Neutrino 123

Glad to hear it. Remember to download the updated rules at Consimworld. There have been lots of changes and improvements.

Unfortunately, while the Germans won the war, they did not win the peace. The Czar, placing a blanket over the German general’s head to prevent him from avoiding the worst of the blows, proceeded to pummel the hapless general on the cold concrete floor for quite some time. This made the general realize that it would be important to have the Czar on his side for the next war... ...which did not last very long at all. Melissa and Sam played again as Russia and Austria-Hungary, respectively, while Rob and I switched places, so I commanded Serbia and the Western Allies, while he took Germany. In the French mandatory attacks, I rolled almost all 1’s, and the Germans almost all 6’s. The Germans advanced across Belgium, and put the squeeze on French forces that were lured into overextending themselves on Lorraine. That marked the high point of the Central Powers during the war... Vicious French counterattacks broke out of Lorraine, while checking the Germans after the had hardly crossed the border! Though Lille was taken, French counterattacks relieved Maubauge, and the German advance ground to a halt! Austria-Hungary choose not to send any forces from Serbia to help fight Russia. This proved to be a wise decision, but it was not enough. Biting Serbian counterattacks inflicted significant damage, and the Invincible Forces of Montenegro destroyed all in their path, surrounding five Austrian mountain brigades. This all paled, though, before the mighty armies of the Czar. The Austrians ran back to the mountains, but the Germans tried to fight. Their armies were confused, though, by clever Russian cavalry raids, and after a slow start, the 1st and 2nd armies launched a perfectly coordinated attack, each surrounding and defeating elements of the German 8th Army in detail. To save Berlin, Germany had no choice but to surrender...

Early March 1915 - The Final Battle With the West Front completely secure, the month’s reinforcements can be mostly funneled to the east, but before they even reach the front, the 8th and 9th armies execute their attack. The 8th army rushes through a gap in the enemy lines, quickly overrunning Bialystok against minimal opposition. The 9th army strikes northward, brushing aside some cavalry with a column attack and driving back the Russian infantry. Two giant Russian armies with over 25 divisions are trapped in an iron grip, with no escape possible. This is my revenge! Revenge for the 22nd Landwehr brigade, so cruelly trapped by the Russians the previous year! The Entente players, realizing the hopelessness of their situation, decided to surrender at this point. It was probably for the best... Russia would have been rapidly forced back out of Poland and behind Riga, while France would have continued doing suicide attacks, and then met the full might of the German Army in August, and get ground to dust. German casualties had been extremely low throughout the game (all units were at nearly full strength, and I was running low on replacement counters), and even Austria-Hungary was doing fine. It wasn’t quite home before the leaves fall, but at least the war ended before they came back... Long live the Kaiser! Here is a picture of the final pocket. Those trench markers actually had giant stacks of Russians in them, but I didn’t realize they were gone when I took the picture.

In the south, Austro-Hungarian forces continue to batter away at the Russian line. Assisted by the German 8th Bavarian Reserve (mountain-capable), the Austro-Hungarians successfully outflank the Russian line to the south, forces them back. Caucasus Front: I need to supervise this front more since I think Sam and Melissa are both cheating. Their armies are moving all over the map and creating weird designs... Next Update: the stunning conclusion.

Until Turn 1 March 1915 West Front: Everything here is completely stable. The French continue to attack, but it is all in vain. They continue to suffer major losses, and the influx of new German divisions provides a reserve capable of easily filling in any weak spots. East Front: Army Group North and Army Group Center conduct some more minor advances and repositioning in preparation for the Great Spring Offensive. Russian cavalry are pushed back. Next turn will be the kickoff of the offensive...

East Front: In the East, German forces conduct some minor repositioning in preparation for the great Spring Offensive. Forces are being built up to strike the Russians a mighty blow. Vengeance for the 22nd Landwehr brigade shall be obtained! Meanwhile, the line stabilizes in the south, with major casualties on both sides as the Austro-Hungarians try to break through. The three Bulgarian divisions also get into the thick of the action. Since the Austrians are no longer extended, only one small German battle group is assigned to assistant them, in an attempt to outflank the north of the Russian line. Unfortunately, this fails, and our outflanking guys manage only to secure a few hexes of swamp.

Through Turn 1 February 1914 Middle East: Well, it looks like the British forces on the way here turned back towards the West Front. Major French losses and confusion over proper objectives in the southern area seemed to have prompted this shift... West Front: More French attacks with high casualties. There were a couple small trouble spots, but fortunately reserves were available to prevent anything from becoming too troublesome. Caucasus: After some swirling fighting more reminiscent of the North African battles of 1940-1943, the front has finally more-or-less stabilized... There was a lot of movement with very little accomplished, so who knows where things are going next.

In the east, German armies conduct minor repositioning, while settling down for the winter... The Galician front is still active. The Russians continue their retreat to the Dniester, with the Austro-Hungarians hot on their heels. Russian replacements have been adequate to replace all losses so far, but they’ve began to run out. On the other hand, the rate of losses has been reduced as well.

Through Turn 1 January 1915 West Front: French attacks northwest of Paris and in the Verdun area suffer a bloody repulse. The German defenses are much too strong to overcome, and the French lose steps at nearly a 2-1 ratio. My reserves easily prevent any trouble areas from developing, and all understrength units are quickly rotated out of the line for replenishment. Caucasus: More crazy mobile action here. Three Russian strength points get surrounded, and they retreat to the east edge of the map with some forces...

South Poland: Though we failed to bag the Russian 5th army, we are able to do an effective attack, which causes the Russians to retreat into our ZOC, resulting in a slaughter. Another combined German-Austrian effort executed in perfect harmony... Galicia: Meanwhile, in Galicia, the reinforcements from the southern front are making their presence felt. The Russians are forced to pull back in a series of fierce Austrian attacks, with both sides suffering substantial losses.

Through Turn 4 December 1914 West Front: Rob, realizing he has too much supply, is forced to attack. He sends forces to Alsace, but the terrain is too difficult there for him to achieve good results. My small force holds, and then my reinforcements turn it into a French bloodbath. Sinai: Both armies continue to reinforce, facing each other across the desert. The British reinforcements have almost arrived... Caucasus: I’m still not exactly sure what is happening in this front. It’s so mobile, like cavalry armies fighting in the open steppe. According to the picture, it looks like the Russians are getting surrounded a bit, but both sides losses are about even...

West Front Imperial German siege artillery bombard Belfort, which has only a weak garrison. Caucasus Some Russian units are surrounded, but they break out, inflicting losses on the Ottoman cavalry.

Through Turn 1 December 1914 Army Group North With the previous successful attacks, the Russians are forced to pull back to more defensible terrain. The Prussian fatherland is liberated! Army Group Center The lines stabilize in front of Warsaw... for now... Group South Plans are made to begin envelopment of an exposed Russian army. Meanwhile, the Russians begin to slowly pull back from the Carpathians. Here is a view of the whole East Front. The zoomed out pictures don’t turn out very well. Maybe I need to play with manual focus...

My Imperial forces continue to advance through Poland, probing for weaknesses in the Russian line... The problem is, every time I kill some guys, Melissa has enough replacements to rebuild them all the next turn... arg, damn non-stopping Russians... Fortunately, successes continue. Fortress divisions released in the east with the capture of Warsaw head toward the 8th army, supporting it with the Wrsh Group HQ. The Russian line is outflanked, and major casualties are inflicted by causing overstacking during the Russian retreat! Meanwhile, in southern Poland, the Strnz HQ, freshly arrived from Serbia, and elements of the 9th army threaten the Russian 4th Army with encirclement...

In southern Galicia, Austrian reinforcements finally arrive in strength, and some Russian units are surrounded. Unfortunately, these troops reach safety the next turn. On the bright side, the remaining Serbians are trapped by combined Austrian-Bulgarian forces before they escape to Albania! All is quiet on the west front, as both sides abandon forts behind the lines, gaining precious replacements for depleted units at the front. Overall, the infusion of fortress replacements to my forces, combined with low casualties suffered on all fronts, means my units are only slightly depleted. Still, Entente strength has increased to such a degree that it’s still difficult to find places to attack...

Through Turn 3 November 1914 With the entry of the Ottoman Empire, the British send major forces to Egypt, while the weak Ottoman rail lines support a steady repositioning of divisions to the Sinai Front. British forces begin to advance in Mesopotamia, while Ottomans move toward the front lines in the Caucasus. Most of the Ottoman forces, though, are still positioned in strategic reserve guarding Gallipoli.

Oh, don't worry. I've just been away doing stupid interviews and crap. The war continues... This is the link to Consimworld WWI folder. The title would be 'Game Series: Der Weltkrieg'. http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?14@276.rXZ4aUEPyf0.19825884@.ee6ded6

Ottoman Empire: The Ottoman Empire has joined the Central Powers! New fronts open in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. We will have a rail connection to the Ottomans in a few turns, so we won’t have to worry about Gallipoli as much, and can transfer forces to other Ottoman theaters. On the other hand, Rob is also planning on making a large commitment to these fronts. It will be difficult to improvise rules to link these fronts with each other and the rest of the war. I’ve been researching Ottoman rail lines and so forth... Finally, here is the whole setup...

Unfortunately, the damn Russians keep getting reinforcements! Another whole little army comes down from the north, threatening my encirclement. There’s no way I can trap those guys in a pocket now, but at least they are outmaneuvered, and have started to retreat to the north, out of the pocket... West Front: As revenge for defeating my earlier attack, I strike some exposed French units, temporarily leaving the safety of my tranches. The gamble pays off. Many French units are destroyed, and more are lost due to stacking limits. I retreat back behind the river and start rebuilding my trenches... Turn 7 October 1914 Galician Front: The Russians have actually broken though to the Hungarian plain in strength. They are not going anywhere, though, since strong Austrian forces are in position to oppose them. Still, the transfer of forces BACK from Serbia is taking a really long time. The rail network there is terrible, and out forces penetrated deep into Serbian territory. Prussian Front: Those damn Russians I pocketed managed to break out, with help from the main body of their army. Still, many prisoners were taken, since the surrounded guys were forces to attack too, to have enough strength to force me to retreat. A disappointment, but at least the strength points of both armies are about even here, now.

Turn 6 October 1914 Serbian Front: The last HQ of the Serbians is surrounded. Now the only have a few regiments running away... and Bulgarian entry is imminent. We don’t really need the Bulgarian forces, but it will be nice to have a rail connection to the Ottoman Empire when it joins, and another few divisions for the east front can’t hurt. Mostly, though, the Bulgarians will guard the border with Romania and Greece... Galician Front: The front stabilizes, but it won’t ever be the same... I lost my 22nd Landwehr Brigade in that big pocket last turn. I guess it just took a little while for the news to sink in... I sent them to help Austria-Hungary, but the bungling Sam got my brigade surrounded... Oh, 22nd Landwehr Brigade. You died so young. I would write a poem, but I feel that I could never do justice to the proud and mighty 22nd Landwehr Brigade. Prussian Front: In a sneaky assault, the invincible Prussian forces of the 8th army surround six Russian divisions! This should even the odds up there... Polish Front: At last, the pinchers of the 9th army and some brigades in the north close around Warsaw.

Turn 5 October 1914 Serbian Front: The remnants of the Serbian Army are making a last stand near Nish. If a Central Powers unit enters Nish, Bulgaria will enter the war on our side. Galician Front: Major Russian success on this front! The Russians just ignored that some of their units were trapped, and attacked the trapped Austro-Hungarian units. Their overwhelming strength trapped four Austro-Hungarian divisions, and destroyed two more due to overstacking (the units could not retreat). This is a big disaster, but fortunately, the Austrians are transferring units from the Serbian Front, and will be able to stabilize the line quickly enough. Warsaw Front: The 9th Army is across the Vistula in strength. The Russian response has been sluggish... Prussian Front: The 8th Army bags some Russian cavalry divisions that were overexposed. Melissa got REALLY pissed off and kept attack me directly... Ouch... fortunately, she doesn’t know that those were her GUARDS cavalry divisions. Murhahahaha! West Front: I attacked near Rouen, but unfortunately, my forces were too exposed, and I was forced to retreat in a fierce French counterattack. To obtain the necessary strength, the French committed several cavalry divisions, however, so it was nice to be able to take out a few of those.

Galician Front: The Russians continue their inexorable advance here. Units cannot do the one-hex minimum move when moving front an enemy ZOC to another IF the movement cost is at least 4 for the terrain. This means that it is possible to trap guys in the mountains without actually surrounding them... Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to a large Austro-Hungarian group at the east end of the front. If The Russians capture one more hex, these units will surrender. They haven’t attacked yet, and with the great Russian retreat due to the 9th Army actions, the Austro-Hungarians have sent some reinforcements, trapping a Russian stack! Still, the Russians are overall stronger in this area... Serbian Front: Ah, this is a happy front. Despite horrible rolls, a series of combined Central Powers attacks finally managed to bag the bulk of the Serbian Army! The advance towards Nish and Bulgarian entry continues. Only the Serbian 3rd Army HQ survives, and it has no more supply points. In a turn or two it will be time to transfer major reinforcements to the east front, to stabilize it once and for all... Here’s a photo that clearly demonstrates the poor organization of the Russian Army. Notice the messed up counters, facing every which way. After realizing I was photographing them to post on the internet, Melissa desperately tried to fix them, but it was too late. Her counters clearly lack Prussian discipline.

Through Turn 2 October 1914 West Front: Not that much happening here. To slightly shorten my line, I advanced over the Somme. Also, the siege artillery was finally brought up to the front line. Paris is burning... Murhahahaha! The only question is: destroy the Eiffel Tower now, or save it, so my troops can parade around... Prussian Front: That damn Melissa finally woke up here. I had this weak hex with one Landwehr brigade, which I was hoping she wouldn’t notice, but she finally did... The Russian 1st Army attacked, but fortunately, a fierce counterattack by the 8th Army (now only responsible for eastern East Prussia facing the Russian 1st Army) pushed them back. The Russians weren’t finished, though, and destroyed my 1st cavalry division. I hate losing cavalry! Sadly, there was nothing I could do. Soon, though, the 1st cavalry would be avenged... I send reinforcements to 8th army to allow it to continue to hold. Polish Front: The 9th army began operating over the Vistula east of Warsaw. A feint toward the east precipitated the withdrawal of two entire Russian armies west of Prezmyl, to avoid being cut off (sorry, forgot to take a picture of this, but I will get one early in Turn 3 October). The Austrians were quite happy about this. The Russian 2nd Army sent reinforcements to counter the 9th Army, allowing the previously mentioned German units to shift to the 8th Army zone. My 9th army still isn’t very strong, but I’m hoping to continue crazy maneuvering to keep Melissa off-balance. Already, the Warsaw forts were automatically abandoned because I cut two of the rails lines leading to Warsaw...

Well, it looks like the west front has finally turned to a complete stalemate. The lines have solidified. My forces are more powerful, and I could keep attacking before the trenches go up, but that would only give me a few hexes here and there. Meanwhile, I would suffer significant attrition, which as I mentioned earlier, I need to avoid... so the question become, what to do with my supplemental forces? The answer is clear. I will strip the west front of forces to parity with the Western Allies, and use the reinforcements where they can make the greatest difference. However, I am somewhat limited. Austria-Hungary is very territorial about German units entering their “sphere of influence”, so I can only have four divisions in Austria-Hungary, the Balkans, and Italy (which has still not entered the war). I discuss with Sam the options to use the reinforcements from the west. It would be nice to take out Serbia. This will temporarily (until the Allies invade Salonika) shut down the Balkan front and after we advance far enough, bring Bulgaria into the war. It will also delay Italian entry a little bit. The question is: how? I can send a small German battlegroup directly to the Balkans, or use it to secure the Carpathians, freeing up Sam’s forces to deal with Serbia. Due to the technical difficulties of exchanging fronts with an army in the middle of a retreat, we decide on the former option, and I dispatch four full-strength regular divisions. These will participate in ‘Operation Southern Axe’. While a powerful force, my German divisions will initially have only a secondary role in the attack. Hungarian spearheads cross the Danube, while the 6th army continues grinding through the south. The Serbians retreat, but not fast enough. The Austro-Hungarian 2nd army attacks north of Belgrade, while the Austro-Hungarian 5th and German battlegroup attack to the south. Three Serbian divisions are pocketed! The rest of the Serbian army is in dire peril due to the good (though bloody) progress of the Austro-Hungarian 6th army... Back west, ‘Operation Western Cloak’ is put into effect. This involves the massing of troops near Antwerp, bring them up to strength with new replacements. To add to the confusion, several troops earmarked for the Antwerp attack are sent east, and Landwehr brigades are displayed prominently at the top of the stacks. Below them are the weakest reserve units, while at the very bottom, are the most powerful. I know Rob, who is old, will not look at all the units in the stack, because that would require good counter handling abilities, which he lacks (which is odd, since he’s a decent surgeon...). The transfer of forces east will also lull him into a false sense of security. He does not redeploy any Belgian units to assist those defending the Scheldt. Suddenly, the German forces deploy and immediately attack, crushing the Belgians defending the Scheldt. Antwerp is surrounded, and the entire Belgian army is encased in my iron grip! Even with these two operations, there are a collection of units I can still transfer away from the west front. The will use a Ludendorff-ian tactic of “putting some guys through a breach and seeing what happens”. Thusly, they push toward the Vistula south of Warsaw. No Russian units are in front of them, but I expect Melissa will wake up and transfer some soon... All is quiet in Prussia, while in Galicia, the Russians continue to make progress on the east flank. Things are starting to look dangerous for the Austro-Hungarian Kovess army. However, as per our house rules, I only discuss with Sam strategic matters and coordination of armies when our forces are in the same place. Therefore, I can’t point out his Kovess problems... This bodes ill... On a better note, this will be the last update with blurry pictures. The next set of pictures is much better, though still not perfect. Since I am almost caught up in the AAR to the actual game, updates will slow down, though steadily continue to the bitter end... http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/2913/serbiar.jpg http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4913/francer.jpg http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7659/polandr.jpg http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3420/prussiar.jpg http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3867/galiciar.jpg

Hey hey, the little sister is only 16. There is a plexiglass cover on these maps, and only overhead lights in the area, so it's hard to eliminate the problems from that. I've played around a bit, but so far no satisfactory results. I'm not through, though... Starting with the update after this one, the picture quality should still go way up, though. Apparently, I wasn't focusing the camera...