Hyazinth von Strachwitz

Al is right - less talking about strategy, more fighting! The defender of Montreuil and Calais have been destroyed, as well as some British Air. The red circles indicate fresh troops. I wll start an all-out attack next turn, with the help of my repaired tank unit. No more special targets, just destroy anything in sight. Around Verdun, two more French units bite the dust, and I prepare an attack on the last French fort. German troops retake Montblanc, which will be important for the next turns, because I was able to enter intact trenches that face in the right direction. In the southeast, I push hard to drive Al back. Al lot of casulaties down here. Al has destroyed 10 German units last turn, and I did 8 or 9 this turn. I have 6 units in the queue for next turn, and this will bring the decision most likely.. 6 fresh units will finish off one theater, and this will hopefully bring a domino effect.

Time for decisions. Three more British units die, and Montreuil might fall next turn. Al is in a bad position in the south: if he moves a unit in, I can destroy it with my Prepared Attack Bonus. The tank will do some damage, but it can just shoot once. There are not many units left in the south, and sending troops down there from the north would mean stripping the positions there. I expect 12 British divisions, and I have 23 plus 2 more approaching. I expect Al will shorten his frontline sooner or later. My Heavy Artillery has moved in position around Calais, and next turn this city might get German street names as well. Four French divisions bite the dust, and the first spearhead has been destroyed. Around Verdun, there is just one French unit left... the garrison of Fort Marre. I expect it will fall in two turns, and then I can send another two divisions to avoid a breakthrough around Reims. The hole in my frontline will be filled sooner or later, I have enough units in the queue. Al has done a small mistake with major consequences: the facing of the entrenchment of his most eastern unit was to the north, and this allowed me to attack from the south and destroy it. I can also enter the trenches and damage his Heavy Artillery. The tank is very lucky to survive, but at least it is damaged. And I have moved my Heavy Artillery closer to the frontline.. I will start to attack the whole salient now.

Good Morning! Al's attack occurs exactly where I expected it. I knew that he does not have enough units to attack through the Comfort Zone, so I expected his attack around Nancy or between Reims and Verdun. Now he comes at both places... okay, I have to deal with that. So here is a bit of insight in my plans... this is what I think and plan for the different Theaters. British Salient I planned to destroy the salient with local forces. In terms of divisions, I have a superiority of approx. 2:1.. this should be enough to clear the salient. With every turn this attack goes on, it will get more and more difficult for Al to defend the his position. I think I do not need any more reinforcements (some divisons are marching up there with normal march to avoid the drops on morale and readiness that come with Forced March). Of course I will be quicker when I shift my reinforcements there, but that is not necessarily needed. Al says that the British Forces will fight to the Last Man, and I really think this is his plan. But once the infantry units are destroyed, he might consider to pull back the "precious" units like Artillery and HQs... it does not help him if I destroy these with no own losses and get the NM gain. So sooner or later we might see a drwaback here. I will try to push hard, and once the frontline gets shorter, it will get easier for me. Franco-American Attack in the East of Reims The Allies have the numerical superiority here, and they have 4 Heavy Artillery units. I have the advantage to be in an entrenched position, and Attacks on entrenched units are expensive. I cannot afford to transfer 10 units to this theater, I have my priorities elsewhere. But there are a couple of fresh divisions around Sedan (the reserves I mentioned previously), and they will help to strengthen the defense there. I will try to win a bit of time here... until the situation at the other theatres has been decided. French Advance around Nancy Al has attacked with "local" forces here.. he does not have a three row deep attack forces as he has around Reims. I will try to stop this advance quickly. I have a lot of units in my building queue, and this helps. His attack here is not as massive as around Reims, so it will be easier to stop. Verdun There are just two units left on my side of the "red line". I will try to destroy these units as quickly as possible, because once I can advance to the "red line", my frontline will be much shorter, and two divisions will be free to help on other theaters. And they can walk to the next battle which is just a few miles in the west. Southeast Al has taken a relatively defensive position there... and I have prepared a small surprise for him. Next turn tonight.

Good Morning! My attack on the British salient goes better than I thought, 3 more British units are gone. I have 25 divisions up there, and I count 12 British. They will destroy some of my forces, and I will destroy some of them... but sooner or later the salient will be gone. Al cannot repair damaged units and buy all destroyed units back in the same turn, so in 5-7 turns we should have a decision here. This decision is needed. Al has pulled the American troops out of the comfort zone... and they are his most powerful units. He is preparing something, and I can imagine what it is. I have prepared myself as well with reserve troops behind the frontline. Also, I will start recon flights to find the American troops once the rain is over. At Verdun, I destroy 2 French division and move closer to the red line you can see in my last post. There are just 2 French units left on my side of the red line, and I have an extra division next turn, so this fight will also end sooner or later. In the southeast, Al moves back a bit. A smaller "Comfort Zone" is created here, and this takes pressure from both Al and me. In general I need to say that time will get a crucial factor. Al's attack will come sooner or later, and if I can finish off the British Salient and Verdun in time, I can easily stop it..... but if I'm late, Al might turn the tides.

Here we go. This will get bloody. Three British units are dead and two Heavy Artillery units damaged. I will loose some units as well, but any unit that attacks my troops will also suffer damage and be vulnerable next turn. I count 14 British divisions versus my 25 German, and for sure Al cannot destroy them as quick as I can destroy his 14. Esp. in the south he will face a problem, 3 British divisions face 11 German. Of course there is a tank down there, but it can strike once per turn. And Al cannot withdraw... there are so many precious units like Heavy Artillery and HQs. And what to do with the damage Artillery? Refresh in front of a German unit? Draw back? Where? Or will we see a major drawback "Belgian Style"? Around Verdun, I can take Troyon... Al has evacuated it. The red line shows the line I want to be sooner or later. Next turn 3 Heavy Artillery units will open fire. I am very close to reach my target in this theater. Two of Al´s units die, and I start to cut off the salient. If I can destroy the Heavy Artillery, Al can no longer attack my entrenched positions.

I played a match as the French versus a skilled human player as the Germans, version 1.00. He made his way through Belgium, but I stopped him before the Marne, and as the campaign ended, Germany held very few French tiles. Both me and me opponent agreed: the Allies have it easier when Germany goes via Belgium. More troops to defeat, longer way, no benefit. Pretty sure Bill has changed a lot in 1.01 ...

Lovely AAR. During the early Beta Test Phase of "Breaktrough!" I did something similar versus the AI... leave the Belgians in peace and attack France alone. My troops took Sedan quickly and then advanced to the west. As the AI started to divert forces to the west, I took Verdun and the surrounding forts. French NM went belly up before I reached the gates of Paris, so the match was finished by the end of september. I can see certain similarities to your match... but Bill will make it harder to win than the AI in the early stages.

What I read from Al's post confirms what I wrote yesterday about the "Unknown Theater". I expect an offensive, and I have a clear guess where it will occur. The evacuation of Dünkirchen is nice, another NM target will be conquered without casualties. Al's idea to give the Belgian troops a new home somewhere else is a good idea, but I can live with that. Unless they take back a Belgian city, they cannot buy new units... so any unit that takes part in the fighting will not be replaced if destroyed. In other words: they can hang around somewhere and have no use, or they will face destruction.... any Belgian unit I can attack will never come back, so it will be an obvious target. So in fact Belgium is half way out of the war. My troops around Dünkirchen will definitely move on to Calais. I do not see any Heavy Artillery up there, and this will be the next place where I will attack. Technical Analysis of the British Salient: British/Belgian OOB: 16 divisions, 4 Brigades, 2 Cavalry, 1 Tank, 4 Heavy Artillery, Air support German OOB: 23 divisions, 1 Tank, 4 Heavy Artillery, Air Support. Al wrote he will have 2 new divisions per turn, and I will have reinforcements as well. Let's see. It might occur that this is the place where the whole campaign is decided. If I can destroy the bridgehead, I can divert the remaining forces to Amiens and do the Final Attack on Paris. The fights around Etaples and Boulogne will be the bloodiest of the war, because the British troops will not retreat, and my forces can make a big step to victory. Gott mit uns!!! (Next turn tonight)

Technological advantage for Germany is gone, American forces arrive in numbers.

Time for Technical Analysis Dünkirchen Belgian OOB: 2 divisions, 1 cavalry division German OOB: 7 divisions, 1 tank unit, 1 Heavy Artillery Prediction: I will conquer Dünkirchen in 2-3 turns. Any Belgian units that do not withdraw will be destroyed. British Last Stand around Etaples British OOB: ~15 divisions, 2-3 Heavy Artillery, 1 tank unit, 1-2 cavalry divisions, Air support German OOB: 16 divisions, 3 Heavy Artillery, Air support Prediction: I will try to tie off the British salient and bring my troops in a good position. Once the troops at Dünkirchen have fulfilled their task, I will have 23 divisions, a tank unit and 4 Heavy Artillery units. Both side have reinforcements coming in, so this will get quite exciting. I expect this battle to last for a few months, but unless somehting extraordinary happens, I will succeed in the long run. Verdun Salient French OOB: 11 divisons, 2 brigades, 1-2 Heavy Artillery, Air support questionable.. potentially just defensive Air Cover German OOB: 14 divisions, 1 brigade, 2 Heavy Artillery, Air support Prediction: at the moment I have the initiative, but that might change if Al diverts troops to the salient. I can easily reinforce my position, Metz is just a few tiles away. If Al does not reinforce his troops, I will try to conquer the last fort in the west of Verdun and Troyon. Being successful there would allow me to establish a frontline between this fort and Troyon.... entrenching behind the river would create a very stable defensive line, and I can divert troops to other theaters. French Bridgehead French OOB: 7 divisions, 1 cavalry division, 2 brigades, 2 Heavy Artillery, 1 tank unit, Air Support German OOB: 17 divisions, 3 brigrades, 1 Heavy Artillery Prediction: I expect a well-ordered French withdrawal, and Al will attack where he can destroy German units. If he decides to stay, I will try to destroy his units quickly. Then I will (at least) advance to the old frontline. If I can do that, I will either continue to attack or leave a few units there and divert the rest to other theaters. Most important question - The Unknown Theater The Allied Armies are regrouping. Their guns have full shell production now, and they can mount an offensive. Since a couple of turns, I see just very few French reinforcements and no American troops activities. I expect an Allied attack somewhere sooner or later. Might be Nancy, or somewhere between Reims and Abbeville. Definitely I will start to deploy fresh divisions in the second row so I can counter an offensive. The area between Reims and Abbeville is a big Comfort Zone.... one tile distance between the German and Allied frontline. Maximum entrenchment, 10 shots of Ammo for every Artillery unit... who ever attacks there will have to pay a very high price. As the campaign started, both Armies were sitting in front of each other fully entrenched, but the Comfort Zone looks different. The player who decides to enter it has to move over open terrain... no entrenchment, no Artillery support until the second turn. In the first turn the attacker has to move in front of the positions of the defender, then he will suffer damage. In the second turn, the attacker can start the first assault, and maybe in the third or fourth turn he can enter the trenches. Until then I have enough time to bring in reinforcements. And I will try to build a reserve staging area around Amiens, so I can quickly send troops to areas under attack. Any attack through the Comfort Zone needs to be a really massive one. I wonder where it´s gonna occur.

@ xwormwood: early June. I was suprised about the speed of my advance. From July on this will get more difficult for me, but what I have reached until now seems promising. @ Rankorian: there is an easy explanation.... CtA uses corps and detachments, Ludendorff uses divisions and brigades. This means a direct comparison with CtA does not make sense, the scale is just different. The price for a division is the same as the price for a corps in CtA, but the German income is higher. The Allies have around 1.100 MPP per turn, the German Army has around 900.

Okay, enough talking... more action! The remainder of the Belgian Army retreats to Dünkirchen. I can destroy a corps and bring my troops in position for an attack next turn. Heavy Artillery is ready to fire. This is the Last Stand of the BEF. I have 16 corps there, and another 8 from Dünkirchen once the Belgian Army is destroyed. An attack is prepared, and further reinforcements are approaching. Al has rotated his corps out of Fort Vaux to Verdun and another corps in the fort. The entrenchment goes down from 12 to 6, and this allows me to take both Verdun and the Fort in one turn. French NM drops massively. The whole salient is threatened. Save the best for last. The French attack on Colmar has definitely failed. Who does not flee gets destroyed. Not quite sure if I will stop on the French border or try to take St. Die and start a kind of flank run. But please do not think this war is easy for the German troops. Fortunately there are a lot of good news. My troops still believe in victory!!!! British NM is down to 71%, French is at 69%. Germany seems confident with exactly 100%!!!! Over all loss ratio is 92:47, so almost 2:1. Promising.

A short summary from my side as well... next turn will be posted tonight. As Al destroyed a lot of my units in the second turn, I felt a bit scared.... I have played this campaign quite a few times, and in the older versions Germany had a couple of turns with almost no opposition. I lost 7 divisions in the second turn, and I really thought that Bill has changed the balance too far in the direction of the Allies. I expected Al to be in Sedan in July, but I was wrong. There is one very important factor: experience. I am pretty sure that Al has way more "general" experience than me, because I started to player versus human opponents in the second half of 2012. So if Al and me play a 100% balanced campaign (like Chess) and we both know the setup, Al will definitely win... there is a reason why he has such a good reputation. In this campaign, it is a bit different. I have played it a lot of times, versus the AI and human players. I have won most of them clearly, and it did not matter on which side I was playing. I have tried many different approaches... exterminate the complete Verdun salient, strike at Nancy, walk through Nieuport and kill the Belgians... or take Sedan with American troops. I know what happens in certain cases, and this is very important. As I saw the changes in 1.01, I expected a clear and quick defeat. The Allies outproduce me by approx. 2 divisions every turn, and my technological advance will melt down until June. I need to upgrade my Heavy Artillery in the beginning, and this takes ages. In the first turn I have 500 MPP, in the second turn 900. I need to invest in research as well, and upgrading one Heavy Artillery costs me 225 MPP. A lot of my divisions along the frontline are Tech Level 1, and I need to remove them frontline before I can upgrade them. In the second turn, I lost 7 divisions, and I need to buy those back... or at least some. And I need to refresh my attacking divisions, this is expensive as well. In other words: I can refresh 1-2 Heavy Artillery units per turn, that´s it. Took me until turn 7 until I had finished that. So my offensive power is not as big as in version 1.00. I knew I have just one major attack... I will not be able to do 5 drives as in history. So I concentrated on the British Army. My plan was to give Al the impression that this attack is just a decoy for an attack around Soisson and Reims, and I was successful. The British did not get much help from the French, and I tried to keep the French as busy as possible. Fortunately, Al thought that the British part of the frontline is the strongest, but that was not necessarily the right view. The British appear strong, but once the first line is destroyed, they fall apart. The way to Amiens and Abbeville is shorter than the way from Reims to Paris, and the terrain is better for an attack. Between Paris and Reims there are a lot of rivers, and around Arras there is just plane fields. And the British do not have much room to draw back... "with their backs to the wall". Once this wall is reached, they can make a last stand and hope for help from heaven. Bill knows this strategy well... he has suffered a lot from it while we did Beta Testing. But since then the British Army has been strengthened considerably, and I did not expect to get to Abbeville in just 10 turns. I started slow and catious, because I did not expect to make it to Abbeville, so I wanted to avoid getting catched in open space. But what came then was quite a surprise: I was able to take Arras almost unopposed, and I destroyed a British Heavy Artillery. This development has a big effect: without the Artillery unit, Al cannot strike back.. and so he needed to draw back. Once on the run, there was no halt for the British... no second line of defense was established, no entrechments. I was quite surprised about the speed of my advance, and this almost brought me into trouble. As I reached Abbeville, my troops were completely exhausted and vulnerable. There were 6 fresh British divisions in the south of Etaples, and I really feared they would attack me, because most of my troops were at Strength 3 to 5. But fortunately Al gave me the time to consolidate and entrench. If he would attack me now, I would appreciate it, because my troops are refreshed and under full supply .... and my Heavy Artillery is in place. Every attacker will get a nice welcome present. Of course Al´s attack in the southeast has reached its strategic target: I have to divert forces to Colmar. 10 more fresh divisions around Arras would have meant almost complete destruction of the BEF, and so the most important target has been reached. If he will succeed around Colmar or not is not really important. If he wants to be successfull, he has to send more troops down there... and these will miss somewhere else. My next target is the destruction of all Belgian units. Belgium as a nation would no longer exist, and their Military Income can no longer be spent, because they cannot place their units. Allied total income would drop around 100 MPP per turn, and this will help a lot. If this is accomplished, a lot of divisions are free for other tasks. Potentially an attack on the British bridge head, defense against an allied attack around Amiens or simply strengthening the south east... who knows? At least I have the option to do what I think is right. And there is a very important issue: Al has lost 4 British Air units. Usually the allied forces have a clear superiority in the air, and this will not be the case unless he buys the planes back... and they are not cheap. So this match remains exciting... I did not expect to get this far.

This turn is relatively quiet, obviously both armies need rest. In Belgium, my troops destroy a Belgian division and their Heavy Artillery... and enter their side of the trenches which is very important. As most people might have thought already: Belgium is my current target. I want to take Nieuport and maybe Dünkirchen. All of these cities are NM targets, and NM is very important. My troops abandon Amiens, it is difficult to defend. I prepare a defensive line behind the river. In general this theater seems to be a big comfort zone... no fights in here, and who ever starts the fight again will have to move forces in front of prepared and entrenched positions... and this will be very unhealthy. The defenders of Verdun are destroyed, but I do not yet enter the city.... I wait for reinforcements. And there is a second aspect: An unoccupied tile means there are no trenches next turn, so any Frenchie that moves in will just have Ground Cover Level 1 and be easy prey. The Southeast OOB: Allies: 10 Divisions, 2 Brigades, a Tank, a Cavalry and a Heavy Artillery Germany: 15 Divisions, 3 Brigades and a Heavy Artillery I think this means parity... both sides will get their reinforcements, but I sit in an entrenched position. If Al pushes for Colmar, my troops in the north will move to the south and attack his back. Very exciting. Here is the current Over-all OOB... looks a bit different from March.

Definitely a bug. I think the best idea is to send a savegame to Bill, so he can recreate the bug.

Dear Peter, Your post goes in the right direction. In version 1.00 the German Army was simply too strong, and this is why the entrenchment value has been lowered from 6 to 5 in 1.01. A lot of German Artillery pieces start with tech level zero and need expensive upgrades before they can de-entrench, and quite a few German division start with tech level 1 instead of 2, esp. around Verdun. I have played a lot of matches as the Allies as well, and from July on they have an advantage. They have enough MPP to research and upgrade their Armies, and the American division way stronger than their German opponents. The longer the campaign goes, the stronger they get. The only question that matters: how far can the German Army advance until the Allies reach parity? In history, the Allied forces knew where the German Army wanted to attack because they were able to decipher the German wireless telegraphy... and Al does not have this advantage.

What a match! I am loosing a lot of units at the moment, but the effort is worth it. St. Omer is close, and I destroy a British division and two Air units. My tanks almost destroy a HQ. Abbeville is mine (strategic target reached), and southwest of the city there is NOTHING.... a damaged air unit in Dieppe (killed by my bombers), and that is it!!! Eu and Dieppe are unoccupied, and Al needs to transfer units to hold the city. And by the way: poor Italians!! My attack on the French bulge has begun. I count 15 divisions on my side, just 12 on in Al´s formation (plus a tank). Not promising for an attack, because I can easily send troops there via Rail or Deployment, and All cannot do that, his units need to start at St. Die. The red circle shows a German division I just sent down via railway.

Happy New Year to everyone!!! Okay, this starts to get really interesting. My main drive goes in the direction of St. Omer. The Allied frontline there consists of just a few brigades, and I have a Heavy Artillery in place to knock down any entrenchments. And I have damaged a Belgian and a French Heavy Artillery, and this limits Al´s ability to strike back. If I catch these pieces next time, they are gone... so he needs to take them back and repair them... and this is expensive and takes time. I feel quite excited about what will happen at St. Pol... Al has 6 divisions and a tank there. Will he attack St. Pol and try to relief Abbeville? Losses would be horrifying, I have a Str 12 Elite division sitting there in trenches, and Al has no Heavy Artillery in range. And if he just regroups his troops, I can conquer Abbeville. Amiens is conquered, and the French NM drops. Next turn Abbeville might fall if Al does not relief the city, and this would finally separate the Allied frontline into two halves. That would be a strategic victory for the German Army, and "Operation Michael" would be a full success. Let us look at Verdun. I have a slight numerical superiority and better Heavy Artillery support. I will continue to attack, and sooner or later Al will have to divert troops to the bulge... troops that miss in the southeast. There are two more NM targets: a fort and the city itself, and conquering these means a large drop of the French NM. If Verdun falls, the whole bulge is threatened. Okay, I have to divert troops to the southeast that cannot fight in the north. But if the French want there fight here, they can get it. Around Strassburg, I have 8 divisions, and most of them are fresh troops from the building quere. I deployed 5 units around Strassburg this turn, and I have a few in stock. Also, a Heavy Artillery arrived, and I can mount an offensive. Maybe I can cut off some troops. The Rail Link is reestablished, and I can operate troops from other theaters and simply squeeze Al´s attack. Will he advance further (and risk a loss of all his troops down there) or draw back? German NM is at 98%, British at 73%, French and Belgian at 82%. Looks promising... and better as in history.

In the north, I refresh my troops and do smaller attacks. St. Pol is also German now. I will concentrate on the Portugese HQ... if I can take that out, any Portugese troops are without leadership until it is rebuild.... and producing is expensive. The attacks on Abbeville and Amiens are prepared, my troops are in position. Ham is conquered, Montdidier and Noyon are the next targets, and I did penetrate the Allied frontline there and bring a few corps in position. Around Verdun, I take the second fort. My main target is the city of Verdun, and it is closer now. The French Artillery survives, and that was lucky. But at least it cannot fire back or help to lower the entrenchment of German positions. In the southeast, I deploy more troops. A French corps survives at strength 1, and every city or village is occupied. I have a rather small picture to show, because I do not want to reveal what I have in the north... one of very few cases of Operational Security.

The (German) Empire strikes back!! Right now we have five areas with major battles. In the north, Hazebrouck is German now, and the brigade in there is destroyed. Another French and a Belgian corps is destroyed as well, and my offensive gains momentum. There are not many combat units in the frontline, and if I can destroy Artillery, Air units or HQs, the price for AL will be very high. In the west, I did just one attack this turn, and I moved my units in place for a couple of offensives next turn. I want to attack St. Pol, and I am confident this attack will succeed. Abbeville is a target as well, but this will not be next turn. I need to destroy the British corps in the east of the city first. And of course Ham needs to fall next turn, because I need to get closer to Paris to avoid a morals hit. I have 10+ divisions around Ham, so I am quite confident. I have moved 5 Heavy Artillery units (blue circles) in place for attacks, and they all have a lot of Ammunition. Around Verdun, I destroy two French corps and conquer Fort Douamont. And I move a fresh Heavy Artillery to the frontline with 10 shots of Ammunition, so I can kill another 1-2 corps next turn. The French Heavy Artillery unit is damaged and needs to draw back, or it might get destroyed. French NM takes a hit due to the fall of Douamont. Around Nancy, Al takes his frontline back, and the allied lines looks very thin. I have almost cleared the bulge south of St. Mihiel and that makes a couple of units available for other duties. I consider an offensive at Nancy as well, because there are major gaps in the French frontlines. Now we come to the southeast. I needed to hesitate with some of my actions until I know where Al does his offensive actions. Now I know it... and this is quite good for because I can unleashed a few things I had in reserve. But let us see how the south east develops. Two fresh corps from my building queue are deployed around Colmar. One might die next turn, but at least it will stop the French advance. I destroy a French corps south of Colmar, and I can deploy units down there every turn. Of course the railway connection is lost, but my building queue is full. Even if Al´s attack goes wrong, Al´s strategic target is reached: I need to send troops down there... but maybe I can achieve a victory down there, and this would mean the troops have done their jobs very well. In general I feel confident. The overall loss ration is 55:21, and this makes me believe I have a chance to be more successful than the German Army in 1918.

The offensive against Hazebrouck continues. Two more British divisions get destroyed, and I get a "free" shot on an English Artillery piece and a HQ. If I am lucky, I can take the British industry center next turn. Around Doullens, I secure my position and refresh my victorious troops. Al is right with his analysis: I am vulnerable against counterattacks from the flanks, so I decided to weaken the troops concentration in the south. Another 5 British divisions are destroyed, and Al might consider to do a strategic drawback as well... or get encircled. Allied lines look very thin here. Around Soissons, I destroy a French unit and get a "free" shot on a French Artillery. My division will be destroyed as well, but until then I have inflicted a lot of damage. Further in the south, I destroy a couple of French divisions. No strategic movement yet, but at least Al has to fill the gaps.

Ypern is in German hands!!! And what is even more important: I am one tile away from Hazebrouck, the British supply center where new units arrive. When I take this village, it will get way more difficult for the UK to bring their troops to the continent. German troops gain confidence, the German NM is up to 102%, while British is down to 80%. And there is more to come. Pretty sure Al did not want the division in Doullens to die immediatly. If he moves another one in, it might die as well... I have three divisions on front of it, and they will use the prepared attack bonus. I am very close to Amiens, and taking it would split the Allied frontline in two halves. On the French part, we have started to trade units... Al destroys some in his turn, and I destroy some in my turn. No big changes here, but the German frontline is stable, and more Heavy Artillery units get upgraded and take part in the battle.

Okay, here we go. Four sectors of interest: In the north, the last preparations for the attack on Ypres have been finished. Next turn 6 divisons and my tank unit will attack, and sooner or later the city will fall. Good progress around Arras. I destroy 5 British divisions and an Air unit. Not much left of the British frontline, and if they do not withdraw, they will get encircled. German forces capture Reims... will not be a long stay, but the morale effect helps a lot. In the northen part of the Verdun bulge two French units advance into the German side of the trench. Not quite sure what they plan. But I feel pretty confident that they did not plan to stand in front of German strength 12 Elite divisions. German NM is at 100%, and the British down to 85%. The French are somewhere in the middle, but they haven´t yet started the fight.

In the north, I can stop the Belgian Counterattack and destroy one of their divisions. I have seen that Al's Belgian divisions took more damage than my German units... these "Mathematics" are very important in this campaign. My troops advance on Ypres, including my tank unit. The British Forces around Arras do a tactical retreat. I destroy one of their Heavy Artillery units and 3 division. Artillery units are expensive to buy back. South of Arras I have moved my Heavy Artillery forward. With a bit of luck I can attack the next British Heavy Artillery, that would seriously hurt Al's offensive power. Arras is taken, and Peronne is cleared from enemy presence. The whole area around Ham looks endangered, and I wish the British forces would attack me there, so I can counter next turn. Around Reims, I stop the curious French corps and close the frontline. German morale is at 98%, and the British at 89%. French somewhere in between. American troops help the British forces which is good, so they cannot wait for me at Chateau Thierry and Belleau Woods.

Great! Cannot wait to play it!