lettowvorbeck Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I am currently reading an excellent little book about the disastrous A-H winter 1915 offensives ["Blood on the Snow: The Carpathian Winter War of 1915" by Graham Tunstall (Univ Press of Kansas, 2010)]. On page 7-8 the author mentions that Dukla Pass was flat --not much higher than the surrounding plains -- and 40 kilometers wide and 60 deep with a easy grade roads but no railroad. For the game map, the pass is mountainous along its entire length. Tunstall views this pass to be the most advantageous invasion route into the Hungarian plains. What do you think about changing it? I don't recall the scale of the game map. Would this make it two hexes wide of clear terrain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks for mentioning this, I'll take a look and consider it. My Russians are currently invading Austria-Hungary down this very pass in one game, hoping to march on Vienna before a German advance further north causes Russia to collapse. It's a race against time as France has surrendered! I've seen the book advertised and I'd be interested to know what you think of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks for the reply, Bill. I'll be sure to give my thoughts on the book. I'm only on chapter one so far. In your game, what are the Italians doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuniworth Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 It had to be important as it was vital also during ww2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 In your game, what are the Italians doing? Bashing away at the Austro-Hungarians, having taken Trieste. But German forces are advancing from the west into Italy and have captured Turin... and now I'm having to divert forces to face the Germans to stop them advancing any further. This might save the Emperor from defeat, but it's going to be close either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I am not sure why I called the book "excellent"; perhaps I was going on appearances alone. It is actually a terribly written and edited thing, which jumps all over the place without reestablishing context. I am not sure if I am going to finish it. Problem is, there's really nothing else in English that covers the same ground (apparently). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Bill can all Italian Alps squares be traversed in the game (or are some hardcoded as impassable)? What I am getting at is does each side (AH and Italy) need to occupy the entire length of the line to prevent breakthroughs or is passage limited to historical gaps? Also, I noticed on your map that Trent/Trento/Trentino is not a fortress. I seem to recall in Mark Thompson's "The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front" that it was. Although it may have been temp works constructed during the war years. Thanks, DW Bashing away at the Austro-Hungarians, having taken Trieste. But German forces are advancing from the west into Italy and have captured Turin... and now I'm having to divert forces to face the Germans to stop them advancing any further. This might save the Emperor from defeat, but it's going to be close either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill101 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 No, not all of the Alps will need to be held, but even so it requires a few units, especially near Trieste. Not all fortresses that were so in reality are fortresses on the map for a number of reasons. Some are tough nuts even without the fortress status, while some fortresses turned out to be easy captures in real life. So you will notice a few other places that may appear as though they warrant being fortresses, but they've not been made as such. Lille is a prime example, because it changed hands a few times in 1914 and barely figured at all. I was a bit disappointed with the book you mention, The White War. It's not that it was bad at all, but it just left me wanting to read a proper military history of the campaign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettowvorbeck Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I didn't like it much either, and the maps were terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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