route shut downs. I have no MPP's to transport UK infantry corps sitting in England. The Entente went on an offensive in France. Two more German corps were destroyed. The Central Powers line in France is cracking. France received a new heavy artillery unit and rebuilt an infantry corps, a cavalry and a marine. France got an advance to Intelligence 1. Italy repaired ground units and got an advance to Industrial Production 1. The UK continued attacking and advancing in Palestine, destroying a damaged Ottoman corps and a detachment. They captured Deraa. Serbian units are being hammered and were driven out of a city. Reserve Serbian units reoccupied the vacant city. I hope that they can hold. That move forward may have been a mistake. The Entente advanced units in Greece towards Serbian to assist. Poland has become a wild free for all but the Russians are winning. The Austrians have left their trenches and are joining in. The Russians destroyed a German corps and a cavalry while damaging other units. Fighting has become so savage that I am waiving my no exchange attack guideline. It is needed for Russian numbers to overcome German qualitative superiority. The Russians destroyed a German corps in Germany and advanced forward two squares. The Russians badly damaged an Ottoman corps in Turkey. The Russian rebuilt a destroyed infantry corps and a Serbian corps. German National Morale has fallen to 49%, Ottomans 52% and Austrians 71%.

UK destroyers damage an Atlantic U-Boat down to 2 strength. UK is very low on MPP's due to U-Boat convoy shut downs. I can only repair my one strength point destroyer back to 8. Germany National Morale is down to 53% with both blockade lines fully occupied by Entente ships. The Entente destroys two more German corps in France. More upgraded French infantry man the trenches. France build a rail gun and invests one point in Intelligence. The UK wins a decisive victory in Palestine! Jerusalem is liberated and UK forces are in hot pursuit of all Ottoman units. One more Arab partisan arrives. UK marines liberate a Greek city abandoned by retreating Central Powers forces. I now realize that German forces in Poland are not just probing for unoccupied cities. They intend to take Warsaw. I commit all available Russian units in the area for counterattacks. Serious damage is done to German units. I fully repaired the victorious Russian battleship in the Black Sea. Italy advances to Trenches 3. Russia advances to Trenches 4 and Bombers 1.

Entente sinks one U-Boat in the Atlantic and one U-Boat that was ambushed in my new destroyer screen in the Med. Another Atlantic U-Boat was damaged. One badly damaged strength 1 UK Atlantic destroyer limps back to port. Oddly, one North sea U-Boat sails up to my Channel fleet screen. I move cruisers forward to screen my lone destroyer which damages the U-Boat. I sail three reserve battleships closer in case Bill wants a major fleet action in this area. The Entente destroy another two German corps in France. France moves more upgraded infantry into front line positions. France buys another heavy artillery unit. I intend for France to go on a serious artillery offensive in the future. UK forces in Palestine destroy an Ottoman corps, breaks through and exploits the hole in Ottoman lines. This could be decisive for the Palestine area. I operate a UK recon bomber from France to there for future UK exploitation manuevers. Italy repairs and puts another diplomacy point into Holland. The Russian front is stable. Russian corps in Poland snipe at German corps doing significant damage. Russia rebuilds a destroyed cavalry corps as all former destroyed Russian infantry corps have now been rebuilt. Russia puts a diplomatic point into Holland. With all of this diplomatic pressure, Holland must move toward the Entente soon. That will intensify the morale effect of the sea blockade. The same Russian sea/artillery team that badly damaged an Ottoman battleship in the Black Sea now sinks an Ottoman battlecruiser there. The Russian battleship is seriously damaged but returns to port to be repaired. The US invests a research point into Intelligence.