airboy

I'm seeing something consistent in this game with all of the other AARs I have read. It is really, really dangerous to leave your flanks open and to advance without flank support. Both sides (one in Palestine & Belgium and the other in East Prussia) advanced too far and got chopped up. I think I would put money on the Entente winning it out. Germany has had a lot of units destroyed compared to the opposition if I'm reading this right. It is difficult to overcome large scale destruction of units. Anyway, good AAR. Interesting read. I'm glad that forced march is being added. It was a big factor in 1914 on the Western Front according to Keegan and also on the Eastern Front on multiple occasions.

The Armchair General review gives the game a 92%. Review can be found at: http://www.armchairgeneral.com/strategic-command-world-war-i-pc-game-review.htm

I'm 48. Seems to be close to average.

I'm glad that you enjoyed my AAR. I think that turning off the US scripted events before starting a game which employed my strategic plan (no declaration of wars, no unrestricted submarine warfare, etc....) would be a valid "what if" historical scenario. What irritated the US was the invasion of a neutral (Belgium) and the submarine warfare. WW1 was about as "clean" of a major war as you ever see. Very little intentional civilian casulties, very little shooting captured enemies out of hand (excluding flame thrower and machine gun crews), etc...... Prior to the German ultimatum on Belgium, only Serbia was threatened with war. The Serbs shot the Austrian heir to the throne. Russia started mobilization and then declared war on Austria-Hungary and on Germany. France declared war on Germany. Germany pretty much to that point was reacting to events. Consider also that the USA did not actively intervene in the Franco-Prussian War, the Crimean War, or the War in the Balkins involving Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania in 1912-1913(??). I doubt that the USA would have intervened otherwise. Thus, taking the USA scripts off would be a reasonable thing to me. Others might disagree. We can all choose before we start a game the scripts that we wish to have active and those we choose to leave in place. Personally, I would not engage in unrestricted submarine warfare if I had changed the USA war entry scripts.

This AAR runs about 30 pages in Microsoft word. I really got involved in the game and made a systematic effort to save my games in order to review my strategy. After completing the game I realized that an AAR was possible. I doubt that I will devote the time to an AAR of this length very often. Quite a few people have told me that they purchased the game after reading the AAR. Battlefront may wish to "sticky" this AAR. Some people are more likely to play against the AI than against a human opponent via email like Wormwood and HappyCat. One final observation. I could have tried a couple of other strategies as the Central Powers. My strategy playing the Entente would be quite different. This is one of the few strategic level wargames that I have played where there are multiple strategies with a plausible chance of success. The excellent 1914 Call to Arms Strategy Guide (which I encourage everyone to read) suggests a very different strategy for the Central Powers.

This is the first strategic level game I have ever played that captured WWI era combat. The game mechanics and the AI worked pretty well. Many of the strategic and supply issues that dogged commanders during WW1 I also had to struggle with. I would highly recommend this game if you are interested in WW1 strategic combat. The game is pretty modable with the scripts. It seems to have a robust play by email support system. Don't try all of my tactics against a human opponent! The decision to cede Trieste to Italy will really hammer Austrian Morale. You really can never overcome this. Even if you defeat Russia and Serbia, the Austrians are still unhappy. I misplayed the Turks from start to finish. The only thing the Turks did was to tie up some Russian troops. If I played the game again I think I could have done a much better job with Turkey. I was impressed how well the AI crushed my submarine forces in the Atlantic. I tried 4 major strategies. Nothing worked. The game engine really works well here. I never devoted research towards improving my subs. I thought that the land battles were critical and purchased research to support my strategy. A human player would have never set back and let me slowly chew up France with inferior forces. I probably could have knocked Russia out of the war in 1917 and crushed Serbia, Albania and Greece against a better AI. I probably could not have really done serious damage to France before 1917 against a human opponent. My AAR was played with the unpatched version (1.0) of the game. It has since been patched to take care of some design problems and to improve the AI. I have not played the patched version (saves are not compatible). I have only 3 design suggestions (which may have been taken care of in the first patch). Minor Problem: Something went wrong with Austrian and Turkish morale at the very end of the game. It did not impact the outcomes, but it was annoying. Major Problems: The AI never committed sufficient troops to defend the Franco-German border after taking losses. The AI did not reinforce heavily damaged units consistently. Sometimes it did, sometimes it did not. Bill Runacre supplied the photos. I greatly appreciate his help. Bill told me that the minor morale problem with Turkey and Austria at the end of the war has been fixed in the patch. You can see the AAR with more photos at www.wargamer.com on thread: http://www.wargamer.com/forums/tm.aspx?&m=526737&mpage=1

The US came close to entering the war. If the war had lasted much longer, they would have entered. The Central Powers tried everything possible to prevent a US entry. This strategy worked until Russia fell. Then everything started to unravel diplomatically for the Central Powers. Why did this happen? Scripts! The US is given large scripted events to start siding with the Entente and to enter the war after Russia falls and if the Entente is still active in the latter half of 1916. There was no reason for a US war entry given Central Power actions. I should have turned the scripted events for the US in 1916 & 1917 off before starting the game if I had decided to avoid declaring war on Belgium and chose not to ever use unrestricted submarine warfare against the UK. Once you start the game you cannot turn off scripted events. This was something that I never thought of when I started the game. By the time this started happening in 1916 I could not do anything about it.

January 27, 1917. French Surrender!! Central Powers Win the Great War! It is easier to describe the cities still controlled by France and the UK than to describe what is held by the German Army. Northern most French city is Cherbourg. St. Malo, Quimper and Brest in Brittany are all cut off from the rest of France. Bayonne on the Spanish border is still in French hands. Narbonne is isolated. Grenoble in the French Alps is still under French control. The three ports of Marseilles (the current capital), Toulon and Nice French national morale = 3. They surrender at the end of the turn. UK morale = 77. German morale = 102. Austrian morale fell again to 65 in what must be a design bug. The Austrian Army is attacking Athens. Turkey has almost expelled the UK from their empire. The Austrian Navy won a major battle in the Med. They may be able to take amphibious action against Malta and Egypt. French major losses were 53 corps (3 cavalry), 5 HQ, 3 detachments, 3 Heavy Artillery, 2 Battleships (med), 1 Heavy Cruiser (med) and 1 sub. UK ground losses were 31 corps (2 cav), 1 HQ, 18 detachments and 1 Heavy Artillery. The entire Royal Air Force was destroyed. ********************************************** General Airboy is given a triumphal march through Berlin! **********************************************

December 16, 1916 German Army is taking the Channel Ports. French morale = 8. German Morale = 101. Austrian Army is moving towards Athens, but Austrian national morale dropped to 66? (must be a design bug).

November 18, 1916 French Collapse The German Army captured the French cities of Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Angers, Rouen, Arras and Lille. More than 75% of France is now occupied by the German Army French National Morale = 11% French Losses = 50 corps (3 cav), 4 HQ, 3 Heavy Artillery, 3 detachments, 1 Airship, 1 Battleship & 1 Sub UK Losses = 26 corps (2 cav), 16 detachments, 1 Heavy Artillery; 1 Airship, 2 Fighters, 1 Bomber & 3 Arab Partisans. Albania surrendered to Austrian Forces. The Austrian Army has penetrated deep into Greece and is attacking Larissa. Turkey is on the offensive and recovering their territory. US is now 71% towards entering the war on the side of the Entente. It probably does not make any difference now.

October 21, 1916 France: Bordeaux and La Rochelle are under attack. The German Army is close to isolating the entire Entente army attacking Belgium. Austria: Austria has started a major shipbuilding effort. Austrian Army is marching towards Albania and Greece. Only winter can stop them! Turkey: Turkish forces have taken the offensive around Baghdad. British continue to retreat in the Sinai. National Morale: France = 19%; UK = 78% US now at 63% towards the Entente. If they reach 90% they will eventually enter the war. Nothing seems to slow this down.

September 23, 1916 French Morale Collapses with the Fall of Paris! Capital moved to Bordeaux! French morale has collapsed to 26. UK morale is now 80 and German morale is 100. German Army is now attacking Avignon and is closing on Marseilles. French ground losses are now 43 corps (3 cavalry), 1 HQ and 1 detachment UK losses are 20 corps (2 cavalry), 10 detachments and 1 heavy artillery. Serbia Conquered! Serbia falls as the last man in the last unit is shot. The Serbs did not have any quit in them. They had 3 national capitals. They never surrendered. They fought to the last man. The Austrian Army is now pouring into Greece and Albania. Turkey: Turkish reinforcements reach Baghdad. British retreat into the Sinai. Looks like Turkey will be reclaiming their lost territory in the coming months.

September 9, 1916 Paris Falls! This turn the German Army captured Paris, Compiegne, Orleans, Limoges and Clermont Ferrant. The entire center of the French lines is gone. Very few French or British troops can be spotted. Superior German forces (7:4 ratio) are attacking French ports in the Gulf of Lyons. French morale = 50% - but the magnitude of these losses should sink in fast. Serbia: Only 2 heavily damaged Serbian units remain. No Serbian HQs remain. Austria has an 18:2 force ratio not counting heavy artillery and HQ support in Serbia. If they don't surrender between turns I'll probably eliminate them next turn. Turkey: British troops have pulled back from the Gaza & Beersheba front. Turkish reinforcements will reach Baghdad in 1 or 2 turns. Ground Losses to date: UK 19 corps (2 cavalry), 10 detachments, 1 heavy artillery and 3 Arab partisans. France: 43 corps (3 cavalry), 1 HQ, & 3 detachments. Germany: 7 corps and 1 detachment. Austria: Still only 1 corps. United States is now at 53% war entry for the Entente. They seem determined to enter the war. I think that it is too late to influence things in France.

August 26, 1916 Western Front: An entire German army group will surround Paris this turn. My cavalry has arrived on the French right flank and will start slashing towards the coast approaching Marsailles. French national morale has shrunk to 55%. France has lost 35 corps, 2 detachments and a HQ to date. Paris is defended by only 1 corps. Serbia: Only a handful of Serbian units remain. Several will be destroyed this turn. It is only a matter of time. Turkey: Turkish strategy of reinforcing Baghdad and hitting the British flank is still in progess. US is leaning 45% towards war entry on the side of the Entente. All of the Central Powers money pouring into the US only seems to slow the drive towards a US war entry. But I doubt that US troops could reach Europe fast enough to stop a French surrender.  

Report to the Kaiser by General Airboy August 12, 1916 TOP SECRET Kaiser: The strategic war plan has been a success. Russia has surrendered and has been dismembered. Russia no longer poses a threat to Germany and we have secured valuable concessions. We are now executing the second stage of our strategic plan. We will review each front and provide a report of the current situation and the General Staff's estimate of future outcomes. 1] Russia: Russia is crushed. There is heavy internal fighting by various factions for power. They have learned their lesson and are unlikely to reenter the war. 2] Serbia: Serbia has lost their 2nd national capital. The Austrian Army has a5:1 troop superiority. Serbia has no artillery to speak of. Austria has successfully used rail transport to move their heavy artillery units to the Serbian front. Austria has upgraded the combat ability of their troops significantly. The General Staff predicts that Serbia will surrender before Christmas. 3] Greece: Greece declared war on the Central Powers on a whim. They are about to be crushed for that. The only factor in favor of Greece is the mountainous border region. But when the full weight of the Austrian army hits them they will surrender. The General Staff is most confident (95%+) that Greece will surrender before June, 1917. 4] Albania: At some point in the last 2 years Albania declared war on the Central Powers. Kaiser, the General Staff forgot to tell you about this. It does not make any difference. Albania will surrender before Christmas along with the Serbs. 5] Bulgaria: Bulgarian troops have been surprisingly effective. Opening up a new front against Serbia yielded wonderful results. 6] Belgium: Almost all of the Belgian army has been destroyed in the unceasing attacks by the French and British. However, only one Belgian city is in the hands of the enemy. The Belgian people and industry strongly support Germany. 7] France: Kaiser, your army has succeeded in destroying more than half of the French Army. 30 infantry corps, 3 cavalry corps and 2 detachments have been destroyed. Our troops are seeing old men and young boys in home defense units as we break through the French right flank. Paris seems to be largely unguarded. We have an approximate 3:1 force ratio on the Paris front. We doubt that the Entente can transfer enough troops to hold Paris. We anticipate taking the French capital before Christmas. There also seems to be little standing in the way of the German army taking the French Med ports. Our success in France has been achieved with less than 40% of the Prussian Army which was operating in Russia having arrived at the front. The General Staff thinks that France will surrender before August, 1917 (75%) chance. French morale has crumbled and roughly 40% of the country no longer supporting the war (57% national morale). Germany owns all of the industrial and mining areas of Northeastern France. 8] United Kingdom. The British will to fight is strong (83%). The British navy has controlled the Atlantic. Our submarine warfare campaign has been a failure. British Ground forces have a strong will to fight even though we have destroyed 15 British Infantry corps and 2 Cavalry corps along with 8 infantry detachments. But the strength of the British Navy will prevent the German Army from conquering England. 9] Turkish Front: The Turks have stopped the British advance short of Jerusalem. The Arab uprising has been crushed. They are strongly entrenched in Baghdad having lost most of the Persian Gulf area. But the Turks have an entire army moving to hit the undefended British right flank in the Sinai. Another army is marching to relieve Baghdad. Turkish will to fight is strong (83%). Although Turkey has not managed a lot of military success to date, the General Staff thinks there is a 70% chance that the British will be expelled from the Ottoman Empire in the next 12 months. 10] Austria Austrian national morale is still shaken (69% national morale) by giving Trieste to Italy. There is nothing preventing Austria from taking the rest of the Balkans including Greece. Austrian war plans are now focusing on refitting their Navy and purchasing large numbers of major ships. They then plan to take Trieste back from Italy. 11] United States Kaiser, Germany and Austria have deployed an enormous amount of resources towards keeping the USA out of the war. It is pretty much free beer, sausages, and Vienna coffee on every street corner over there. You can buy a lot with 1,400 military points. But the US still keeps drifting towards the Entente (36%). Is every drop of French Wine being sent to the US to buy their affection??? 12] Germany: German morale is high (97%). Our troop losses are far below prewar projections (7 corps and 1 detachment). The German Army and People support the Kaiser! Summation: We are confident that Serbia and Albania will surrender soon. Greece will follow. France should not last out the year. Kaiser, due to British naval superiority the General Staff believes that you should develop contingency plans for a peace agreement with the UK after all of their allies have been crushed by the might of the Imperial German Army.