Hyazinth von Strachwitz

Sorry for the delay, but my holiday was planned before Bill invited me to the AAR. From now on you will get regular updates. Around Ypres Al does me a big favor and attacks. That means his divisions take damage as well, and I can counterattack into his weakened positions. Two of my divisions are in front of Ypres, and Al can destroy one... but then I can destroy one of his as well... interesting how this might end. My main strike goes in the direction of Arras, and bad weather does not allow me to conquer it. Maybe next turn. Bapaume is taken by German troops, and this seems to be the first hole in the British frontline. Another 2 divisions in the south survive on strength 1 or 2. In the south, the French notice that the German Offensive power just starts to develop and they need to be careful not to waste their reserves. 7 British and one French divisions are destroyed this turn, two more British are crippled. Two cities taken, and Arras is no longer occupied. Two more German Heavy Artillery units enter service next turn.

Philipp, The match we had was one of the reasons why I suggested to Bill changing a few things. I really felt sorry for the lack of fun on your side, but nowadays the campaign will have a different ending... as you will see once Al starts to strike back.

By that time the CP had a clear advantage, but now the tides have turned....

Al´s reaction comes as a surprise... there is no visible reaction at all. I destroy another 4 British divisions, and 9 of my divisions move into the gaps. Pretty sure we will see the first German casualty next turn. But I am surprised I can enter the British trenches in number... I will not be beaten back everywhere. Main focus is Arras and the British Heavy Artillery... I did not expect to catch this one. More of my Heavy Artillery units are ready for battle, so from now on every turn a bigger part of the frontline will be involved.

Okay, let me try to give you an insight into my thoughts without revealing too much of my "Plan". Al is right, the Allies have the numerical and economic superiority as usual in this sort of games. To win the match, I need to fight economically, so I need to use my advantages where I have them. Having played the campaign quite few times in the Beta phase, I have a bit of experience. The campaign is historical in at least one term: the usual outcome is that the Allies will win if it goes the usual way. Al is right in another point: the French frontline between Soisson and Reims appears to be the weakest, but attacking there would have devastating consequences. There is a strong French position around Verdun, and a relatively strong British position in the north. If I would try to move in between these strong positions, the Allies would simply divert troops from these strongholds and threaten my flanks, even if I would be able to make my way to Paris. The terrain there is very difficult, a lot of rivers would block the German advance. Any French reinforcements and new deployed American troops go to that sector, and striking there would be very obvious. I do not like the obvious. We are in the early stages of the campaign, and everyone is still strong and can afford to react on a potential "Breaktrough!". But the longer we fight, the more empty the board will get, and advances will be easier for both sides. I had it quite often that there is intense fighting for two months, and then there comes a rapid advance when one side is exhausted. In the early stages for Beta testing, almost all German guns along the frontline were upgraded at the start. This is no longer the case, I need to upgrade all of them. This takes a few turns, and there comes on positive side effect: in a few turns they will have full ammunition. We found out that the offensive power Germany has with the earlier setup is frightening, and the Allied player looses around 10 units per turn with no possibility to react. Germany was able to attack on all fronts, and this is not historical... so it has been changed. Of course I will not reveal my whole plan, but I can promise that the attack on the British frontline will not be the only direction of my attack. The Ludendorff Offensive had 5 main drives, with just the first and third drive were a limited success. Bill´s setup is very accurate, so I try to learn front history. The Kaiser´s Army did achieve two major "Breaktroughs!", but they did not know what to do after these successes, because there where no plans. I have one main target for the first drive, and I will wait with further decisions until I know if I can reach this target. And I have a very clear plan what to do if I can achieve a success. Al has a very good reputation, and the Allies have the numerical and economic superiority. If the campaign goes the normal way, I will loose. My advantage: I have a bit of experience with this campaign (Bill knows what I mean), and maybe I can lure Al into some kind of trap.

Okay, here we go. Starting the campaign, I get a few strategic advices. So we will carefully pay attention to what this guy says; he looks important. After finishing the deployment of my extra troops, I get more information. This time I get to know how important Paris is. After what I read in books, the first drive of Ludendorff was against the British Army to take them out of a the war. So let us try that. The red stars indicate destroyed British divsions, 6 of them are gone with relatively low own losses. The Heavy Artillery at Bapaume looks exposed, and there is space for a potential advance to the west. Let us see what the British Forces will do to fill the gaps. No actions on the other front, if something important happens, I will make a screenshot.

I can confirm Bill is on a good way!

Thank you very much, guys!

If you need anyone to test it, let me know! :-)

Have fun... and if the dice are not friendly again and you loose, at least your way home is not too long!

Looks like Josef Stal-acre has to retire soon...

Thank you, guys!

Of course it does... when you play the CtA campaign with no research, you have a completely different game.. but it is just an option, so everyone can decide as he wants...

Czechoslovakia a nation? How is that supposed to work? The czech part of the country was occupied by Germany since 1938, and Slovakia was a separate state that was literally controlled by Germany..

I like to read about experiences with these unusual strategies. Most of my matches go down the standard path, and a bit of alternation is nice. To me SC is a lot of mathematics, and I always try to maximize my MPP basis with minimum effort.. and reach a good position that is easy to defend.

I would really appreciate to play this campaign.. it will be almost impossible to model. A German success will not be possible without a quick french defeat at Sedan, and if the French player avoids this, he will win the war. I read a lot about this war, and in many of the battles after Sedan France had a 3:1 numerical superiority and lost.. I wonder how this is supposed to work. But if it works, I´d be very happy.

Pretty sure Hubert will read this..

Avec plaisir!

Hi Michel! The high ratings for the German attackers are wanted, Germany shall have the chance to grab a certain part of France before the stalemate starts. German troops have higher values of Readiness and Morale, and this leads to the combat results. Later in the games French and German corps have identical combat values. Did you play on expert level versus the AI? If you do so, you might find it very difficult to end the war in 1916... some of Hubert´s scripts just work on expert level, and the normal diffculty is just for training and learning. Apart from that: the AI is very good for an AI, but it isn´t perfect, and it never will be. The real fun comes from playing versus a human opponents, and CtA is mainly balanced for HvH. If you fancy a match, just drop me a PM. You can choose campaign and side.

Hi Micha! The facing direction of a tank is just eye candy.. it does not have any influence on the combat value. Occasionally units change their facing when an enemy unit nearby is moving.

Hi Micha! This differs from scenario to scenario. The main campaign "A Call to Arms" has more than 100 turns, but most of the games end sooner. There is no explicite information how may turn each campaign has, but you will get a notification once the end of the campaign comes closer.

Hi Micha! Second Marne is a difficult scenario. I can recommend to block the German Advance by entrenching behind rivers and using the terrain. You will definitely loose Reims, but try to hold Soissons as long as possible. I played the same scenario on expert level, and it is possible to stop the German troops, but it is tricky.

Understood & agreed.

I still like your strategy.. it is not gamey. It shows what would have happened if Germany would not have relied on the Schlieffen Plan. If you conquer Paris with that strategy, you deserve it. But please keep in mind: the game does not end then. French NM will take a severe hit, but sooner or later the UK will be in the war as well. This would bring you in a bad strategic position... in the middle between UK forces in the north and the remainder of France in the south... and the US will be in the war much sooner. If you succeed will depend on Russia and the micro management... why don´t try? You have less income (Belgium brings a lot MPP), but you have an advantage in terms of NM... sounds good to me.

Honestly: I don´t think this is gamey. When you take Belfort early in the game, you have a big advantage. I haven´t played it that way, but I think you might not be able to hold it... the French have gathered their forces down there. Your drive into northern France will be less powerfull, and the Arty will be missing around Brussels and Antwerpen. You can still grab Amiens, but you will not take Belgium out of the war in the 5th turn as usual. I would suggest: just try it and see what comes out. If your strategy works, someone else might find a strategy to counter it .