"Call to Arms" - Battle of the Newbies post game thread

[AshesFall]

Hello everyone. I thought I'd set up a thread where both myself and my opponent Will can comment on the AAR gone by. I'd like to start with thanking my opponent for a good and hard fought game! It really is an excellent campaign and a lot of fun, from the 1914 "Oh my god how do I hold!" in the east to the relentless slaughter in the west.

I wasnt entirely sure I had this one in the bag. I'd say the odds were stacked well in in my favour though (about 75-25 upon reflection), with Russia close to falling, France threatened from both south and east, and massive reinforcements with no less than eight artillery pieces heading for the west front. The diplomacy vs the US could perhaps have paid off, I was setting up to get 12 chits in them soon enough. Despite all this, I felt that if I couldnt keep the US out the entente would have a chance, it would come down to a slog in the west and whose NM broke first. What do you guys think?

We'd both love some comments on what you thought about the AAR, what our mistakes were and what we did that was successful and well executed. I'm sure Will himself will chime in here shortly.

A couple of reflections of my own;

- I screwed up badly with the CP fleet, mainly I think i just wanted to it for something. I tried to be clever, but it didnt work. I think this is a trap most CP players fall into once or twice however.

- I might have been too defensive in the east at the start, perhaps I could have held Koenigsberg?

- Proactive placement of corps and detachments in the middle east prevented a disaster there. if the ottomans had been put on the back foot (which they would have if the English had gotten over Suez) I couldnt have helped them for a long, long time. I'm not sure what happened with the brits, how could they have done better?

- Italy was probably what won me the war. I doubt that the italians could have held on their own no matter the terrain with the tech differences (they basically had no trenches and no infantry weapons) but supported by a strong british army they could have held a lot longer, and maybe even stopped me completely.

- Investments in diplomacy in Bulgaria, Norway and Holland could definetly have paid off big for the entente this war, the former with the isolation of the ottomans and the two latter by striking at German morale (I only called it prussia through the AAR because it's cooler ). Might have to be a bit more on the ball with diplomacy, but not overdo it on the CP side.

- It took a while to get into the swing of things in the west, but massed artillery and massed advances across whole lines with replacements behind seems to be the way to do it. Any thoughts?

[Will95]

Well played mate, a great learning experience!

I think familiarity with the scenario is a pretty major factor here, as although my historical knowledge equipped me just about sufficiently to know how things would go down in the West, I had literally no idea how the Russians/Italians/Belgians/Serbs/Montenegrins/Egyptian British were supposed to be used

After the total destruction of the CP navy, I feel I should have somehow done something more with it- is there anything else I could or should have done? I blockaded all their ports and pirated the ones I couldn't get close to, and was able to shell the odd coastal corps, but that was it. Should I have attempted a bold naval invasion with Britain behind the lines? Also, how realistically viable are amphibious invasions in large quantities, and how big of an invasion is required to be actually effective?

Also, as far as general tactics go, what's the best way to use the unit swapping technique? Is it better to swap a unit or move it back and replace it in terms of readiness loss/ability to attack in the same turn?

Finally, what do we need to take into account before diving into the WW2 campaign ie differences in units/supply/statistics?

[Will95]

Something else that I often wondered- what is the best order of attack? Let's say there's an enemy corps dug in; at my disposal I have corps of my own, heavy artillery, heavy bombers, fighters, some coastal warships within range, some tanks and some airships. Assuming hypothetically that the enemy corps we're talking about here had 100 strength (ie basically invulnerable), what would be the most effective order to use my units in?

[Sapare]

I assume no one has anything against me giving my own input and advice from experience here.

As for the CP and USA, unless the USA has seen large changes in function I belive you overbear their importance in the war. From my experience, the biggest impact the USA makes is do to the NM events related to their entry in the war.(if CP moral is bad then it can cause a good number of chained events of surrenders or just generally bad things)

Their military might is not that great because every unit they build has to be bought at full price.

As such deplomacy tends to fall somewhat short in that area, at least if both players are keeping each other on their toes.

Norway is reasonable do to the low requirments of shifting %. Holland can work but if the CP is paying attention it really never should, CP can always counteract it with a single turns worth of income.

Bulgaria has seen many changes since I played a lot of my matches so I wont definitly comment on them, but I will go to say that if Austria suceeds at capturing the first capital of Serbia early on(most likely do to German HA support), it won't be worth it.

Itally should have been able to hold the line, at least against the relatively weak teched Austrians. But once their line started shaking units should have been moved to defend it, yes.

As for having destroyed the german navy. After you do that just take one turns worth(150) and put it into anty sub research(if you have not already destroyed his subs). Only upgrade your destroyers(maybe some cruisers, if you really have too much money over) and place your fleet on the blockade places.(not norways tradeline, just northerns and long blockade). Make sure Germany won't get a chance to do an effective unrestricted naval warfare attack and her moral should start sinking every turn.

(you can do some bombing and port blocking, but keep in mind that in case of Corps you often give the unit more experience then you drain, or so it used to be)

You can also use part of your entente fleet(now that you know German fleet is no danger anymore) and help an invasion over Eqypt by bombing the costal units/cities.(used to be more powerful but probably still has some use) and to "scout" and protect amphibious transports so you can land in Austria from Itally.(overall, the CP fleet being destroyed means you have a lot of options he has to plan for)

As for how the minors like Eqypt should have been used, it really comes down to experience and what your gameplan is. It is viable to do an invasion over Eqypt(Ottmans are admitetly very cowardly and withdraw from the war quickly if things go against them, much like Itally) into the Ottoman territories. I would advice it if the German march into France was no all too powerful and only few british units are needed there.

If you are really serious about Eqypt I would advice: Move candian corps, anzac, indian corps, replace the starting egypt HQ with the level 8 one, get a 2nd HQ into Egypt, get some battle ships down to Egypt and deploy all finished Russian ship/subs in southern russia.(to bomb the railway).

This is most viable if Serbia is doing fine and Germany instead decided to go hard on Russia. How you go about this is now up to you. the 2nd HQ can help in Egypt or it can be moved(including most of those corps) to Iraq where you have a good chance of catching the Ottoman offguard.(but the HA needs to be leveled up in all cases, no offenses without HA support.)

As for viable amphibious invasions, you won't be able to do one in Germany's mainland, ever.(Amphibious ships move super slow and slow down really quickly)

The only really viable Amphibious landings(other then some based on "he would never expect that" starts) are from Itally into Austria and the other way around. Germany to England(which I only saw once and requires the British fleet to be defeated) Ottoman on Cyrus(if you know his detachment has left because you saw it somewhere ells), Cyrus to Ottoman(mostly the railway province). Russia to Ottoman(the mines, the railway, and once even the Capital itself.(Instant gamewinner, never again leaving that city empty.)

As you can see most or all of them are short distance do to the nature of how these ships work, even the Russia to Ottoman move already takes a good 5 turns.

I personally am a fan of swaping units as the moral/readiness hit is not that much and you get that one attack you really need. But it really comes down to where you re attacking, in some of the more mountainous regions(Russia/Ottoman) you really have no choice but to use switching because you can't really walk back effectively.

WW2 I can't be any help because I am terrible at it.

Best order of attack:HA, warships, tanks, corps.

This is baring that the unit really is not vital, keep the fighters/heavy bombers(which are stratigic and not tactical) and airships for what they are meant to be used for. But it really ranges. Normally I wouldnt naval bomb a unit because it is ineffective, but if you believe you can kill it go for it.

Same for those bombers and airships, they have jobs they are better for.(lowering supply, or even hurting industry(which if they are not leveled up really is not effective and should not be done btw, unless you have a specific reason of why you are doing it).

But if the enmy corps is down to 2 hp or even 1 I advice to just throw whatever you have(airship and such whise) on it rather then attack it with a corps.(most of all if it is dug in and even that 1 hp will do 2 or 3 damage to yours corps)

I think that is it for me, really the name of the game is, trying out stratigies and seeing what works and what doesnt.

[Strategiclayabout]

My turn ,

- About attack order I see things a bit differently than Sapare but not much. I'd say use first units that have less chances to take casualties and will reduce morale/entrenchment:

Artillery (rail guns if any then heavy artillery)

Aircrafts (those who can deentrench but only if trenches not at 0 yet)

Ships (not if enemy on a ressource/supply tile because those will be targeted first)

Tanks (demoralization bonus OR can be used last to grab the tile and get great defense)

Infantry Corps (obviously, those with better odds first)

*

Cavalry (can't deentrench, used to finish weak units and/or grab the tile using their 5AP)

Marines (attack between cavalry and detachments)

Aircrafts (if not used before to finish off weak units)

Detachments (if everything else failed or just to grab the tile)

[Strategiclayabout]

First, congratulations for finishing your first MP game ^^ ,

Since Sapare ahs covered many things already, I'll use more "overall" tips but with a screen from your AAR to better point out some things for both of you when needed:

- Diplomacy

- It's far more tricky than just putting chits here and there, it's a mind game ! There are several "weak spots" at start (Norway/Holland/Bulgaria...) and various strategies to use.

- You can just maximize chits as MPPs are available on one country and let it roll but only the side with most chits will get a result so just count how many chits CP and Entente have and think about how big a difference OE and Italy entry can make in the diplo race.

- Remember you can see how much each side invest in diplomacy in the stat screens but you won't know WHERE (which country). You can save MPPs to invest all of your chits in one turn on one target hoping to achieve a result before your opponent can match your investment (busy with tech chits or unit building/replacements).

- But you can also spread chits on several targets and wait to see where it will hit first then transfer all/most chits there. Alternatively, you can transfer chits on a country where you didn't hit, luring the other side in investing where you won't.

- All in all, it's balanced, but countries outside of events will rarely join or it will be one minor on each side unless CP or Entente give up the diplo game. You can see it as a MPPs attrition game though it's also a way to hide your strategic focus (USA or Romania ?).

- Strategic things:

* Frontlines

- Both of you had enormous gaps in your lines at some point, guess what ? It isn't good hihi. Letting Germans advance freely in northern Russia was a bad deal, better give some ground in Poland and fall back on a narrow front between marshes and behind rivers.

- If you have to let holes open in your lines, try at least to hold supply centers (cities and towns) as long as possible. Let enemy units advance in forest and bad supply areas while you keep the rairoads open in your back. As a rule of thumb, if you havn't enough units to build a continuous line or block enemy moves with bad terrain and unist zones of control, fall back, shorten your front and free some units as reserve to fill future gaps.

* Detachments

- They don't look like much but are the backbone of your strategic flexibility because you don't need them on the front and their recruiting/operating costs are very low. Spending some turns and MPPs to build many early for all countries and keeping a couple at hand to send on a tile you forgot to block or to guard an unexpected weak spot is always a good idea (fortresses, cities, ports, mines...).

In your game, look at Russia when Prussia had to operate OE detachments to guard the rear. Or Russians taking Lemberg without a figth when the polish pocket was crumbling just because there wasn't enough "rear duty" units available for CP.

* Look for the weakest front (here red arrows)

- It was your first game but I was a bit surprised to see Germans just push forward in eastern France. Once Strasbourg was retaken and french offensive died, there was a chance to shift forces around Verdun and attack the weakest front in the center (HQ, detachment, cavalry... all have poor defense stats, some shells in and it's gone).

* Railroads

- In the polish pocket for Russians and here in Belgium, both players neglected rail crossroads. They are your lifelines, to get better supply and reinforcements.

Russians should have defended their last railway out towards Ukraine, a chance to redeploy units on other fronts. Encirclements are bad enough so try at least to have a 10 supply source in the pocket .

* Strategic bombing

- In Belgium, CP western units only have 1 direct railway through Bruxelles to move in and out, reduce it under 5 and CP will have problems quickly operating units especially if you time that with a land offensive on Maubeuge (secondary railway) and amphibious moves.

- UK pushed too much along the coast and it only shortened CP front while puching them back towards their supply centers and railheads. Just bombing Lille to 5 or under means CP HQs around will go from 10 max supply to 8 and combat units from 9 to 7. Then some units on difficult terrain or at the end of the line can fall to 5 or below and you'll have a chance to get NM bonus or prevent their rebuilding at half-price when killing them.

* Amphibious moves (here blue arrows from sea)

- First, try to land on clear terrain tiles to avoid casualties, the better is a clear tile with a road to reach an adjacent objective but it can be worth it to just take the casualties and grab the city or town you need quickly.

- It's hard to invade Germany like that (far away even with tech) but Belgium has many spots to land in the back of main german forces if undefended. Only 1 detachment can mobilize several enemy units to deal with it and capturing any objective (fortress, city, mine) your enemy won't take back will keep threatening its back.

- Another use is just to kill enemy ships sheltered in ports/forcing them out to face your navy. A more vicious move is to capture a free port at 5 supply where you can send an army group with regular naval transport (you only need to spend on one amphibious unit, saving a lot of MPPs).

- Last but not least, landing in critical areas just to force your enemy to move units from other fronts and waste MPPs matching your own amphibious costs or waste units to guard all dangerous spots. Then just amphib back (or better/cheaper: transport back if you managed to capture a working port) and land somewhere else to make him crazy/paranoid hehe.

- Tactical things:

* HQs

- As I said before: don't expose your HQs if possible, the only "safe" frontline locations are fortresses and only without artillery around.

Aircrafts, even early ones without tech, can always score a lucky hit on HQs or artillery, costing supply and/or MPPs, no need to add infantry to that and I don't even talk about artillery.

* Frontline organization

- Usually, it isn't good to mix troops from different countries piecemeal because you need HQs to be effective. However in some cases it can help a lot.

Here France and UK have their own neat fronts but as long as you have HQs, you can have your corps like that:

UK-FR-UK-FR-UK-FR

- The goal is to spread casualties (and NM losses) between FR and UK in enemy offensive zones when one of them is hard pressed.

Germans did it in your game with Austrians but only because of urgent need and with lack of support.

* Upgrades

- When important upgrades are here/coming (mostly infantry) prepare reserve units to switch with frontline ones so you can minimize the number of turns you need to upgrade around main objectives.

- One side note about navy upgrade, especially for CP: the dreadnought (naval lvl 1) upgrade is costly but has a lot of power. Better avoid sending battleships and cruisers into battle without it. A CA with lvl 1 is very dangerous for regular BBs.

* Deceive your opponent

- It's good to make big plans expecting your enemy won't have a clue but sometimes you can only do with what you have and it isn't much. You have to use units spotting range at your advantage. Cavalry can see up to three tiles but only what kind of unit is around, not its strength unless it is adjacent.

- Sometimes, its' better to have a 1 step corps than a 10 steps detachment. If you gather offensive units somewhere like artillery and cavalry, you're expected to attack and units on the other sides probably won't come out of their trenches or close enough to see all your troops are actually depleted !

- On the other hand, just vacating one or several hexes of strategic value when hard-pressed on another front will usually lead your opponent to believe you're stretched thin and weak there while you're just waiting for him to advance where all your reserves are ready to counter-attack when he'll be in low supply.

- That's where keeping units already produced in the deployment queue can be very valuable: you'll be able to deploy a mass of units without operating costs and without them showing in the stat screens as long as you hold them back ! Just deploy them a bit in the rear because they'll need at least a turn to be combat ready (better have a 8 or 7 HQ with them near a 10 supply source to speed up morale and readiness).

- Regional tips

* Adriatic Sea

- I'll let you discover the details but there is a way to defend there for AH navy, you'll have to invest some MPPs to keep at least 3 units combat ready (preferably one of each type DDs, subs, BBs/CAs). Just use the narrow strait towards the Med and blockade it.

- You'll lose some navy steps but as long as you bottle up there, Entente superior numbers won't be able to deploy well and you have the advantage of nearby well supplied ports so you can rotate units in and out.

- Land crossing straits are a bit different (Suez area, Marmara Sea...), you can block them with land OR naval units but it makes naval units vulnerable to land units attacks so be careful, those tiles offer a lot of possibilities for traps or creative moves !

- Several times I saw naval units sheltering in ports near enemy land units. I think the italian landing move showed both of you it's better to protect ports on the land side if enemy units can reach them or tiles adjacent to them.

* Mountains (Carpathia, Italy or Caucasus)

- You saw it by yourselves in the East, any offensive there is a double-edged sword. Both sides can just defend around Kolomea to shorten their lines (anchored on neutral Romania/mountains) or send cavalry to wreak havoc in the enemy's backyard. A full offensive needs a lot of forces and secure supply along the only road.

- Just remember that with forced march, cavalry has 10 AP meaning it's possible to go over two mountain tiles as long as they're friendly tiles (you can use another unit to "make it friendly" by advancing on or adjacent to it ). Mountains are very difficult terrain but it's possible to move there to make surprise attacks (better capture a supply source quickly on the other side, though).

- On the other hand, in your game, Italy didn't make use of all those good mountainous defensive tiles. Most units were detroyed in the Po valley on clear tiles trying to survive against Austrians with 2 more infantry levels (meaning 6 attack vs 3 defense) and massed artillery.

- When you're overwhelmed like that just... run for the hills (mountains) like the Serbs do. The mountain line north of Rome not only have good defensive value but it is deep and pathes to go south are narrow, enemy supply will fall as they advance and a moutain tile swallow up 4 supply without a road linking to a supply source.

- You could also have sent Brits to the autrian border earlier and build a trench line behind the river near Venice to buy time for Italians (more tech an more units). I think you had enough UK units in the West for that but understand you tried to break Germans there (and you actually managed to draw austrian corps there but it wasn't enough to weaken CP offensive in Italy).

* OE

- You can't attack everywhere and you have some critical places to defend at all costs (capital/Marmara sea), you have to set an objective and use all your remaining forces to reach it. However, as OE enters the war late you'll first have to consider CP situation and make your choice accordingly.

Caucasus is difficult for offensive but if Russians neglect the area there will be chances to grab several NM locations.

Suez can be worth it if UK weakens troops there or advances without caution.

(however, Entente will usually send ships to gun all coastal tiles unless you control the straits)

Iraq has low supply, anything both sides attempt there will need a sizeable force and without rail, no way out for a long time.

And many many other things left to be discovered !

[Will95]

Basically none of that even crossed my mind, lol. I mean ****, that's just awesome, thanks a lot, hopefully we'll be able to put a bit of that to the test in WW2

[Bill101]

Thanks very much for the AAR, I thoroughly enjoyed following it, and like the look of the 1939 one already!