WW1 - Call to Arms - Ash vs Will #3 - Central Powers

[Will95]

The year is 1914, Archduke Ferdinand has been assassinated, and war has been declared. It's time for another world war!

Last time Ash and I duked it out in the CTA campaign, he was CP and I was Entente. CP had a rocky start with a delayed Belgian invasion and took a hammering on the Western front particularly after 1916. The Entente managed to pull off Gallipoli to some effect, but was ultimately forced back by a strong Ottoman force. The Entente was victorious- just. This time, I hope to lead the Kaiser to glorious victory under the German banner.

My strategy this time will be one of an Eastern focus. I feel it is crucial to limit the fighting to one front at a time in order to be successful in this campaign, so I have neglected to invade Belgium at all. Instead, I deployed my additional starting units to Prussia, where offensive measures are already underway. With Von Hindenberg due to arrive shortly, I will have two sizeable battle groups pressing the Russians towards Warsaw within a matter of weeks. This will alleviate some pressure on the Austrians, in turn allowing me to push into Serbia and remove that front from the war, hopefully by the end of 1916.

So, to the east then.

My initial units were sent as a battle group to the north. Usually in the first weeks of the war the Rus is able to push into Prussia- they are not used to being pushed back.

The West is completely quiet, not a shot fired. My thinking is this; while the Germans begin the war with both and artillery unit and a level of artillery tech, the British and French have neither. Therefore even with a significant investment in both areas, I would not expect the Western allies to be able to crack my entrenchments before early 1916 at the very earliest- and by that point I hope to have defeated the Russians and will be able to turn my attention. Any ground lost will be regained.

So, without further ado, let's be having it!

[Furchtlosundtrew]

Hey,

good to see another Will an Ash AAR! Will there be comments by Ash too or will you describe just your side?

Interesting start with your offensive to Kovno. I started something similar in my actual game a week ago and I think, there is not much, Russia can do against it!

But i'm curious what effect complete the ignoration of Belgium will have. There is a nice plunder bonus, you don't get. There are some NM-towns in northern france, that you are not able to occupy. France and england will have much free MPP to invest in early artillery or early attacks at other fronts, if they don't have to fight Germany. And what about an attack on belgium by the entente itself...?

I hope, this aar proceeds soon!

Furchtlosundtrew

[Will95]

Hey,

good to see another Will an Ash AAR! Will there be comments by Ash too or will you describe just your side?

Interesting start with your offensive to Kovno. I started something similar in my actual game a week ago and I think, there is not much, Russia can do against it!

But i'm curious what effect complete the ignoration of Belgium will have. There is a nice plunder bonus, you don't get. There are some NM-towns in northern france, that you are not able to occupy. France and england will have much free MPP to invest in early artillery or early attacks at other fronts, if they don't have to fight Germany. And what about an attack on belgium by the entente itself...?

I hope, this aar proceeds soon!

Furchtlosundtrew

It's definitely a double edged sword. I've gamed the first few turns of this scenario in hotseat games against myself and I think the prospects are good- but as you say, it is risky. For one, I will have at least a solid year to dedicate to crushing Russia without having to concentrate anywhere else. Considering the sheer mass of troops that get deployed to the West, I should be able to sweep Russia aside- maybe even by the end of 1915. Even with all cylinders firing for artillery on the Entente side, they shouldn't be able to get anything worthy of cracking my Western line until 1916.

Ultimately, it all comes down to how things go in the East- but consider this. Once Russia is out of the game, not only do I then have a mass of experienced German units to send back West- but also a sizeable Austrian army.

I hope that Ash also does an AAR, but I understand that he is very busy right now and may not have the time- if he does do one, it might only be infrequently updated. But I think he will.

[Bill101]

I'll be very interested to see how this goes, and it's great to see another of your AARs!

I have to confess that I have beaten the Central Powers in a game where they adopted this very strategy, but in my opponent's defence it was his first time as Central Powers, so I did have a significant advantage there.

I won't give away any of my secrets just yet, but there are things the Entente can do when Germany heads east.

Bill

[Will95]

You're making me worried now Bill!!

[Will95]

Things are going well. My offensive has pressed the Russians hard in the north, succeeding in destroying the HQ there and surrounding the town. Within the next 2 turns I should have control of Kovno.

Further south in Prussia, I have brought troops from the West to protect my rear against a Russian incursion, under newly-appointed Hindeburg's command. This will hopefully allow me to continue my offensive in the north, while trapping the units in the south in a protracted land war.

Down at the Austrian line the Russians have moved up to threaten Galicia, but nothing else of note.

My offensive begins in Serbia with the destruction of a front line detachment. Next turn I will bring German artillery to the forefront of the battle.

So far, so good. How well things go largely depends on what Ash does with the Russians. If he masses up and smashes me at any one point, there's a good chance I won't be able to resist. However, what I am hoping, is that I can stretch him out across a thousand-mile front line with constant incursions into his territory with small battle groups, thereby denying him his numerical advantage, and placing me firmly on the front foot. We shall see.

[Sapare]

Interesting, I'll be keeping my eyes on this. I have always considered it a honor rule that Germany had to DOW on Belgium, but of course that is not a given for everyone.

Now for some self indulgent guessing, feel free to ignore if you want to:

From my expectations, I think this game will come to big part down to the war in Serbia.

Why?

Because England will have a field day marching into the Ottoman's now(most of all with the changes the Ottoman's got in that last patch, though I have only read them, not tested them).

The German's most certainly will need to send reinforcements down there, and they can't till Nish is captured and Bulgeria has joined.

My warning with Russia first strategy is this: Russia tends to stick around longer then you expect it to. And unlike France it at some point becomes very inefficient to throw more troops at the front. Their important cities are simply too far away for you to reach them in a reasonable time frame, St.Petersburg is borderline impossible to capture in WW1. And while you will destroy a lot of troops and NM early on, the Russian's would lose them in due time anyway, like this you do a lot of damage early and then Russia can just avoid fights and stall for a long time. Loss of NM just is not that strong from lost cities because of how spread apart they are.

As such, the question will arise, do you stop your push after taking the important border territories(Warsaw, Riga) or do you go WW2 on them and try for St.Petersburg,Moscow and whatever Stalingrad was named back then?

I don't know which is better, but I always been a Western front man(or Ottoman), so of course I hold my biases.

As for France, I have seen them become OP if they are avoided for too long, because you can just invest a whole year in teching Production and industry and then be an early America. Otherwise they can focus on Greece(which could screw the whole Railway to Ottoman's thing) or Help in Ottoman Territories directly. Or(though I have not done this so idk the outcome) they can take Spain and make the game extremely weird.

So yea, I be curious to see how this goes, I have seen Russia first, but never a no Belgium 'Russia First' invasion.